Via Starwars.com:

If I could go back to 1977 and show seven-year-old Tony, a Star Wars superfan, a copy of The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight, his head would explode like a Death Star.

Throughout my career I have shared with many the impact of the original films on my growing imagination as a young artist and writer. My childhood adoration for these films has evolved into a love of mythic stories. In fact, when I was developing The Spiderwick Chronicles, I often used Star Wars as shorthand to explain plot points and character archetypes. For instance, Hogsqueal (the opportunistic hobgoblin) was often referred to as our Lando Calrissian. Also,Spiderwick explored the theme of anger and how it can affect, or even control, one’s actions — not unlike the dark side of the Force. As an illustrator, the authentic world building seen in George Lucas’ universe is a mandatory component I seek to imbue in all my books.

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