Subject: Re: Palbacca and the Neevoota Bees Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 04:02:21 GMT From: CardSafeNOSPAM@unix.asb.com (Rich Handley) Organization: Verio Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.starwars.misc Heh.. <> Heh heh... <> HEEHEEHEEHEEE!!!! :) Ohmihgod -- I'm in pain! :) Hi, Sean, What you are referring to is a long-running joke between me, Mike Beidler, and Tom Veitch that goes way back, (maybe four or five years or so). Every now and then, it re-surfaces, as this has. But it's quite funny. :) The story has two unconnected beginnings and a merging of those beginnings. Allow me to explain... First, Tom had gotten into a discussion with someone on the AOL boards who asked "What is that buzzing noise in the background of A New Hope?" The obvious answer was that this Einstein wannabe had purchased a bad copy of the tape. However, Tom decided to be a wise-guy and said it was the Nevoota Bee. The joke grew from there, for some people took it seriously and others simply went along with it for the sheer fun of it. In a short amount of time, the Nevoota Bee had developed an entire history and culture (all of it completely absurd and 100% false, of course). Meanwhile, as an April Fools' Day joke, I sent an email to some friends of mine, telling them that Dark Horse had just commissioned a sequel to Empire's End in which Palpatine returns to life once again (having been defeated by a Jedi named Brand in Empire's End), this time in the form of an insane clone of Chewbacca. Therefore, he was taking the name Palbacca. Some of my friends saw the joke for what it was, but a few believed me and started gossiping about it with others. The funniest moment was when another friend of mine, who hadn't been in the joke list, wrote to me asking if I knew anything about a new story about a Wookiee clone named Palbacca -- I just about pee'd my pants on that one! Enter Mike Beidler, author of the on-line Star Wars Literature Compendium and a good friend of mine for several years now. As an in-joke for me and Tom, he included in his Compendium an entry for "Scourge of the Nevoota Bee," a trilogy of novels and 50-part companion comic storyline by Mike Beidler and Tom Veitch, with audiobook adaptations read by Rich Handley. We all had a good laugh about it, especially since everything else in the Compendium was painstakingly factual. Over time, it grew as we added details to this. For one, I gave Mike titles for the novels: A Brand New Hope, The Empire Stings Back, and Return of the Yeti. For another, the release date was something like February 29 or March 32. The amazing thing is that the three of us STILL get email about this, all these years later... and every now and then, someone asks about it on a newsgroup. It never ceases to bring a smile to my face -- what started as a sarcastic comment from Tom, an April Fools' Day joke from me, and an in-joke from Mike has actually evolved into a long-lost chapter of Star Wars lore. Believe it or not, we occasionally run across other websites listing the stories and claiming they're on hold! What a riot! Long Live Palbacca!!! :) SLWalsh wrote: >A little back history: >Way back when I had AOL I remember seeing a report on some AOL SW group >about a new series of comics to be released by Dark Horse. It was a >64-or-so-issue series that had to do with the New Republic fighting an >alien group called the Neevoota (sp?) Bees. All the while, the Emperor >was brought back yet again...in a new body. His name: Palbacca (three >guesses who the clone body was...). For some reason I recall seeing >Rich Handley's name attached as co-writer; the other was...George Lucas. >As I type this now, I wonder "How the *&@# did I actually believe any >of this crap?!?!?!" I'm also wondering if any long-time RASSMers (not >many left...are there?) happened to see this themselves way back >then...? >Damn, do I feel like an ass for actually *believing* that story would >happen...well, at least some of my friends believed it too... :P >-- >Check out the New Gods Library at: >http://members.tripod.com/fastbak/ >Updates *every* Friday! >*** >Comics page: http://www.geocities.com/arcade2099/ >* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network * >The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free! Sincerely, Rich Handley (CardSafe@NO-SPAMunix.asb.com)