The ‘End of Year Comic Awards‘ over at NFAMOUS.NET have given ‘Best Miniseries’ to Star Wars: Blood Ties, which was also nominated for ‘Best Limited Series or One Shot’ over at COMICBOOKED.COM “…this piece is truly perfect. Perfect in art, perfect in literature, and perfect in Star Wars. Also, Boba Fett takes down a rancor.” – COMICBOOKED.COM

‘The best Damn Comics of 2010′ over at the ‘The Daily Cross Hatch’ also saw The Example get some love.

A huge year of writing comics has come to an end and I decided to do a bit of a review… then I changed my mind and just made a collage – a visual representation of how much sleep I missed last year.

Yep, all of these books came out in 2010 – that’s two for every month.

A huge thanks to all of the people I was lucky enough to work with in 2010

Thanks to all of the artists – Colin Wilson, Chris Scalf, Al Barrionuevo, Mike S Miller, Skye Ogden, Daxiong, Brian Koschak, James Brouwer, Wes Dzioba, Mike Heisler and Em Smith.

To my wonderful editors – Randy Stradley, Jim Chadwick, Wolfgang Bylsma, Freddye Lins, Kristy Quinn, Gary Edwards, Shannon Eric Denton and Ben Abernathy.

To the ridiculous wealth of cover artists – Jo Chen, Dave Gibbons, Kevin Nowlan, Philip Tan, Pete Woods,  Howard Porter, Chris Sprouse, Tim Seeley, Sean McNally and Jeremy Raapack.

And of course, an enormous thank you to every single person who read my books in 2010.  THANK YOU!

This year is already looking enormous, with a pile of work due for publication and some hints of more big gigs in the pipeline – 2011 preview post coming soon…

Star Wars Adventures:  The Will of Darth Vader AND Luke Skywalker and the Treasure of the Dragonsnakes

“…offering two thought provoking, yet action-filled stories. Luke Skywalker and the Treasure of the Dragonsnakes takes place during Luke’s training on Dagobah with Master Yoda. Taylor allows himself to have fun with Yoda as Yoda in turn has fun with Luke in the name of training. (Teachers who can get this volume away from their students will completely sympathize with Yoda’s desire to gently torment his disciple.) When Yoda sends Luke on a journey to rescue treasure from a ferocious beast, Luke at first cannot understand why his monastic mentor would suddenly be making a selfish request. But, as with all of Yoda’s teachings, there is a deeper meaning. Daxiong’s art is vivid and perfect for action scenes, though he seems unable to draw any facial expressions which would allow his characters to show emotion. Luckily Taylor’s writing is strong enough to carry the story through to a full-circle finish that is not preachy or overly pat.

From there, Taylor turns his focus onto Darth Vader, crafting a story which shows off the massive power Vader commands, while also clearly pointing out the flaws in his philosophy of servitude to the Dark Side. Vader uses a captured smuggler named Luca to get to a Rebel base hidden deep within an asteroid field, but Luca is a wisecracking man who does not lightly given into authority. The brilliance in Taylor’s story is that Luca is not a stand-in for Han Solo. He is very much his own person, a theme which is central to the point Taylor aims to make. The ending of the tale is shocking, powerful, and will force readers to think about the nature of free will.” - Graphic Novel Reporter

The Authority #25 – “This is Gonna Suck”

“Don’t let the title of the issue fool you. It does everything BUT suck! But rest assured, Tom Taylor finds a clever way to present the title too. I personally thought it was hilarious how he did it.  But the creative team’s not done with us yet. As the solicits reads ‘The Carrier appears to finally be approaching its ultimate destination’. Taylor not only gives us a cool little twist at the end but also leaves us with a great cliffhanger!” - Wildstorm Addiction

Star Wars Invasion: Rescues #3

“Probably one of the best issues in terms of action and moving the story along.”

“I definitely will say I liked this issue. The action was there and the story didn’t drag out but thrust us to the next level.
Overall the issue was solid and action intense. Taylor and Wilson delivered.” - NJOE.com

I seriously urge everyone to pick up this book.  I had such a great time writing Vader and I couldn’t be much happier with how the script came together on this one.  A few people have been worried that Vader will be less menacing or less powerful in this book.  Trust me; Vader gets to be Vader;  the Vader I know and respect (and fear), one of the greatest bad guys of all time.  And the supporting character in this book, Luca, gets away with more than you would expect from an Adventures tale.

Gun fights, space battles, pathos and humor.

Get this book!

I will be over at the San Diego Comic Con when it’s released… I imagine I’ll be able to find a copy there.  I’ve been waiting for the release of this book for a very long time.

You can see a preview for The Will of Darth Vader right here – with art by Brian Koschak.

Full SDCC appearance schedule coming soon…

Click the pic for the review.

I’m really happy to see so many nice things written about this book and even happier that I get to follow it up with The Will of Darth Vader, which is one of the most fun scripts I’ve written.

Stay tuned for more Star Wars news soon…

Twice the eye-candy.

Jo’s Chen’s latest Invasion cover has been on high rotation as my desktop wallpaper for the last month.  I love it.  And, hey, the other one is Vader looking like a bad ass.

STAR WARS ADVENTURES: THE WILL OF DARTH VADER

Tom Taylor (W), Brain Koschak (P), Dan Parsons (I), Michael Wiggam (C), and Sean McNally (Cover)

On sale Aug 11
FC, 80 pages
$7.99
TPB, 5 1/4″ x 7 1/2″

Darth Vader is on a mission for the Emperor!

When the Rebellion’s hit-and-run attacks on Imperial cargo ships become too audacious to be ignored, Darth Vader is sent in to find the Rebel base and destroy it. But the base, hidden in the center of a constantly shifting asteroid field, cannot be attacked directly.

To reach his target, Vader will have to team up with a recently captured smuggler named Zika—and dealing with an unwilling, wisecracking partner may be more of a trial for the Dark Lord than the actual mission!

STAR WARS: INVASION—RESCUES #2 (of 6)

Tom Taylor (W), Colin Wilson (A), Wes Dzioba (C), and Jo Chen (Cover)

On sale June 30
FC, 40 pages
$2.99
Miniseries

New and vital knowledge sends Finn Galfridian with Jacen and Jaina Solo on a mission to the planet of Artorias. Though Finn does not know if his father, Caled, lives, if there is any chance, he must be warned of new dangers. It’s a hot and dangerous ride to Artorias, and the occupying Yuuzhan Vong are ready with a toothsome, ravaging welcome . . .

Meanwhile, Kaye and Nina, board their newly acquired Vong ship, embark on their own mission. It’s one they can’t refuse: rescuing captives held on a dead planet. There is no telling what peril will meet the rescue party . . .

A HUGE thank you to everyone who bought the book and to everyone who’s planning to.

TOP 100 GRAPHIC NOVELS
Based on Total Unit Sales of Products Invoiced in February 2010

“Tom did a great job of capturing the feeling of Luke and Yoda, it felt like the characters I have seen on the screen for the last 30 years, nothing felt forced with their dialogue.”

“There’s danger, excitement, humor, and a good dose of Luke’s determination all brought to the forefront with this story.  I highly recommend this digest if you want to see more of what Luke endured on Dagobah and what helped shape him into the Jedi he became.  Luke Skywalker and the Treasure of the Dragonsnakes is an excellent story and a great way to kick off the thirtieth anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back.” – NJOE.com

Click the image below for the full review.

Another review has surfaced over at Fancore Daily

“Didn’t you always want to see more of that training, and what it takes to become a Jedi Knight? Well, then this comic was written just for you!”

“The writing, by Tom Taylor, manages to flesh out one of the greatest stories ever told on film, while not trampling all over it, and that is a feat unto itself.”

“The plot is only part of what makes this story great. What this book does better than most Star Wars comics, is that it takes you back to that familiar place, and delivers in a way that matches up to what you remember. I’m a pretty hardcore Star Wars fan…And I’m pretty harsh on Dark Horse and the comics they choose to publish sometimes. Heck, I’m hard on the entire Expanded Universe of Star Wars.  But where those comics fail, this is one of the ones that succeeds!” – FANCORE DAILY

As readers may know, this book is set on Dagobah during Empire Strikes Back but surely the movie covered everything… right?  Nope.  A big question has been constantly asked about the movie and the answer could lie in the pages of this book.  As a teaser to the release, I’ve sent a cryptic message to theforce.net about Yoda and R2 D2 which you can read right here – “Yoda and R2 D2 speak on Dagobah! Tom Taylor makes an announcement…”

If that’s not enough to get you excited, Daxiong’s art is incredible and this book is still about Yoda training Luke Skywalker!  Release your inner fanboy/fangirl – pick this up!

I went into Luke Skywalker and the Treasure of the Dragonsnakes with some trepidation.  Writing an untold story of Yoda, Luke and Artoo set during Empire Strikes Back was a real honour and a responsibility I didn’t take lightly.  I agonised over every word in that book and hopefully people will dig it.  Daxiong’s beautifully drawn Yoda is worth the cost of admission alone.

With the script to The Will of Darth Vader I was able to let loose, have fun, and show piles of destruction.  Oh… and I was given the chance to write Darth Vader – the greatest villain of all time!!

I’m actually interviewed in two separate articles in this month’s Star Wars: Insider magazine; an article about the future of Star Wars: Invasion and an article about Luke Skywalker and the Treasure of the Dragonsnakes – which is due out on the 3rd of February.

It’s a big week, with Star Wars: Insider one of two internationally released magazines I’m interviewed in.  There are also a pile of other things happening which I’ll be posting about later.

STAR WARS ADVENTURES: LUKE SKYWALKER AND THE TREASURE OF THE DRAGONSNAKES

Tom Taylor (W) and Daxiong (A)

On sale Jan 20
FC, 80 pages
$7.95
TPB, 5 1/4″ x 7 1/2″

The movie The Empire Strikes Back shows us only a small portion of Luke Skywalker’s Jedi training under the tutelage of Master Yoda. In this story, witness a never-before-seen part of that training as Luke is given the task of finding—and retrieving—an object guarded by the deadliest creatures on the swamp world of Dagobah: the monstrous dragonsnakes!

This is the most harrowing, dangerous, and muddiest mission that Luke has ever faced!

• Luke Skywalker trains to become a Jedi Knight with Master Yoda!

• The Star Wars Adventures series are parent friendly and perfect for younger readers as well as longtime Star Wars fans.