Tom Veitch helped keep the Force alive in a time when Star Wars was dying. Veitch was one of the leading comic book writers for the Star Wars Dark Horse line in the 1990s and introduced stories and concepts that are still relevant today. The author of Star Wars died recently at the age of 80, according to Wookieepedia.
After Return of the Jedi was released in 1983, Star Wars largely left the mainstream. Without future movies, most people stopped caring. It would take until the 90s to see material released that begin to revive the franchise, after a few key publications appeared in the 80s. In 1991, Timothy Zahn's novel, Heir to the Empire, was released. Tom Veitch wrote Star Wars: Dark Empire. The resurrection of Emperor Palpatine in clone form was one of the ideas that came to fruition decades later on the big screen. The series, illustrated by Cam Kennedy, was a smash and was followed by two sequel series: Star Wars: Dark Empire II and Star Wars: Empire's End, all of which were written by Veitch.
Veitch had his most far-reaching idea yet, even though his and Zahn's works were simultaneously exploring a post-Return of the Jedi world. If things went backwards, what would happen? Veitch wrote Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, the first game in the series, in the fall of 1993. Veitch's work exploring the history of Star Wars with new characters inspired a whole new chapter of the franchise. It's an idea that's still alive in Knights of the Old Republic and in Star Wars: The High Republic.
Veitch's career was defined by his landmark work in a galaxy far, far, away, but it was not the only thing he did. He was a monk for several years and wrote a book about his experiences. He did creator-owned graphic novels such as The Light and the Darkness and My Name Is Chaos. He was an accomplished poet and did superhero work for DC. He will always be one of the people who kept Star Wars alive long enough for it to become what it is today.
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