From the official site:
Since their launch in 2004, the comic strip adventures chronicled in a quartet of webstrips have proven to be a favorite of Hyperspace members. A mix of new and classic stories, the webstrips provide an addictive reason to visit starwars.com each day, as exciting Star Wars tales unfold one strip at a time.
Rookies, an all-new webstrip, is set to launch next week. Written and illustrated by Pablo Hidalgo, Rookies is set in the classic era of the original trilogy, and follows a new band of inexperienced heroes as they learn the ropes of Rebellion. Previously, Hidalgo had adapted the Star Wars short story, "A Hunter's Fate: Greedo's Tale" for Hyperspace webstrips.
"It took a while to figure out what I should do for a follow-up to 'Greedo's Tale,'" says Hidalgo. "Initially, the idea was to do an adaptation of a previously published story, but it was hard to find one of the right length. There were no shortage of suggestions, as fans who have taken to the webstrip format wanted their favorite stories told in this fashion. The problem is, a novel could take years to tell in this format, and it still wouldn't do it justice."
The solution was to tell an original story, written for the webstrip format. "It's an assortment of new characters, but the setting isn't entirely new," says Hidalgo. Many of the story elements will be taken from old roleplaying game scenarios originally published from 1987 to 1994. "I'm hoping long-time Expanded Universe fans will get a kick out of seeing certain things that haven't been touched since the late-'80s, mixed in with elements from the more modern Star Wars universe."
Rookies begins with "Rendezvous", the first chapter in what may be a continuing story. "If this reads like a pilot, it's no accident," says Hidalgo. "It's meant to be an origin story for a potentially recurring cast of characters. If readers like it, there will be more."
Other strips currently playing include "Han Solo at Stars' End," an adaptation of Brian Daley's novel by Archie Goodwin and Alfredo Alcala, which originally appeared in newspapers in the 1980s. Also wrapping up is "Traitor's Gambit," by Goodwin and Al Williamson, which will soon be followed by "The Night Beast," again from the 1980s run.
That covers three strips... but what of the fourth slot, previously occupied by Evasive Action: Recruitment? Drake, Ekria and Zonder will return in Evasive Action: Prey. Coming in March 2006, the new series written by Paul Ens and illustrated by Tom Hodges finds Inquisitor Tremayne desperate to find and eliminate the Padawans before Darth Vader learns of his failure. Meanwhile, the impetuous Order 66 survivors get themselves entangled in the affairs of a ruthless and ambitious up-and-coming green-skinned reptilian member of the Black Sun crime syndicate.
Only Hyperspace members have access to these daily webstrips. If you're not already a member, sign up today!
As a comic fan, I have to say that Evasive Action and Reversal of Fortune were great comics, worthy of being printed and colorized. I do look forward to Prey. I'm not so sure about Rendezvous, but I'll give it a try.
BTW, does anyone know how big an e-mail file can be? I've saved these to my hard drive and have cut them so they look like comic book pages. They are about 10 MB in size. If anyone wants a copyof Evasive Action and/or Reversal of Fortune , and I can find a way to e-mail them, shoot me a PM.