A close friend of mine called me up at work yesterday afternoon to say that she heard on the news that Judas Priest, one of my favorite bands ever, were going to be performing on the season finale of American Idol. I immediately began a frenzied Google search for any confirmation on this news, but all it yield were results for the video of contestant James Durbin singing the band’s popular tune, “You Got Another Thing Coming” from an episode in early March. Therefore, I assumed my friend must have just misunderstood what she heard on the news.

With Idol season finale airing tonight, now I’m starting to see rumors pop up online of Judas Priest’s possible appearance on the over 2-hour episode, which begins at 8pm on Fox. Word is that the band will perform with the 22-year-old Durbin, who was eliminated from Idol earlier this month.

May the Force be with you all! Geeks of Doom will be posting a couple of Star Wars articles today, May 25, for Universal Day of the Jedi, which celebrates the anniversary of the release of the first Star Wars movie.

This year, Universal Day of the Jedi also celebrates the anniversary of Timothy Zahn‘s novel, Heir to the Empire. The initial release of this novel 20 years ago this month is significant, because it was quite literally groundbreaking: its impact would open the floodgates for an amazing deluge of Star Wars novels and comics – turning the Expanded Universe into an EXPANDING Universe.

Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy, of which Heir to the Empire is the first part, is widely regarded by many fans as one of the best series of Star Wars books to ever have been released. Some fans even consider the trilogy to be the equivalent of the closest we may ever get to a Star Wars Sequel Trilogy. Timothy Zahn has continued his journeys into the Expanded Star Wars Universe through the years – exploring deeper into the history and legacy of Grand Admiral Thrawn, the continual growing relationship between Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade, and also the mysteries behind the enigmatic Outbound Flight.

I figured with this month being the anniversary of Zahn’s masterpiece, and also with today being Universal Day of the Jedi, it would be a good opportunity to take a look back at some of the finer examples of Star Wars novels over the years.

May the Force be with you all! Geeks of Doom will be posting a couple of Star Wars articles today, May 25, for Universal Day of the Jedi, which celebrates the anniversary of the release of the first Star Wars movie.

Throughout the history of the Star Wars film saga, we’re taught that there are only two perceptions, or sides, of the Force: the side embraced by the Jedi, and the Dark Side as flaunted by Sith Lords. While the “good vs. evil” motif works well in the films, the Expanded Star Wars Universe explores the Force in depth, where fans have learned there is more than meets the eye than just the light side and the dark side.

Indeed, while George Lucas was painting in very broad strokes of black and white when it came to the Force, which added much to its vague and enigmatic nature in the Original Trilogy, subsequent authors and writers have since looked deeper into the shades of gray. As the Jedi continue forward to embrace the light side, and the Dark Jedi and Sith Lords continue their growth in the dark side, we find more characters and cultures that have very differing philosophies of the Force.

Let’s take a look at these different points of view…

May 25th is Towel Day!

On this great day, be sure to carry a towel around with you today in honor of the late great author Douglas Adams and his awesome book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

This international event is now celebrating its 11th anniversary with lots of stuff happening around the globe. Check out towelday.org to find out about Towel Day events. There’s also an event page on Facebook.

Each week, MK2Fac3 and Henchman21 read a lot of comics. Seriously, a lot of comics. Maybe too many comics. They look forward to some more than others, I mean, who doesn’t? So, let’s take a look into the depths of their pull list, grab some issues and we’ll let YOU know what the top books to look forward to are for the week of May 25, 2011. Single issues and trades, they’re all here.

MK2FAC3

ISSUES

There are a lot of great comics coming out this week, as usual, with some titles like Butcher Baker: The Righteous Maker, The Tattered Man one-shot from Palmiotti and Gray, The Mighty Thor, the flawless Snyder/JOCK Detective Comics, and a Strange Adventures anthology that features some of Vertigo’s best talent, but listed here below are some of the books I’m most interested in.

The Amory Wars: In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 #11 (Boom! Studios – $3.99): In its penultimate issue, the story inspired by Coheed and Cambria’s second full-length album comes to a head as the final chapter of this epic sci-fi adventure written by Coheed singer Claudio Sanchez and Peter David. The title centers around the growth of a young man into his role as the savior of the universe, and these last few issues will certainly set up the next exciting chapter of this incredible story. I’ve enjoyed every aspect of this series, and my excitement has reached its pinnacle. It’s a bit of a long mini-series, and there was an artist change, but so much happens in this book, and the difference between Burnham and Kuder is minimal, and in my opinion, worked out for the better on The Amory Wars. This is a personal favorite of mine, and I simply can’t wait to see how it all turns out.