See the press release below...

"As many of you know Scholastic books has just released "Rebel Force" books "Target" and "Hostage". It's an exciting series that takes place weeks after the Death Star has been destroyed in "A New Hope".

What many do not realize is that the exciting Illustrations on the front and back cover were done by non other than Star Wars artist Randy Martinez, who has signed on for 10 books! The covers are an exciting mixture of photography background and colorfully executed illustrations. Originally the backgrounds were to be illustrated by Martinez, but the design department elected to use photographs. It is still a exciting new design that Star Wars fans have not seen before.

"Different" was the key word used when creating these covers with Art Director Rick DeMonico. " From Design to the poses of the characters, we tried to do things that fans have not seen time and time again. It has been a particularly fun project because I have been given access to TONS of never before seen movie stills and PR shots. The idea is to give the fans something new, from something we all know very well."

Rebel Force also offers new characters, and one of the most intriguing and interesting is X7. He's not all that he seems to be and Martinez was given the honors to help design him. "We went through a lot of different versions of X7. He was a really difficult character to create because he had to have three very contradictory elements to him. He had to be weathered and grizzled, like he had seen a lot of action. But he also had to have "kind" eyes, like he was someone you could talk to about anything. But then again, he had to be cold, and empty of any feelings at all. I mean how do you do capture that? But we did, and he will be revealed on the back cover of book 3 RENEGADE."

Rebel Force can be purchased at any major book store that carries Scholastic Books, Amazon.com, and you can even pick up a signed copy or two from Randy Martinez himself at any of his Con appearances. So pick up Star Wars "Rebel Force" for some good art and a good read!"

Randy Martinez's upcoming Convention Schedule:
Wonder Con (San Francisco) February 27 2009
Frank and Sons (City of Industry, CA) March 2009
San Diego Comic Con (San Diego CA) July 2009






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