Category: Butler Confessions

The Curious Case of Sheev Palpatine

Posted on March 31, 2020April 3, 2020 by Chris

“The Sith had undoubtedly been planning this for years. Maybe generations. […] She should have known Palpatine would have a contingency plan in place.”

It’s hard to keep a good villain down. When Star Wars was launched in 1977, we never met the Emperor of the fabled and hated Galactic Empire that Luke is so eager to rebel against. Little did viewers know in 1977 that they were being introduced to a highly complex villain, whose plans for galactic conquest would stretch over 60 years, including magic, political subterfuge, clones, apprentices, and lots and lots of Force lightning. Have you ever wondered how broad and complex his plan was? Read along as we uncover the Curious Case of Sheev Palpatine and his plan that changed a galaxy!

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Top 10 Unforgettable Comic Moments from 2015-2019 in Star Wars Canon by Ryan and Chris, Part III

Posted on March 13, 2020February 24, 2025 by Head Butler Ryan

And now it’s all come down to this! The Manor’s Top 10 Unforgettable Comic Moments in Star Wars Canon has reached Part III, the grand finale covering Chris and Ryan’s picks for their top 4-1 moments! If you haven’t already, make sure to get caught up with Parts I (spots 10-8) and Part II (spots 7-5) to see what we’ve already picked. Without any more pretense, head below for Part III’s dive into spots 4-1! Continue reading “Top 10 Unforgettable Comic Moments from 2015-2019 in Star Wars Canon by Ryan and Chris, Part III” →

Top 10 Unforgettable Comic Moments from 2015-2019 in Star Wars Canon by Ryan and Chris, Part II

Posted on March 11, 2020February 24, 2025 by Head Butler Ryan

With 5 years of new canon comic stories behind us, and many uncountable more in front of us, I enlisted the Manor’s Sous Chef Chris to join me in rounding up a Top 10 list of Unforgettable moments from the comics so far. The first part of the Top 10 moments dealt with plenty of Doctor Aphra (surprise!) and Jar Jar Binks (maybe actually a surprise), covering the 10-8 spots, while Part II today dives into spots 7-5, where you’ll find moments dealing with holocrons, wives (maybe not wives), droid agency, and so much more. Head below for Part II of the Manor’s Top 10 Unforgettable Comic Moments in Star Wars Canon check out Part III afterwards! Continue reading “Top 10 Unforgettable Comic Moments from 2015-2019 in Star Wars Canon by Ryan and Chris, Part II” →

Top 10 Unforgettable Comic Moments from 2015-2019 in Star Wars Canon by Ryan and Chris, Part I

Posted on March 8, 2020February 24, 2025 by Head Butler Ryan

When I was younger, I read a few stray issues of the Tales of the Jedi and the Shadows of the Empire: Evolution comic, but the majority of my engagement with Star Wars did not include comics, focusing mainly on the novels, video games, TV shows, and movies; heck, I didn’t read any comics outside of SW for some time. It wasn’t until I started writing for a SW fansite in 2012 that I finally decided to dig into Dark Horse’s comics, specifically something I always knew about and wanted to explore, but hadn’t: John Jackson Miller’s Knights of the Old Republic. Zayne’s exploits, the way it subtly tied into the games, and the hilarious Gryph really opened my eyes to what comics could do…and I promptly began exploring mainstream (non-superhero) comics like Y: The Last Man, Monstress, Descender, Fables, and more. Then I started my own fansite. And then Marvel took back SW comics from Dark Horse. I decided I wanted to cover this new batch of stories from Marvel (and later IDW) for the Manor and the comics hooked me ever since, as I’m now unable to imagine engaging with the Saga without reading/enjoying/and dissecting the comics.

After 5 years of new comics (2015-2019) and inspired by Eleven-ThirtyEight’s “The 20 Most Memorable Moments of the New Canon,” I enrolled Manor writer and canon completist Chris Wermeskerch to help me compile our top moments in the comics! We both wrote our own separate Top 10 lists, and to show how subjective they are right off the bat, we only overlapped on two (and 1/3) moments (and one’s rather predictable given our love for a certain rogue archaeologist)! In today’s post below, you’ll find our individual #10-8 entries, and you can find Part II here (#7-5), with the finale in Part III (#4-1). So without further ado, let’s dive into the Manor’s Top 10 Unforgettable Comic Moments Part I, by Chris and Ryan! Continue reading “Top 10 Unforgettable Comic Moments from 2015-2019 in Star Wars Canon by Ryan and Chris, Part I” →

A Toast to Mynocks: Celebrating Five Years of Canon (and Mynock Manor)

Posted on September 20, 2019September 23, 2019 by Head Butler Ryan

The five year milestone of both the new canon, which started with the excellent A New Dawn in September 2014, and of the site Mynock Manor itself is finally here and we have the article you’ve all been waiting for: a look back at the handling of the majestic, mighty, and marvelous mynock in canon over these past five years. Come along as I flutter into the mynocks’ greatest hits, improvements to make, and the newest additions to the great, nay greatest line of Star Wars creatures…of which we have ZERO bias towards. Continue reading “A Toast to Mynocks: Celebrating Five Years of Canon (and Mynock Manor)” →

Change is Something, Alright: 2018 Star Wars Comics Year-In-Review

Posted on January 11, 2019January 6, 2024 by Head Butler Ryan

Change seeped into every aspect of the comics in 2018, from series like Poe Dameron and Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith ending, Doctor Aphra exploding into a new year of storytelling, IDW’s fun miniseries like Tales from Vader’s Castle, and the beginning of a new maxiseries, “Age of Star Wars.” Change also came to aspects behind-the-scenes, with a Marvel editor shake-up that has led to some dubious decisions, while I’ve personally had to adjust how I cover the comics thanks to some fantastic new life changes. Head below the cut to see my 2018 Star Wars Comics Year-in-Review, where I look at the ups and downs of a year full of change, my Top 5 moments of the year, and hopes/fears for 2019!

— Spoilers for comics released in 2018 — Continue reading “Change is Something, Alright: 2018 Star Wars Comics Year-In-Review” →

Ahch-To Or Bust: The Mynocks’ Adventure Across Ireland

Posted on July 2, 2018June 29, 2018 by Head Butler Ryan

Even drenched from the ocean’s spray, nothing could drown out my enthusiasm as we boated out into the wild sea. Swelling in my ears was “Rey’s Theme,” along with “Jedi Steps,” though no one was playing the tunes aloud. Alongside me, besides a handful of strangers and the driver, were two of my best friends, found at a Star Wars convention three years prior. On the horizon, an ancient, mysterious island, Skellig Michael, which I’ve only seen in my dreams (and a film or two), the culmination of our own long and nearly 100% cancelled journey to Ahch-To. Here’s the tale of the Mynocks’ Adventure to Ireland: Ahch-To or Bust. Continue reading “Ahch-To Or Bust: The Mynocks’ Adventure Across Ireland” →

Always Two There Are: 2017 Star Wars Comics Year-in-Review

Posted on January 7, 2018January 6, 2024 by Head Butler Ryan

With 2017 in the books, there’s plenty to discuss and dissect from its Star Wars comics, as not only did Marvel have plenty to offer fans, like a beat-every-expectation second Darth Vader series, Doctor Aphra‘s adventures went in directions not even I hoped, and the Star Wars mainline series changed writer hands, but the biggest news was how they weren’t going to be alone anymore: IDW joined the fray with its younger marketed Adventures series. But how has Marvel and IDW’s combined 80 issues of 2017 fared, what were their triumphs and failures, lessons and hardships? Without further ado, my 2017 Star Wars Comics Year-In-Review, while operating a little differently this year, will look back at what did and didn’t work, reveal my top 5 moments list with too many to pick from, and include some hopes and fears for 2018.

— Spoilers for comics released in 2017 — Continue reading “Always Two There Are: 2017 Star Wars Comics Year-in-Review” →

The Last Jedi and a New Hope

Posted on December 31, 2017 by Head Butler Ryan

Everything in The Last Jedi leads to hope being straight up strangled, stabbed in the back, forced to drink green milk directly from a Thala-siren, and left for dead, not just for its characters, but for the audience as well. And it might be my favorite thematic aspect of the film. But don’t worry, neither The Last Jedi nor I are soulless and evil, because this desecration of hope leads into its brilliant resurrection by the very end. Let’s take a look. Continue reading “The Last Jedi and a New Hope” →

A Star Wars Anthology Story: Retrospective on Jason Aaron’s Star Wars Comic Run (#1-37)

Posted on October 25, 2017April 23, 2021 by Head Butler Ryan

Since Marvel’s new beginnings with the Star Wars license, the Star Wars mainline series has been the backbone of the comics, providing adventurous tales about the Big Three: Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, and Han Solo. At the helm of the series since the start has been writer Jason Aaron, who has taken us on anthology-lite arcs of story between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, filling in what’s becoming quite the crowded era. His stories contained everything from big surprises were you least expected them to character moments big and small. And after 37 issues, stretching from January 2015 to October 2017, Jason Aaron’s run has come to an end. Having read the series since its inception, it’s time now to look back at Aaron’s legacy as this retrospective discusses what I feel has been the good, the bad, and the in-between of his nearly three year run. Continue reading “A Star Wars Anthology Story: Retrospective on Jason Aaron’s Star Wars Comic Run (#1-37)” →