From 2001-2003, Nathan P. Butler penned reviews of all ten issues of the then-new magazine Star Wars Gamer for this site. After years of moving the site around, much of the old content was lost but as I come across old files, I like to repost them as “retro” articles. Nathan’s reviews were fun, entertaining, and truthful. They also bring us back to a time when the Prequels were still being created and give us a different snapshot in time of Star Wars fandom. If you like old magazines or gaming, these reviews might interest you enough to go find some old copies on eBay for nostalgia’s sake. These reviews were originally posted individually as the issues were released, but I’m going to compile them all here into one big review for readability. Unfortunately, due to a technical error, the review for Issue #2 was lost. All apologies. Here’s Nathan…
Tag: magazine
Interview with Randy Martinez
(Original posting: May 22, 2004)
I had the pleasure of meeting Randy Martinez, a wonderfully talented artist from Hollywood, California, a while before Episode I was released, back in the days when the Internet was still young and adventurous. Randy’s come a long way since the old days of Star Wars fandom, creating pieces for popular magazines and newspapers like the Los Angeles Times, plus official pieces for Lucasfil and other companies. Not only has he done work for the now defunct Star Wars Kids magazine, but you’ve seen his his cartoons gracing the pages of the Star Wars Insider. I figured it was time for a proper interview. (Original posting: May 22, 2004)
Interview with Jon Bradley Snyder
(Original posting: February 09, 2001)
Jon Bradley Snyder grew up in Spokane, Washington. He attended The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington in the late 80’s where he was very involved in the music scene. “I did some intern work the music labels K Records and Sub-Pop before I returned to Spokane and was a PA on the MGM movie Benny and Joon, which filmed there on location in 1992,” he stated. He moved to San Francisco in late 1992 to work in publishing and helped form co-op small press imprint called “High Drive Publications” which was the imprint under which his first Star Wars publication Report from the Star Wars Generation was published. During this time he worked at a variety of jobs including BBDO advertising agency, Maverick Magazine Consulting, and wrote for various magazines including Rocktober, The Stranger, and Topps’ Batman Forever movie magazine. He also edited the first issues of Megan Kelso’s Girl Hero comic book. In 1995, he created the imprint Dodecaphonic Books for the express purpose of publishing a collection of Nickelodeon cartoonist Sam Henderson’s work entitled Humor Can Be Funny. In 1996 he moved to Denver, Colorado to work full time for Fantastic Media after working for them offsite for two years. “In May of that year I went to Tunisia with David West Reynolds on a Star Wars location trip that was the grand prize of the first Decipher Star Wars CCG tournament. I launched Star Wars Kids magazine for Scholastic in 1998. I then co-produced the Star Wars Celebration in 1999, and I almost forgot to mention that I was a contributing editor for Sci Fi Universe for 5 years,” said Snyder. Currently, he’s is working off-site for Fantastic Media in North Carolina where his partner, Heidi, is teaching art. They live with their 15-month-old son named Jackson. Jon took some time out to chat with old T-bone about life before and after The Insider.
(Original posting: February 09, 2001)
A New Collecting Magazine Hits the Stands
Cool & Collected is the name of the new magazine that just began its run this winter, prompted by a successful Kickstarter campaign. The tagline for the magazine is, “The magazine for pop culture collectors.” The first issue has an article about everyone’s favorite bounty hunter, Boba Fett!
A magazine, you ask? Well, for the Kickstarter generation, you may not realize this, but people used to have to spend considerable time looking for the things they liked to collect. Looking at this magazine brought to mind memories of how collecting used to be and how far it has come.
A review and look inside the first issue can be found here. For a better look, you can purchase from the link above.
We all know that the Internet has changed the way we acquire and process information. Long gone are the days when it was necessary to read the morning paper and wait for the televised evening news to tell you what was going on in the world. Now, everything (whether you want to know it or not) is just a click away. Read More