As I scoured by means of it for the first time in a few years, I used to be blown away not simply by Rusty’s in depth Star Wars information but additionally by what the e book mentioned about how fandom, franchises, the idea of canon, and Star Wars itself has modified over the years.
Questions like “Who did Bend fend off at the Cantina?” and its reply “Snaggletooth,” the identify of the character that was packaged with the Kenner toy of the character, are an excellent instance of how some issues by no means change. Toys have at all times performed an enormous half in figuring out and revealing canon. That’s one thing that readers, followers, and filmmakers all nonetheless take care of at present. However whereas the struggles of making artwork below capitalism are the identical, the reply to Rusty’s query is completely different. Now Snaggletooth is nothing however the nickname of the Snivvian male named Zutton.
This was many years earlier than the web, so Rusty diligently explored what existed at the time: Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Again, and any information he might discover about the upcoming third movie, in addition to the burgeoning Star Wars publishing initiatives. In one other pleasant time capsule, as many Star Wars lovers know, Return of the Jedi was then going to be referred to as Revenge of the Jedi. That’s what Rusty put for his reply as a result of the title hadn’t but been modified as a consequence of the resolution by Lucas that Jedi can’t really feel or search revenge. Therefore that phrase was saved for many years till we received Revenge of the Sith.
That notion of the ever-shifting nature of canon and even titling is current all through the e book. But it surely additionally reminds us that regardless of all of that, some issues by no means change, or at the least they modify sufficient to return again to the place they began.
When Miller was collating the Jedi Grasp’s Quiz Book, Marvel Comics was behind the widespread Star Wars comics, one thing Miller included and that which is a factoid that proves true in 2025. Nevertheless, as somebody who has lived by means of nearly 4 many years of Star Wars fandom, I can inform you that hasn’t at all times been the case. Lots of the most well-known and well-known Star Wars comics as an example had been revealed by Darkish Horse. However as the tides go out and in, so do publishing developments. After the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney, Marvel—itself a brand new Disney subsidiary at the time—took the Star Wars comedian e book license again from Darkish Horse, just for it to at the moment be shared by each publishers in the current.
It’s an unwritten rule, however in 2025 to make a Star Wars venture is to make a narrative by committee, with many years of canon and continuity to take care of. Conversely, in The Jedi Grasp’s Quiz Book Miller appeared nearly to be the sole holder of the canon of Star Wars, one thing most followers might by no means dream of. His dedication and dedication to a galaxy far, far-off meant that for a lot of children rising up, they too received to open up this tome and grow to be keepers of all the information and canon inside it. In an period earlier than Wikipedia and the web generally, Rusty Miller turned one in all the earliest in a grand custom of followers to take canon, kind it, and outline it along with his personal palms.