From the Library to Star Wars Legends Podcasting

Much like Luke Skywalker, I grew up in a small, off-the-beaten-path town that was as dusty as Tatooine and as far from the “action” of the rest of the world as I thought it could get. Besides playing sports with friends or duking it out on the Sega Genesis, you made your own fun. In fact, boredom was a fact of life that gave rise to imagination. That's how it was one fateful day when my mom dropped me off at the local library down the street from her office after school. After a “don’t talk to strangers” warning for good measure, I began perusing the stacks in search of something interesting.

Most of the time, my library routine included playing the Magic Schoolbus computer game on Windows 95, attempting to read a few pages of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire because I was pretentious like that, and then finally giving way to boredom in search of something that caught my eye.

One day, something did.

Little did I know it would set me on a trajectory that would lead to friendships with a diverse team of like-minded fans from all over the world, starting a podcast (a medium that didn’t exist at the time), and widening my love for a saga I had thus far only known on VHS.

On that fateful day in the public library, I discovered Dark Empire. Bound in a collected edition comprising all six issues of the critically acclaimed comic series from writer Tom Veitch and artist Cam Kennedy, Dark Empire reignited the flame of my love for Star Wars like nothing ever had or would.  

Marvel Comics

The opening page features a watercolor splash page of the Millennium Falcon blasting through a minefield of TIE fighter remains in the aftermath of Return of the Jedi. Soon, we learn that the Emperor has returned and aims to reconquer the galaxy as the New Republic struggles to quench the embers of the Imperial holdouts refusing to lay down arms after the destruction of the second Death Star. Not only that, but Luke Skywalker has been clearly changed by the events of the Original Trilogy. Moody and haunted, our hero isn’t looking so heroic in Veitch and Kennedy’s interpretation of the next chapter of the saga.

Marvel Comics

Needless to say, my interest was piqued.

Although the series was only six issues long, I felt as though I had been transported into another galaxy. As Luke faced an existential crisis about his inner pull to the dark side, I felt lost in the drama unfolding on the pages I had inadvertently discovered. This accidental encounter with a Star Wars story I had never heard of hammered home the notion that there was much more to discover in the galaxy far, far away — though this time, I would have to look to the printed page rather than the television screen.

In the weeks to come, I went on to find the surprisingly well-stocked shelves of our library's sci-fi section, with Star Wars titles such as Rogue Squadron and The Paradise Snare. Struggling to digest all of the adult Star Wars titles, I found the audiobook cassette tapes. I reenacted the stories with LEGO as I listened at home. Discovering a pattern in my reading tastes, our local librarian took it upon herself to aid me in my adventure, photocopying the timeline printed inside the front cover of the Expanded Universe titles at the time. That photocopy became my map to faraway worlds and treasures unheard of — at least at my lunch table.

I soon became a Star Wars books ambassador to my friend group. Much like Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith (though without the sinister undertones), I would regale them with, “Have you ever heard the tale of Ulic Qel Droma?” I became a repository for the hits, loaning my friends copies of Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina, The Thrawn Trilogy, and, eventually, the Darth Bane books.

While I didn't realize it at the time, I can see now that even then, it was really about community. Star Wars may have been the subject, but there was so much more to it.

From Consumer to Creator

It wasn’t until much later that I discovered Youtini on a podcast. I resonated with the mission and the ethos of our fearless leader, Corey Helton. Around the same time, I came across a book called The Tech-Wise Family about navigating the treacherous minefield of the digital age, and author Andy Crouch offered a tip that wormed its way into my conscience: Create more than you consume.

With this in mind, I started publishing my own Star Wars book reviews on Goodreads and Amazon for a couple of years. Then, I began to consider starting a podcast. My only hangups: I needed a partner to work with and someone who knew how to actually make a podcast!

Jared Mayes/Youtini

Then, one day, Corey emailed Youtini subscribers, asking for people to join the team to write and/or podcast. Though I was nervous, I responded to the call. Before I knew it, I was paired with none other than another ambitious fan who reached out the same day I did — someone I now consider one of my best friends in the world. After more than five years of podcasting together, bonds forged through creative collaboration and inside jokes galore began with a leap of faith in the form of an email.

Community

Since then, Youtini has led me to places I never could have anticipated going. I've had the chance to interview acclaimed Star Wars authors such as John Jackson Miller, Michael A. Stackpole, Matthew Stover, and others. I've attended and even officiated multiple weddings for friends I’ve met through Youtini, reconnected with old friends, and met a well-connected community in Discord where we interact at all hours of the day and night about all sorts of topics. The relationships I’ve made truly eclipse the actual Star Wars themselves.

Jared Mayes/Youtini

Becoming a writer and podcaster within the Star Wars fan community has certainly been great for finding friends within the Youtini team (watching a fellow co-host get down on the dance floor is quite the surprise after only seeing them from the shoulders-up for several years).

But it’s more than that. Connecting with fellow creators in the larger fan space was an eye-opening experience. Meeting other creators in person at events such as Star Wars Celebration was a refreshing experience to realize that the internet isn’t so insular after all. Add to that the rewarding moments of connecting with podcast listeners and community members at a recent Star Wars Legends convention. It’s astonishing just how much has come from deciding to actually do something with all the Star Wars content I was taking in. Remember, “luminous beings are we.”

Jared Mayes/Youtini

Conclusion 

For me, the leap from consumer to creator was one I had been hesitant to take for a while, but it began with small strides before growing into something bigger. I began writing and publishing reviews long before Youtini through a desire to share Star Wars book recommendations beyond the school lunch table — probably because I lived in the middle of nowhere at the time and wanted an outlet!

But the choice to find a community of people with shared interests and intentionally work on something productive toward a larger purpose with them was one of the best choices I’ve ever made. It’s exposed me to genuine people with perspectives that differ greatly from my own. We’ve had to navigate divergent opinions on everything from politics to religion to, yes, Star Wars. Building genuine relationships with plenty of space to have nuanced conversations that go beyond the anonymity of the internet has fostered a far-from-perfect, though wholesome, space for connection in the age of digital outrage and polarization.

Jared Mayes/Youtini

No matter where you live, start working on something creative! Post thoughts on the newest Star Wars books or TV shows on social media. Share your reviews with the world; Goodreads is as decent a starting place as any. For the ambitious, start a YouTube channel. Take the risk — maybe you’ll make some friends along the way.

Are you looking for a fan community to call your own? It certainly takes intentionality and a reasonableness that’s become increasingly rare in our culture. Our community with Youtini is one such place. But we do it while sharing an abounding love for Star Wars Legends — especially Dark Empire.