5th November will see the release of the gorgeous Star Wars Bestiary, Volume 1: Creatures of the Galaxy from writer S.T. Bende and artist Iris Compiet, and the 228th issue of Star Wars Insider magazine catches up with artist and writer to delve into the book, what makes it tick, their influences and much more besides.
Star Wars Insider: Do you have a favorite creature?
IC: The banthas! That was actually the first one I drew when I began working on this project. And I started very enthusiastically. I was so naïve. I sketched them in many different situations. And then I was like, “Oh, I have 130 more animals to do.” I love the blurrgs. They are the weirdest things ever, and so much fun to draw: they’re essentially fish-like blobs on two legs with short, Tyrannosaurus Rex arms.
STB: The Empire Strikes Back is my favorite of the films, but Star Wars Rebels is my favorite Star Wars anything. Getting to write about tauntauns was really fun because that was a nod to my favorite movie, but getting to write about the purrgil was really special. I remember being awed by the concept of space whales, which was so different from anything we had seen in Star Wars before, and anything I had imagined anyone could come up with. It was a personal connection to the real-world creatures that I love so much, so it was really neat to see them in the galaxy far, far away. And then, of course, when they came back in Ahsoka, that blew my mind. Now they’re in the Disney Parks in Star Tours, so I even got to ride with a purrgil for the first time!
We recently caught up with S.T to discuss her previous book, Return of the Jedi: A Visual Archive, an interview you can watch below with fellow authors Kelly Knox and Clayton Sandell.