March of the Banthas
This scene doesn’t exist in the original theatrical release of Return of the Jedi. The Batha herd was added post 1997 for one of the special editions. Seeing the Banthas on the desert just makes me laugh. Somehow it’s a little more believable in the scenes in the 1977 Star Wars movie, set in the rocky Jundland Wastes, but its still puzzling how these animals aren’t extinct yet on Tatooine. Poor bastards! Then there’s the second shot on the right where they are apparently marching blinding toward a sandy cliff! They clearly have no clue where they are going! This will be the only strip this week as we give ourselves a small break. Please join us next Monday for the Sarlacc Pit!
As mentioned, on Saturday May 10th, Leanne and I attended our final comic convention of the year in the United States. The ANS Sci-Fi & Comic Con was the most fun we’ve had in a very long time. We were inducted into the Rebel Legion as honorary friends with a little ceremony led by Terrapin Base CO Charles Wright and presented with some beautiful plaques and membership badges. Thank you to everyone that turned out for the event to share in the fun and help raise money for the Arch Bishop Neal School.
Oh, and a personal highlight of the day was selling copies of my comic, Once Upon a Caper to several eleven year old girls. The comic stars an eleven year old girl with some burdensome super powers, so having girls of that age want to pick up and read the comic was a hugely rewarding moment for me.
I want to make a special thank you to Tom Boone, the show organizer for his hard work over the last three years putting together such a great show. It’s small, but bustling with energy and most importantly, kids! Tom even designed the Angry Birds Trench Run game that was set up at the Rebel Legion’s table. His love of Star Wars and community spirit are just another great inspiration for us to try and do more with Blue Milk Special’s reach.
Pictured above, Shep, Eric, Virgil, Hank and Leia Askin.
Rod and Leanne,
As obscure as the subject matter is, this one might just be my favorite strip yet!
I don’t know why, but I’m now thinking about Banthas in Bermuda Shorts, sitting around a pool at a Hawaiian Luau, drinking Pina Coladas, with a caption of “Banthas making the best of their environment”. 🙂
This made me laugh — those poor banthas! I checked the wiki entry on the overly furred creatures, and found the EU considers them the source of blue milk. So hang in there, guys!
Congrats on your well-deserved honors!
As a Canadian heading into a forecast hot summer; I know how they feel.
A Canadian hot summer, what is that about 45 Degrees Fahrenheit? 😉
When we’re lucky. lol
My honest opinion is that Banthas have been imported to Tatooine, like by some dumb slug with a fetish for Bantha milk.
Maybe they are solar or thermal powered? My BLACK cat can lay in the sun until you could fry an egg on her. Of course, she regularly finds a cool spot on the floor to pass out on…
In sci fi you can justify anything as alien – therefore, Banthas are clearly powered by photosynthesis (brown chlorophyll) and have a preferred body temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. See, now they’re happy!
Thanks for the kind words, Rod. You two are the BEST!
They’re obviously heading for the shade the cliff provides 🙂
the dog groomer in me wants to add that coat helps insulate against heat and cold and helps prevent sunburn.
Camels, people, camels. Not as hairy as banthas, but, still, would you expect a large, furry creature that does not sweat to live in hot deserts? Camels retain a lot of moisture precisely because they do not sweat — or rather, avoid sweating. Camels can regulate their temperature, which is quite extraordinary. They can cool themselves when it gets too hot.
Now consider how much moisture must be stored in that batha fur, and how HORRIBLE they must smell.
Yes… but Camels don’t have that much fur. Bantha’s look much more like Woolly Mammoths, hence the joke.
Bactrian camels have a thick coat of fur. It doesn’t grow as long as bantha fur (which was designed so it would cover the feet of the elephant inside the costume), but it’s very thick. Bactrians are built for withstanding extreme heat and extreme cold in quick succession, which is what desert climates are like; so should banthas.
*shrug* Okay. 🙂 I still think those things are suffering and as you can see in the clip from the film, they are marching towards the shaded dune in the middle of a desert. When we saw them in the original 1977 film they were in the mountainous Jundland Wastes, not the desert. Which is why seeing them in the full heat of the desert looks so funny in the ROTJ special edition. If we tried to rationalize, justify and excuse EVERYTHING in Star Wars, there would be little humor or fun to be had. Some things just do look and sound silly and being able to laugh and enjoy one’s hobby, warts and all, is a healthy thing to do.
Of course. I think the joke is sound, and successful.
Just pointing out that banthas in the desert is not even remotely implausible, despite appearances. That doesn’t detract from the joke.