Star Wars Greeting Cards (1994)

 1994 was an odd time in Star Wars history. Just a few years prior, Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire was released ending what a lot of fans call the "dark times" when it seemed like we'd gotten all the Star Wars we ever would. 

After Return of the Jedi, the final Kenner toys, the Ewok TV movies, the Droids/Ewoks cartoons, and the original Marvel comic series ending in 1987 as far as we knew...that was it. (The West End RPG was just taking off but that's definitely not as mainstream as it is today.) I credit Zahn's books with kickstarting the Star Wars renaissance of the 90s. For better or worse, the next year we'd start getting new (beefier) action figures.

While going through more boxes for #BasementPurge2021 I found a Hallmark bag with some Star Wars greeting cards. These aren't something I generally collect so I'm going on the idea that these were the first new cards to be produced in awhile.

 

I thought they'd make a fun blog post and I can just make a Star Wars month out of May. Why keep it to just one day? 

Let's have a look!

 

Talisman: Star Wars Board Game

 Over the years, the Star Wars license has been slapped on many classic board games including Operation, Clue, Life, Trouble, at least a half dozen versions of Monopoly, and most recently, Uno. Unlike all these other games, you'll have to shop outside the US to get this one. I assume it's because Hasbro has licensing rights to board games in the US.

If you're not familiar with Talisman, it's a fun way to kill an afternoon with friends. The original is set in a generic fantasy world. Each player has a character with its own abilities. You travel around the board encountering creatures and places, finding allies and gear, and building up your power while searching for a Talisman that allows you to travel to the center of the board to win the game.

This version is basically the same but Star Wars-ified. In the original, a character can be Good, Neutral, or Evil. Here, there is only Good or Evil and you're making your way to the center to defeat or overthrow the Emperor on Exegol.

Monthly Media Recap - April 2021

 Wow, was it just me or did April fly by? 

 

Streaming

The Owl House (Disney Channel)

I happened on this when channel surfing and really liked the art and weirdness to it. Since all the eps are on Disney+ I decided to check it out from the start. I'm only a handful of episodes in but I am loving it. It's got an Adventure Time/Gravity Falls vibe to it which is not surprising, since the creator did storyboard art for GF and GF's creator is a creative consultant!

 

Creepshow (S2, Shudder)

I thought they were going to shoot themselves in the foot this season by putting what will likely be the best episode up first. The rest were pretty good and the season finale was great. Not as good as the opener but close behind.

Mindhunter (S1, Netflix)

I had seen a lot of people talking about it online but never really gave it a look until GI Jigsaw recommended it to me in last month's Recap when I mentioned I was on the lookout for some good true crime. I was a little hesitant at first because it was a show and not a documentary but it hooked me in pretty quickly. A couple eps in and Anna Torv showed up adding a whole new dynamic to the two main characters and that pretty much sealed the deal.

Gilmore Girls (S1, Netflix)

Yeah, yeah, I know. Not something I would ever expect to see show up here either! Mrs Dex wanted to watch it so I gave it a shot and it's really good. The Girls have great chemistry, the dialog is insanely witty, and there's plenty of people in the cast before they became household names to have fun going "Hey, look who it is!"