The great thing about the Star Wars: Blood Ties series is the perfect combination of Chris Scalf’s amazing art combined with Tom Taylor’s perfect prose draws you in from page one and holds you there until the issue is completed.
When these two work together you feel as though you are taking a trip into the Star Wars universe itself. Scalf’s art is gorgeous to the point of near photography, but still clearly crafted in that special way only art can be. Taylor’s characters are also so perfectly scripted you can almost hear the actors speaking their lines.
As awesome as all of this is, the best thing about Star Wars: Blood Ties – Boba Fett is Dead is like Star Wars: Blood Ties – A Tale of Jango and Boba Fett, so far it would be an amazing series even if it wasn’t about Star Wars and the Fett. However, it is, and for most of us that makes it even better.
Tom and I sat down and had an awesome chat about Star Wars: Blood Ties – Boba Fett is Dead last week. I know some of you all are as excited to be finally reading this as I am to be sharing it. Enjoy!
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N- First off thank you for making sure this series starts off just as awesome the last round, which obviously I was a huge fan of. (My delighted review of Star Wars: Blood Ties – A Tale of Jango and Boba Fett is how I met Mr. Taylor actually, for those of you reading this interview an unaware.)
So yes, great start. How much of Boba Fett Is Dead did you have conceived while writing the script for Star Wars: Blood Ties – A Tale of Jango and Boba Fett?
T- Honestly. Absolutely none. I’d like to tell you that I had it all planned from day one and that I’m always ten steps in front of my readers… but that would be blatantly untrue.
N- Hahaha! Well thank you for the honesty and you’re doing a great job transitioning the feel of it then because they go together seamlessly.
Both Star Wars: Blood Ties series so far have centered around the Fett “line”. What is it about the Fetts that makes them such interesting characters for you to focus on?
T – I think it’s a combination of the mystery and the ability. Fett is basically a mercenary Batman in a jetpack. You know he can walk into any room and be the most formidable guy there. Writing mysterious characters, and working within that mystery, not trying to break it, is a lot of fun. The trick is to keep that intrigue going. You don’t want to see under the helmet… especially as the helmet has a great big blaster hole in it when our story starts. That would be icky.
N- Nice. I think every fellow geek on the planet can appreciate that Boba Fett and Batman comparison.
Last round we had some awesome Star Wars beasties including of course one very fierce rancor. Can we expect to see more killer beasties in this series as well? Â
T – Oh yes. If you have Chris Scalf. You have beasties. Check out the guy’s youtube channel to see his speed paintings of dragons. Some of these videos have millions of hits and for good reason.
If you have that much talent in an area, you want to exploit it. You can see his excellent dewback on the cover of issue 2 (which I think should be a poster) and that dewback features pretty prominently in our opening issue. Chris Scalf and I are actually quietly working away on our own dragon comic called “Voice of a Dragon“. I’m hoping it will soar into the sky in a blaze of fire some time next year.
N – Hahaha!! I love dragons so sounds great to me!
This actually leads perfectly into my next question as well which is what is it like working with Chris Scalf? If any of you guys haven’t seen his work you are seriously missing out, by the way.
T – I love working with Chris. He and I chat most weeks via email and we have a lot of things on the go aside from this. Can’t wait until the rest of the world gets to see some of it. And yes, if you haven’t seen Scalf’s best work, your lives are kind of incomplete.
N – Exactly. Both of you guys are fabulous gentlemen and creators, and easily one of my favorite Star Wars comic teams.
So family is obviously a big theme of the Star Wars: Blood Ties series, have you thought about how far do you plan to take this theme in the Star Wars universe and what are the best parts about getting to work with such powerful family themes?
T – I think the whole Star Wars universe revolves around family. Fathers and sons, sisters and brothers. I think it was one of the cleverest things Star Wars did. Sure, it may have magic and laser swords and robots and aliens but this is an alien story that isn’t alienating. There is this emotional core built around family that we all know and can identify with. It makes this science fiction less fictional for all of us and it’s absolutely one of the things that I look at when I come to write any Star Wars book.
Maybe we can’t identify with a cold killing mercenary. But we can identify with a child who saw his dad’s head lopped off.
N- “Maybe we can’t identify with a cold killing mercenary. But we can identify with a child who saw his dad’s head lopped off.” — Wow, that is incredibly well said, Tom. I also agree with your view of the Star Wars universe entirely. Family is completely the main staple of the Star Wars universe, and I agree that it’s one of the things that makes such a fantastical world so relatable.
Alright, final question for you Tom! Why should Star Wars fans pick up Star Wars: Blood Ties – Boba Fett Is Dead when it hits the web and stores this month?
T – Because Boba Fett has been killed, and a force like Fett can’t leave the galaxy without repercussions. Wide-ranging, deadly, dismembering, falling from tall heights, big-monster killing, explosive, ramifications.
Cheers, Nicci Sixx! Thanks for having me!
N- Back at ya, Tom! I’m sure we’ll do it again some time!
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So there you have it gang! Star Wars: Blood Ties – Boba Fett is Dead drops this Wednesday, April 25th, 2012. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did! – N
 
  
