Originally published June 4, 1999, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1333

Now it can be revealed.

In an exclusive But I Digress scoop, we have learned the true origins of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Despite whatever the Lucasfilm party line may be now, the truth appears to be this: George Lucas originally had no intention of continuing the story with live action films. Instead, due to the wide-spread popularity of the classic animation in the now-legendary Star Wars Christmas Special—to say nothing of the widely acclaimed, sumptuously and fluidly rendered Star Trek: The Animated Series—George Lucas had originally planned to continue the saga via the Saturday morning cartoon route. Such series as Droids and Ewoks were merely the testing grounds for his greatest, most ambitious project.

Intended to put a new, fresh slant on the Star Wars universe, Lucas, in conjunction with King Features Studios, developed the aborted series entitled:

Star Wars: Dennis the Phantom Menace

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Originally published May 28, 1999, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1332

And so it starts.

Actually, its beginnings go all the way to the beginning. There was Adam in the Garden of Eden, and he had nothing in particular to do. So God gave him what could be considered busy work: name stuff.

As was mentioned in the recent issue of Aria, naming is powerful magic, for to name something is to define it, and to define it is to control it. There is one overwhelming impulse hardwired into mankind’s mainframe: Survival. From survival stems the sex drive, necessary for man to survive as a species. That’s why it feels so good; to make it an attractive pastime in order to heighten the likelihood of perpetuating mankind. It’s sure not because it’s the most dignified looking thing a person can engage in to kill an hour or three. Or a minute or three. From survival stems the Second Amendment, and the defiant NRA war-cry about getting their guns when they are pried from their cold, dead fingers (to which the obvious response seems to be, “Sounds like a plan”). And, on a fairly global scale, from survival stems the need to control the environment in which man lives.

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Originally published May 21, 1999, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1331

Assorted Star Wars thoughts and recollections, in no particular order:

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Originally published May 14, 1999, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1330

Some assorted notions, thoughts and such:

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I’m instituting a new, very occasional feature in the column: The “Aw, C’mon!” Award. This is an award presented on no kind of set schedule, but just every time that something strikes me as deserving it.

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Originally published May 7, 1999, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1329

“Villains Scheme the Darndest Things” was the panel topic presented to a panel at Long Island’s I-Con, the panel scheduled to consist of Joe Kelly, Dwayne McDuffie, Dave Roman, Bob Rozakis, and your humble servant. I say “scheduled to” because I only remember four people being there, including myself, but I can’t for the life of me recall who was missing, so I’m playing it safe and listing everyone. Some of the observations and discussion points to come out of it, in no particular order:

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