The Star Wars Insider released their landmark 200th issue last week, and it's a doozy! Star Wars Insider #200 pays homage to all things fans love about Star Wars, and includes a one-off edition of Anthony Daniels "Wonder Column", which appeared in early issues of the magazine, as well as interviews with cast and creatives involved in the galaxy far, far away about why they love the saga.
All-new and exlusive ongoing fiction has returned to Star Wars Insider as well! Issue #200 features the final part of Charles Soule's Star Wars: The High Republic prequel story, Starlight.
The 200th issue features a few different covers, including the newsstand cover with the star of the Emmy Award-winning Disney+ live-action series The Mandalorian, and a Diamond Exclusive cover featuring work by comic artist Peach Momoko. The covers are sprinkled throughout our interview with the editor of Star Wars Insider #200, Christopher Cooper, below!
The Star Wars Insider began in 1987 as The Lucasfilm Fan Club Magazine. After 22 issues, the name was changed in 1994 to Its present title (Star Wars Insider). Titan Publishing has been Its home since issue #93.
200 issues! What a great achievement! Was there a lot of additional work that went into this particular issue, versus previous issues?
What with one thing or another, it’s been a long journey to issue 200, and a lot of work has gone into making it as special as possible. Not least of which, I baked a birthday cake. And I’m no baker.
But beyond the sheer length of last year, while we’ve gone all out to make issue 200 as celebratory as possible, I have a dedicated team of writers, a brilliant designer, and great support staff at Titan who give the same level of attention to every issue. Each issue is special to us, cheesy as that might sound, and we put the hours in. There were just a few more hours this time out.
What affects did COVID-19 have on creating and publishing Star Wars Insider?
Sadly, we were forced to go on hiatus for several months last year, which was a difficult decision. The frustrating thing was that we couldn’t get the magazine out there throughout the summer, when I’m sure our readers could have done with a bit of extra Star Wars in their lives. But, conversely, that time gave me a chance to recharge my coaxium cells and gather my thoughts for when we came back, which I’m sure has benefitted the magazine, and issue 200 especially.
With Star Wars appearing in so many different media (film, TV/streaming, comics, novels, toys and collectibles) how do you decide what and when to cover? Does Star Wars Insider ever have to skip or push content to future issues often?
My goal has always been to fill each issue with features that have an appeal to both the broader Star Wars fan base but also speak specifically to one of our many little fan sub-groups—Rebels fans, or cosplayers, or model makers, for example. There are as many different fandoms within the Star Wars community as there are TV episodes, movies, and action figures, and we all like Star Wars in our own individual ways, so my commissioning process is to say, “Here’s a feature that will appeal to this group, so I’ll need something in this issue that will also appeal to this other group.” That way, hopefully there’s something in each issue that suits every taste.
We plan ahead, so if something new comes along and the time is right to cover that, we might accommodate it by shuffling another feature back an issue. Every issue plan has some flexibility in it, and the aim is always to be relevant to what’s going on without compromising on that inclusivity.
As someone who absolutely detests spoilers, and often has to skip content on my own web site (ComicBookMovie.com), how to do you avoid spoilers when creating content for the magazine? Is it possible?
I’m absolutely with you, and I avoid spoilers like… well, I was going to say, “like the plague,” but given the current global scenario, that’s probably not the best expression! And it’s not as difficult as you might think. Insider isn’t in the business of printing spoilers anyway, so that helps. Our remit is really to examine new Star Wars after the event, or at least concurrently with a new release, so I can easily put off seeing stuff I don’t want to. I actively avoid internet rumors, and where learning things is unavoidable, I’ll try to ignore the finer detail and focus on the bigger picture until I absolutely have to be spoilt. It is fun to see photos in advance, though.
What is your favorite part of Star Wars Insider #200?
There’s so much in it I’m proud of. We’ve got a fantastic interview with Ian McDiarmid, which is a lot of fun, and there’s a big feature on the 200 reasons that we love Star Wars, which has contributions from numerous Star Wars alumni and other interesting people. I made that cake, as I mentioned, which features in one of our new regular features (it’s not a cooking section, don’t worry). You’ll need to pick up a copy to find out exactly why that is one of my favorite things about the issue. All I’ll say is it’s even more retro than the issue’s subscriber exclusive cover, which has been in my mind’s eye for about two years.
I think it’s a really entertaining issue.
With The Mandalorian Season 2 airing over the holidays, what was your favorite episode?
That’s a tough question, because I loved them all. Season Two really kicked the show up a gear. If pressed, I’m an Ahsoka fan, so The Jedi is certainly in the running, but my favorite can only be a list of all 8. Which is a rubbish answer, I know.
Favorite scene is easy, though: Grogu reaching out to touch Din’s cheek at the end of The Rescue. Anyone who wasn’t moved by that moment has a heart of stone. Heartbreaking and wonderful at the same time. Up there with Luke discarding his lightsaber and defying the Emperor in Return of the Jedi.
What upcoming Star Wars projects are you particularly excited for?
That’ll be another list answer from me. Where do I start…?
You can find Star Wars Insider issue #200 on newsstands, local comic book shops Forbidden Planet (UK and Europe) and digital devices now! There is also currently a special subscription offer that will get you 8 issues for $47.99 (40% off the newsstand price). Click here to check it out!
Have you picked a copy of Star Wars Insider #200 yet? What did you think of their bicentennial issue? Sound off in the comments area below!