Marvel Star Wars Explorers

As Han and Leia brave a warzone in search of Luke and Lando, we welcome Chris Lantz back to the podcast as we bravely explore the new territory that is Dark Horse Star Wars and kick off our coverage of Dark Empire! Along the way, we're also taking our first steps into the larger world that is the 90s, (baby) in Earth History, weighing in on Obi-Wan Kenobi casting announcements and Jaxxon action figure releases and, of course, giving our thoughts on the bold new direction of Star Wars in the medium of comics.

As the Star Warriors race to the edge of the galaxy for a dark encounter with the foul lady, Domina Tagge, Eric Ambler and Sean Davis return to the podcast to discuss all of their favorite moments from a fan-service filled gift of an issue, to look back on some very recent Earth History, to reflect on the entire original Marvel Star Wars run and to prepare for the next exciting phase of Marvel Star Wars Explorers.  

As an uneasy alliance of Star Warriors grapple with their own insecurities and conflicts while taking on the Tof menace, our Star Friends -- HOLY SHIT IT'S THE FINAL ISSUE! Jack Stovold joins us for one last journey to the 80's, baby, as we analyze the good and bad of a very unusual Star Wars issue, ponder what George Lucas' creative input in the current Star Wars universe might look like, rank our favorite covers, characters and issues of the comic, and look forward to the bright new future of Marvel Star Wars Explorers! All that, AND Sam tells everyone about the Oosterscheldekering.

As Luke and a party of Hoojibs and Hiromi infiltrate the orbiting Tof warship, frequent e-Word writer and first-time Star Friend David Robertson infiltrates the podcast to talk with us about his childhood experiences with these comics in the weekly Star Wars magazine, to weigh in on the Tofs as Star Wars villains, and to dive into the joys of the Special Editions and Prequels.

As Luke, Plif and the Hiromi plan their escape from the invading Tof, we welcome Melissa Thiede back to the podcast to chat with us about bad movies that we watched as children, to weigh in on the final Biggest Bad of the Marvel Star Wars comics, and for a deep dive into the physiology of Hoojibs.

As Nagai and Hiromi invasion forces both converge on Zeltros, Kevin Young invades the podcast to converse with us about the various versions of Legend, Dani's descent into hate, and Rainforest Cafés.

There wasn't an issue of Marvel Star Wars in November of 1985, but there was a FULL-BLOWN EWOK TV MOVIE, and we invited our Star Friends from What Were We Watching to come join us to dive into this strange, fantasy romp! Beyond that, we're also talking more Mandalorian, diving into some other iconic 80's films, pitching our own Ewok sequels, and loving Teek and Wilford Brimley. Happy New Year!   

As Leia and her Zeltron companions debate the appropriate way to care for their Nagai prisoner, Sam and Brian welcome back Brian's Star Wife, Blythe Rudloff, to talk about CGI Luke, to educate Sam on the history of the Harlem Globetrotters, to discuss the compassion and empathy of Leia and to analyze the horniness (or lack of horniness) in the Star Wars universe.

What's that behind the Life Day tree? Could it be another gift? That's right, the Marvel Star Wars Explorers have heard Kathleen Kennedy's call and emerged early from their planned Winter slumber to address the deluge of Star Wars announcements from last week! New TV shows, new movies, new trailers! Not only that, but we're giving our thoughts on two more episodes of The Mandalorian (Grogu and Boba Fett, anyone?), reading some e-Words, and discussing which houses of the Wizarding World we belong in! All this, plus we brought along our good friend Sean Davis to join in the fun. Happy Life Day, Star Friends!

Happy Life Day! Your two best Star Friends have decided to get into the holiday spirit this year by inviting their favorite offworld Jawa, Cam Siemer, back to the cast to discuss the recently released Lego Star Wars Holiday Special! How do we feel about this deeply referential, time-traveling romp? The nature of the special gives us an excuse to explore all eras of Star Wars, including our first trip to a post-Rise of Skywalker galaxy. We're also diving deep into the first 4 episodes of the current season of Mandalorian (sorry, no Grogu or Ahsoka talk yet) and harnessing some of Cam's podcast energy to throw out our own pitches for Star Wars Holiday Specials we'd like to see. Happy holidays, listeners!

As Luke and Lando return to Iskalon to deliver the news of Kiro's fate to his people, Geoff Clarke, our Canadian Correspondent, returns to the cast to give us his thoughts on the first 3 episodes of The Mandalorian, to explore an exciting new season of 1985 television premieres (including two infamous Star Wars cartoons), and to get hyped with us about the debut of our new favorite character in the galaxy far, far away... Dania Francis.

As Han Solo wrestles with his feelings for Princess Leia on a far, far away and technologically-deficient planet, we welcome Barm back to the podcast to dive into our hot takes on the first two episodes of the new season of The Mandalorian, to soak in the glorious return of Fenn Shysa (and debut of Bey!) and to consider the romantic inner-life of everyone's favorite smuggler.

As the New Republic faces its first major conflict against the combined forces of the Nagai and the Empire, the Marvel Star Wars Explorers celebrate the big 100th issue milestone by welcoming back two of our favorite Star Friends, Eric Ambler and Sean Davis! It's a double-sized issue and it warrants a double-sized discussion, in which we tackle another gargantuan Summer of 80's Movies, learn about the cultural significance of Live Aid, react IN REAL TIME to the newest Mando trailer, weigh in on Bey's accelerated, but emotionally satisfying role in this issue and so much MORE! Thanks for sticking with us for 100 issues, Star Friends! Here's to 100 more!

As the Star Warriors race across the galaxy to save a planet on the verge of death, Gensho Tasaka races back to our podcast studio to weigh in on whether or not J.J. Abrams successfully landed the plane, to ponder the absence of Asian actors in American cinema of the 80s, and to react to the ICONIC debut of the latest addition to these pages, Bey.

As Han Solo finds himself in the unexpected position of babysitting two children and escorting them on behalf of a mining guild, we find ourselves in the unexpected position of having Eric Wheeler take over the podcast for an episode to unleash his thoughts on The Rise of Skywalker and The Mandalorian, to school us on the art of Gymkata, and to marvel with us at the long-awaited return of Archie Goodwin.

As Luke and Kiro attempt to rescue Dani from the clutches of the Nagai, we welcome a new Star Friend, Ariel Quist-Sprawls, to the podcast to discuss New Coke's effect on our lives, to compare what we all had for dinner, to discuss our favorite and least favorite interpretations of the force, and to debate which Nagai has the best hair.

As Kiro attempts a daring rescue of an injured Luke on the desolate world Kinooine, we welcome back two returning champions, Chris Lantz and Jack Stovold to talk about the shocking revelations regarding Lumiya's identity, the upcoming adventures of the Lego Star Warriors, and the states of the Star Wars world in 1985 and 2020.

As Luke finds himself on the hostile world of Kinooine, facing his most formidable foe since Darth Vader and the Emperor, we find ourselves facing some of our favorite Star Friends, Cam Siemer and Sean Davis, for a lengthy and spirited discussion covering such diverse topics as the rumored (and definitely real) Lucas Cut of Episode IX, the exciting reintroduction of the Dark Lady Lumiya and the incredible art of Cynthia Martin, plus we read an enormous e-Word that has us ranking the Terminators and delving into the nature of force sensitivity.

As the Alliance grapples with a potential civil war between its two most adorable members, we welcome Eric Ambler, Dark Horse Star Wars Explorer and the original Star Friend, back to the pod to weigh in on the uncertain future of Star Wars in the mid-eighties and today, to hear his thoughts on the stunning cinema of January 1985, to celebrate the debut of Cynthia Martin in these pages, and to address a bounty of e-Words.

As Luke, Han and Leia unravel a dastardly plot unfolding on Cantros 7, we're rejoined by Star Friend (and creator of our theme song!) Daren Sprawls to talk about whether or not cat-like aliens belong in the Star Wars universe, to find out which internet cat celebrities Sam follows on social media, and to dive into the dense mythology of Grimalkians, the fierce anthropomorphic cat people of a future South America. Cats, cats, CATS!