ENDLESS SITH SUMMER 

Pop Fandom's biggest party is here upon us once again, and Galactic Hunter will be there to give you the latest dish and photos from Hasbro, LEGO, Gentle Giant, Master Replicas, Sideshow Collectibles, and much, much more. Revenge of the Sith overpowered the box office this summer, grossing $371 million domestically to date, and Lucasfilm plans to keep the Star Wars juggernaut going with a television series planned for release in 2006 among others. Appropriately enough, "Star Wars is Forever" is the overriding theme for Lucasfilm and their partners for Comic-Con 2005, and with the 30th Anniversary looming just around the corner "Forever" will stick around for awhile.

It wouldn't be a worthy convention without exclusives, and Comic-Con has its fair share of Star Wars convention swag again this year. StarWarsShop is offering an exclusive Holographic Princess Leia carded similar to last year's Original Trilogy Collection design. Hasbro is going back to basic black for 2006 and rechristening the line as SAGA, and this somewhat "re-issued" Holo Leia is an appetizer for what's to come. Gentle Giant scales back their exclusive by offering a simple and more affordable Silver Jango Fett Bust-Up as opposed to their minibust offerings of the past, while Master Replicas continues their tradition of .45 scale lightsaber exclusives with the Black Chrome Yoda Lightsaber. Sideshow Collectibles is offering a variant of their 1/4 Scale Premium Format Luke Skywalker figure with a floppy hat, poncho, and goggles which was limited to only 500 pieces and quickly sold out as a pre-order in their website.

There will be plenty of activity in Lucasfilm's Star Wars Pavilion as well as another edition of Steve Sansweet's fan favorite Star Wars spectacular on Saturday. While it will be a challenge to top last year's unveiling of the title of Episode III, we're sure Steve has a few tricks up his sleeve once again to keep it entertaining.

The curtain is ready to go up, and the big show is about to begin. Keep checking back  for updates throughout the week beginning today from Team Galactic Hunter, as we present Comic-Con 2005!

Mike Sullenger
Editor-In-Chief