The 110th Offical Star Wars Homing Beacon has arrived, and in this issue we read about the aliens in the upcoming Episode III. Star Wars wouldn't be the Star Wars without its various species and unusual creatures that dominate the screen. No one understands the importance of latex masks, fake appendages and creepy eyes than Episode III Creature Shop Creative Supervisor, Dave Elsey.

"We create anything that's not human -- all of the aliens basically," Elsey explains. "This includes anything that has any appendages, horns, contact lenses, teeth, and eyes -- right up to full suits and animatronics."

When an actor who must undergo prosthetic makeup first arrives on the Episode III set, he or she will meet Elsey and his team and then prepare the daunting undertaking of being cloned -- that is, having a duplicate made of their faces.

"Usually our initial dealing with the actor is when they arrive and meet us for the first time, we shake hands, and then we get them to strip down and wrap them in plastic and put bald caps on their heads," Elsey explains. "Then we take what is called a 'life cast,' which is a plaster cast of their heads. Actually, it's quite a good ice breaker, because the first thing we do is dump a load of gunge on their head and we use a material called alginate, which is used for dental casts. We basically mix up a bucket of that and we completely cover their heads in that material, then we back that up with plaster bandages and open it up and we make plaster casts. These casts have to be very, very detailed for what we're doing -- literally every skin pore has to be in the right place."

These casts serve as stand-ins for the real faces during the time-consuming sculpting phase. The artists in the Creature Shop build their material atop the casts, so that when their masks are finalized, they will fit perfectly to an actor's features. When the pieces of prosthetic makeup are ready to go on the actor, he or she will often sit in the makeup chair for hours as Elsey's team carefully place each piece in its exact place.

"It's good for the actor, because he gets to sit there and watch the whole thing develop from the makeup chair, right from scratch, because he has no idea really what's going to happen up until that point." In one unusual instance, Elsey and his team were asked to create an exact duplicate of Ewan McGregor as Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, which was later nicknamed Foamy-Wan Kenobi.

"When the scripts arrived it seemed that Hayden Christensen was going to be carrying around Ewan for days on the shoot, and we didn't want Hayden to put his back out straight away as soon as he started production. So we made a lightweight version that looks exactly like Ewan. It's going to be a very interesting collector's piece by the end of the movie," Elsey chuckles.

As most of you have heard by now, Hasbro is honoring the DVD release of the original three Star Wars movies with the Original Trilogy Collection product line (OTC for short). The most remarkable feature of this new line is the retro-style packaging - black and silver, reminiscent of the late 1970’s. The new version displays each figure in front of a unique background from the movie scene they’re from to bring the figures to life.

The Original Trilogy Collection will be released this Fall and will include 3¾” basic figures, 3¾” premium figures (titled Vintage because of the reproduction of the basic figure packaging front from the 70’s and 80’s), 12” premium figures, vehicles, and lightsabers. Here’s a checklist of the 3¾” OTC action figures to help get you started with your collection. (The only other 3¾” OTC figure that is currently planned but not included in this list is the fan-selected Imperial Trooper.)

The Official Star Wars Site has provided a look at what Dark Horse Comics has in store for Star Wars fans in August. Han and Chewbecca meet old pals, Jedi Aayla Secura and Clone Commander Bly fight against dark Jedi Quinlan Vos, and collectors celebrate the art of Star Wars comics with a new retrospective book.

Han Solo and Chewbacca are tapped by the Rebel Alliance for a mission that requires their special skills and knowledge of the underworld. But for Han, it's a chance to get away from the new responsibilities he's taken on since joining the Rebellion and indulge his former free-booting ways. Visiting old haunts brings chance meetings with old friends. But some friendships may only be as deep as one's pockets, and when a fellow smuggler learns of the Imperial bounty on their heads, Han and Chewie's mini-vacation threatens to become a life sentence! Rollicking fun, high adventure, and deep danger featuring everybody's favorite rogues!

Star Wars: Empire #24 is by Ron Marz, with cover art by Jeff Johnson. It is scheduled for release on August 7.

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Pursuing the lost plans for a Separatist secret weapon, Jedi Aayla Secura has a showdown with her former Master and friend turned dark Jedi-Quinlan Vos.

Clone Commander Bly, accompanying his Jedi General Aayla Secura, understands the purpose and function of the armor he wears. But as he experiences the confrontation between Aayla and Quin, he witnesses the strengths -- and weaknesses -- of the mental, emotional, and spiritual "armor" worn by each of the combatants.

In this special issue, told from Bly's point of view, the mysteries of the Jedi are seen from a human perspective. And when the turmoil wrought upon the Jedi by the Clone Wars and the seething power of the dark side threatens them all, Bly, Aayla, and Quin must each make a life-or-death decision.

Star Wars: Republic #68 is by John Ostrander, and features art by Jan Duursema and Dan Parsons. It is scheduled for release on August 25.

From 1992 to 1999, Dark Horse Comics was virtually the only source of new Star Wars visual art. Even after the release of the new films, the talented artists at Dark Horse have continued to expand thee depth and breadth of the Star Wars galaxy. From ancient Jedi to alien worlds, from fantastic creatures to faster-than-light spaceships, no other publisher has produced so many dazzling images from our generation's greatest mythology.

Dark Horse Comics celebrates the art of Star Wars comics with a new book, Star Wars: Panel to Panel. This book showcases an amazing selection of covers and interior images from over a decade of Dark Horse's comics and graphic novels, by some of the best artists the world over including Dave Dorman, Hugh Fleming, Cam Kennedy, Tsuneo Sanda, Terese Nielsen, Kia Asamiya, Jon Foster, Kilian Plunkett and more.

Star Wars: Panel to Panel is scheduled for release on September 29.