Marvel Star Wars Explorers

As Wicket, Teebo, and Princess Kneesa fight repeatdly to save Bright Tree Village from harm, we fight for our right to welcome Eric Ambler back to the podcast to talk too much about Ahsoka, not enough (or probably too much) about the eighties, and then to celebrate and/or overanalyze the nature of fandom through the lens of some comics that were clearly written for children.

As General Luke Skywalker and his Padawan Annikin Starkiller defend Aquilae from the New Galactic Empire, we welcome Jake Beal back to the podcast to dive into our first episode of Phase 6 of Marvel Star Wars Explorers! We're kicking things off by talking about The Star Wars, a comic book adaptation of the first draft of Star Wars, and in the process trying to understand the enigmatic mind of George Lucas.

As Luke and Han answer an Alliance distress call, Sean and Eric answer our own distress call to discuss the final storyline of the Star Wars newspaper strip! We're also chatting about upcoming Star Wars television and video game releases, Darth Vader's friend group, and whether this is a fitting end to this run of comics, before picking our favorite characters and arcs, and teasing the future of Marvel Star Wars Explorers!

As the Star Warriors suddenly find themselves in the clutches of Bossk and Zuckass, we find ourselves in the company of Barm for a discussion of Andor's enduring rewatchability, the insane final installment of the Star trek newspaper strip, Bounty Hunters of the Star Wars universe, and the filmography of one Zack Snyder.

As Luke and Han confront an old rival bent on collecting Jabba's prize, we collect two Star Friends, Ryan Davis and Jack Stovold, for a conversation about recent Star Wars television releases, Admiral Kirk's retirement, the return of a newspaper Star Wars favorite(?), and Jack's drunken scribblings.

As Luke finds himself facing the fearsome power of a Mind-Witch, we find ourselves welcoming first-time Star Friend Jeff Eckman to the podcast to talk Jedi: Survivor and Visions, why exactly it is that we do or don't like Star Wars, and to talk about a Star Wars comic that might be even more Star Trekky than than the Star Trek comic we also read.

As the rebellion confronts the Imperial blockade during its evacuation of Yavin, we are once again confronted by Kev, who is here to talk with us about another strange live-action Disney film of the 80s, a horrific fireworks disaster, and the chilling deaths of high ranking members of both the Empire and the Alliance.

As General Dodonna's son grapples with his crumbling sense of self, we welcome first time star friend, and co-host of No One Can Know About This, to the show to chat with us about the three new not yet canceled Star Wars films that were just announced at Celebration, David Cronenberg and Final Fantasy, and a tragic, but enjoyable, new addition to our Star Wars canon.

As the Star Warriors attempt to rendezvous with a new ally of the rebellion, Sam and Brian rendezvous with their old so-and-so's Barm and Sean to discuss Dr. Pershing and Mandalorian culture, the unexpected presence of Star Wars in present day Ukraine, and the first appearance EVER of Admiral Ackbar, here in this very newspaper strip.

As Luke finds himself marooned on an ice world while evading Imperial pursuit, we find ourselves joined by new Star Friend Derek Buckley, for a discussion of the enduring magic of R5-D4, the introduction of Hoth within the newspaper strips, and some of our beloved childhood memories of Star Wars action figures.

As Luke Skywalker arrives in his X-Wing at Los Angeles to attend this year's Academy Awards, Sam and Brian welcome Kev back to the podcast for their annual examination and evaluation of the films of the previous year! Not only that, but they're also diving into the season premiere of The Mandalorian, the release of Quantumania, the gang's WORST new oldies, and Sam's current Marvel Snap deck.

As Han and Chewie venture to the outer rim in search of a legendary power gem, we are rejoined by the legendary John Parton to discuss Star Trek (a lot), movies about Mars, spacefaring cats, and just maybe to get to the heart of why it is that the Star Wars Universe is so damn cool. 

As Luke investigates the mysterious reappearance of one Ben Kenobi, we investigate the mysterious reappearance of David Robertson on this podcast, to hear his red-hot takes on modern Star Wars, his memories of reading Star Wars Sunday strips printed in the backs of magazines, and to weigh in on the rumors from 1993 that George Lucas might begin development on a trilogy of Star Wars prequels soon. 

As the Star Warriors struggle to fight off an awakened monster terrorizing the Massassi temple, we find ourselves joined by the Comics Curmudgeon himself, Josh Fruhlinger, for a conversation about a shady mustachioed man, the forbidden love between Luke and Leia, the forgotten joys of the syndicated Spider-Man newspaper strip, and the sad fate of a misunderstood guardian from Yavin's past. And be sure to check out Josh's daily blog about newspaper comic strips at https://joshreads.com/ 

As Han tries his best to out Leia's new alliance ally as an Imperial Spy, Richard Dunham makes his debut on the podcast for a very special episode in which we break some exciting Star News LIVE! We're also talking about Ewoks with gambling problems, frustratingly expensive comic collections, and, more than anyone else in 2023 is, the Swamp Thing movie.

As the Star Warriors escape Imperial rule into a mysterious field of derelict spacecraft, Sean returns to the podcast to escape 2022 with us into the mysterious field of derelict spacecraft that is 2023! Along the way, we're talking about proto-Borgs, scrambled comic panels, and non-secret love triangles. 

It's a special holiday treat! The good folks (and personal Star Friends) over at After the Credits had Sam and Brian on for a blowout episode about Andor, which you can also listen to right here in this very feed! Be sure to check out more from After the Credits at After the Credits (castos.com) Are we just out for ourselves, or the greater Chunk cause? We'll have to band together for this lengthy Holiday episode of After the Credits. But thankfully the YumChunks won't be fighting alone, because we are joined by our best star friends, from the Marvel Star Wars Explorers podcast, Brian Rudloff and Sam Stovold! With our forces united, we can finally hit the Empire where it hurts- in our lengthy discussions of Mario + Rabbids: Spark of Hope, The Fabelmans, Sputnik Sweetheart, Nando's, and Nepalese scarves. But our ultimate mission means taking on the latest Star Wars show on Disney+, Andor. How much do we love this show? A lot. A lot a lot. It's basically just us gushing for 3 hours. But stars will you have fun

As Luke and Tanith Shire find themselves marooned and captured by the Serpent Masters, Brian and Sam find themselves captured by Nate Tapp's charms, as he returns to the podcast to talk with us about Andor as a whole, his comic book focused curriculum, and the joyful sight of a dude in Stormtrooper armor riding a flying snake and holding a gosh darned LANCE. 

As Luke navigates out of the Friendzone and into a conspiracy cooked up by Darth Vader and Admiral Griff, Eric Wheeler navigates back to the podcast to talk with us about the joys of newspaper comic strips, Hayao Miyazaki's disappointing son, the unexpected horniness of Fondor Shipyard's Supply Tug pilot, and which member of The Beatles would make the best Gandalf.

As Han Solo departs Yavin to rescue a stranded Luke and Leia, Cam Siemer returns to the cast to listen to Sam go on a tirade against the Jedi, to discuss the unique charms of a specific piece of 70's science fiction pop culture, to examine the similarities between Skorr and another antagonist of Ord Mantell, and to bask in the joys of a significantly better newspaper strip than the ones we've covered up until now.