The acclaimed High Republic publishing initiative continues, as the Jedi find themselves locked in battle on the planet Jedha!
The battle of Jedha continues! As Tey Sirrek defends the Temple of the Kyber, Vildar Mac is buried alive, with only his belief in the Force to keep him alive. But Vildar is a Jedi beset by doubts, a man scarred by a past he should’ve forgotten years ago. Who can come to his aid as the Holy City tears itself apart? As Vildar, Tey and Matthea Cathley are forced into a corner, enemies close in all around…and a secret of the hidden Jedi vault is revealed. As one Jedi lies dying in Jedha’s frozen desert, another is missing. And all the time, the Leveler waits in the shadows, desperate to feed…
COLLECTING: Star Wars: The High Republic (2022) 6-10
is a freelance comic writer and author. He is best known for his work on a variety of spin-offs from both Doctor Who and Star Wars, as well as comics and novels for Vikings, Pacific Rim, Sherlock Holmes, and Penguins of Madagascar.
Cavan Scott, along with Justina Ireland, Claudia Gray, Daniel Jose Older, and Charles Soule are crafting a new era in the Star Wars publishing world called Star Wars: The High Republic. Cavan's contribution to the era is a comic book series released through Marvel Comics titled Star Wars: The High Republic.
This is a comic connection that is part of Phase II of The High Republic series. This series has comic collections, short stories, and full length novels. They all tie in with each other. In this one the battle of Jedha is on and we see how the Jedi that were on the planet when the battle started handle the proceedings.
I liked this collection but unfortunately it was somewhat a retread for me. Goodreads has this listed in the reading order of this series after the novel Path of Vengeance. This is wrong as this should be read before that novel. That novel tells events that happened after the action of this collection. This includes the characters that are in this collection so nothing was going to be a surprise for me. I believe if I read this first I would have enjoyed this a little more. As for the story everything works and it fits in with this phase of the series. We get to see the Jedi being Jedi. We also get a little dabble into the dark side which was a nice surprise as this series has not touched upon that. What sold this collection and was easily the highlight was the relationship between Tey and Jedi Master Vildar. I enjoy their bromance so much. The artwork was fine. The coloring was the highlight of that particular area.
I liked this collection and it was perfectly serviceable. I didn't think it was nothing special. It does its job. It completes the Battle of jedha while showcasing the new threat to the Jedi. In all honesty this probably deserves a higher rating but Goodreads spoiled this for me. Please read this before the aforementioned novel. This leads directly into that novel and I believe that was the intent for the overall arc.
I actually think this one is pretty good. I'm sorry to say "actually," but overall I haven't thought very highly of the High Republic books (even the first volume of this graphic novel series). In this book, Cavan Scott keeps the focus on a small number of characters, and the conflict proves to be not merely the fighting on Jedha but also past trauma the protagonist struggles with, which works itself out through a spooky encounter with a Sith artifact and the herald of the Path of the Open Hand. (I think Star Wars works well when it incorporates some elements of horror, and that's the case here.) The comic characters play their parts in the right way (and even Tey becomes quite charming in his incessant talking), but generally the theme in this story is facing fear and tragedy.
My only complaint is that certain moments in this story seem so important to the bigger Phase 2 story that I don't think they should be relegated to a graphic novel series. The Battle of Jedha doesn't resolve what happened to the herald and the leveler, and even at the time, I thought that was an odd omission. I'm glad I know that part of the story now, but why split everything up? Star Wars needs to trust that it's creating good stories, and simply tell the stories. No more gimmicks.
I really enjoyed this book. It adds new layers to the already epic battle of Jebha. The book told the story from the point of view of the war between the planets Eiram and E'ronoh, and the brave efforts of the Jedi and Guardian acting as their representatives, but what did the Path of the Open Hand really want?
Probobly because of my personality, I always prefer the "misfit" or people/Jedi that do not conform to the normal. This is probably what I love the main characters in this book so much. I love the question asked and answered what I'd more important duty or protecting the innocent. This is a particularly important lesson to learn nowadays. What really makes a hero for me is people who overcome their own past tramas or darkness.
Great story. It fits in perfectly and adds to the novels and other comics in the series. Great characters as well. Lots of action and good artwork. What can be asked of the book? For me, I would love to see these characters again in comics or novels. The book finishes with a thumbnail and full-page cover gallery.
3.5 stars. The areas where this book really shined were the challenging of the Jedi order and seeing the opposition by other groups around them. The characters were intriguing and the writer gives you a reason to care about them. As I was getting a little burnt out on The High Republic Series, this one brings me back.
Jedha is under siege from within, and it'll take unity unlike anything the Jedi have seen before to turn the tide as this High Republic prequel comes to a conclusion.
I do love a 'everyone comes together to save the day' type ending, and this one feels earned even after only ten issues. I expected more than one story from this series like the previous High Republic Phase but with only ten issues to work with instead of fifteen, I guess it made more sense to really flesh this one out.
On art we have Ario Anindito for three of the five issues, while Andrea Broccardo and David Messina split the other two. Anindito is the draw, especially given how strong of a showing he's had on this series - I can see him becoming a Checchetto clone fairly soon, looking at how he shades.
The High Republic's second phase reaches its end with a smile and a happy-ish ending. It's a little early to see how this is going to affect things going on later in the timeline, though there's a few tenuous links kicking around like the Nameless/Leveller creatures.
It was rough at first, but picked up at the end. Phase 2 of The High Republic has yet to do much for me, and I’m honestly of the mind that there simply isn’t enough substance in this flashback era to sustain this much material. And there’s also not enough to this comic to feel like a noteworthy addition to the Battle of Jedha audio drama, which felt properly epic and complete by itself. It has some cool beats and decent art, but little more.
I wish the scope of this series had been a bit bigger. I liked all the characters, and it had a cute ending, but even in a huge battle like the Battle of Jedha, the stakes didn’t feel very high. It pales in comparison to many other phase II stories, and especially in comparison to the phase I comics.
Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Die Hohe Republik: Der Kampf um die Macht
Wie schlagen sich Vildar und Matty in im Aufstand auf Jedha? Was passiert mit Oliviah und Meisterin Leebon, nachdem die große Jedi-Statue gefallen ist? Und am allerwichtigsten: Wird Tey den grummeligen Jedi in diesem Band zu einer Umarmung bewegen? Das alles erfährt man im zweiten Teil des Phase II-Comics!
Die Handlung:
Nachdem der Pfad der Offenen Hand einen Aufstand auf den Straßen Jedhas entfachte, haben die Jedi Vildar und Matty alle Hände voll zu tun, um die Lage in den Griff zu bekommen. Und schon bald kristallisiert sich heraus, dass der Pfad einen viel tieferen Plan in der heiligen Stadt verfolgt...
Meine Meinung:
Erneut macht Cavan Scott mit seinem Abenteuer alles richtig. Nachdem der erste Band eher den Handlungsrahmen offenbarte, wird dieses Mal richtig Action geboten, die teilweise richtig chaotisch wird. Dabei bleiben die Protagonisten stets liebenswert und bekommen teilweise richtig spannende Hintergrundgeschichten geliefert. Die Einbindung in die anderen Geschichten der zweiten Phase klappen hervorragend. Aninditos Zeichnungen sind auch dieses Mal stimmig und die hellen Farben passen zur bunten Enklave der Macht - Jedha.
Fazit:
Eine gelungene Fortsetzung, die durch liebenswerte Figuren und viel Action besticht!
Werbung: Vielen lieben Dank an Panini für die Bereitstellung des Rezensionexemplares!
One thing that bothered me about these Phase 2 comics is that they continued the problem of having essential info that’s never in the books. We see Sunshine Dobbs and have no clue who it is until he says his name, because he’s never physically described in the books. It’s easy to forget Matty is a Twi’lek in the books. We never hear a description of the Rods that control the Levelers, but both are shown here. And these comics cover a bunch of events that Path of Vengeance kind of skips over. It’s very frustrating. This story is okay, but I wish you didn’t need to read so many different things to get the pieces together.
Phase 2 Book 2, 382 BBY. As this book begins rioting and inter-factional violence has broken out on Jedha and the Path of the Open Hand have put the Jedi on the back foot. Jedi Vildar Mac, Padawan Matty and the rogue Tey Sirrek have to work together in an attempt to save as many people as they can.
This book is definitely better than the preceding volume, but honestly it's not by much. The characters are little more engaging here, particularly since Vildar and Tey have both learned just a smidge of humility, and having a clear set of antagonists to confront gives the plot purpose that was lacking in the last book. All that said, though, this still felt 'just okay' to me, which is a shame considering how much I wanted to love a story about the Jedi on Jedha in its heyday.
On top of the general sense of this being unremarkable, Scott (or perhaps the art team or both) totally fails to give any sense of scale to the Battle of Jedha. I'd known that this battle was a major plot point of Phase 2 before going into it but here I didn't actually realise that we were seeing part of it until it was over. It could be argued that this book keeps the focus firmly on its protagonists but I feel that not giving some sort of sense of them being caught up in a much larger conflagration was really to this book's detriment and to the detriment of this Phase altogether.
This graphic novel is the second installment to the High Republic Phase II graphic novel series. While Phase II has other side stories, Battle of the Force seems to conclude this particular arc while opening up doors for different stories within this era.
Following the intense cliffhanger of issue #5, this collection contains Star Wars: The High Republic (2022) issue #6-10. Vildar and his apprentice, Matty, have been tasked with easing the tensions on Jedha. After a riot breaks out, they are trapped underground. Matty takes it upon herself to help the innocents, while Vildar leaves to find the group that brought down the statue and killed his friend. With the help of the eccentric Tey, Vildar, ill-advised, uses a dark Force artifact, filling with rage and taking upon himself a darkness a Jedi should never hold.
I found this second volume even more exciting than the first. I am enjoying these new characters and am excited to see where/how/when they may make an appearance again. With great artwork and an interesting assortment of new characters, The High Republic Phase II adds and interesting aspect to the history of the Jedi order that fans will thoroughly enjoy.
Blogger Note: This is the first time I've ventured into The High Republic timeframe in any form so I can't speak to it's connection to anything before these graphic novel collections nor any connection to the new Disney series, The Acolyte, so I'll just review as is. (EDITED NOTE: I have since discovered the chronological order and that I have read a couple out of that order. However, like the movies long as you are able to read a particular story arc together the rest isn't that important, just something to keep in mind.)
Battle for the Force picks up right where Balance ended and the story just gets better and better. I had my doubts about some of the characters but when all was said and done, they did what was needed. Allies, friends, enemies, and sometimes a combo of all three further the Battle of Jedha in a way that at times surprises you but others give you a sense of calm relief in there expectedness.
I know that Phase 3 returns to tell us what happened after Starlight fell and though Phase 2 actually went back in the timeline(which might confuse some) I still found myself rivetted to my seat to see how everything and everyone played out. I was not disappointed.
The Twinkle Sisters! The Bogan collection! Guardians of the Whills!! Last stand in a bar! The Final Protector Statue! And more Nameless terrors!
Cavan Scott wraps up Phase II with our Jedi friends making their final stand for light, life, and Jedha!
The battle hits a fever pitch and the Jedi and their friends fight the Path to stop them! The characters all have great moments and the villains get their spotlight here! While the rest of Phase II moves on past this point, the comic gives us the best and most action-packed look at the Battle of Jedha! As usual, the art is amazing. Jedha is such a fun and familiar landscape to really explore and this series does an excellent job of showing us the Pilgrim’s moon during the High Republic!
This comic is a must-read for all High Republic fans looking for the Path’s true intentions! And seeing the heroic Jedi who stand up for Jedha!
This book is almost entirely action, flowing out of the climax of the previous volume into several different strands of chaos, as Jedi are forced to work with members of the other philosophies to survive and rescue the civilians. They also stumble upon a buried secret that has resonance with Phase I, and even to Original Trilogy comic series. But ultimately, it focuses on Vildar and Tey, and their relationship is central to the story and also the high point of the series. While the story ultimately feels a bit small, it serves as a setup for many other things, and is enjoyable enough on its own.
This was so good! I know I'm very late to the party on this one, but I loved exploring more of the Jedi's secrets and seeing the Convocation of The Force was fun. I loved this part of Star Wars history; seeing other ways of understanding the Force is an excellent world-building tool.
Once again, I am reminded of how connected this is with real-world events. The easy way it can be to manipulate people into joining a death cult felt all to real. The way the Jedi hid the fact that they had a secret vault of dark-side artefacts was also too real. I really want to see more of that. I want to know the origins of the Rod of Power, but I probably won't get that soon.
This is the second compilation that ends the balance of the Force series. This covers some of the aftermath of the battle on Jedha. Jedi Vildar Mac and Tey Sirrek confront the Herald of the Path. It would be harder to follow if you hadn’t read the books. The High Republic is so convoluted, it’s spread out over YA, youth and adult novels and comic books with different parts of the puzzle. I’m not going to read all of them. Once again a lot happens with no real conclusion or background explanation. The outcome of this ends in the Battle of Jedha audio drama and Path of Vengence book.
I like that this picked up from the previous volume and while I felt very lost when re-entering this thread, it all started to click eventually. Tey remains a bit to silly for me and Vil is a bit too serious. Probably didn’t help that I was loosely aware that some of the characters would and wouldn’t survive this. I’m also lost how this fits into the larger High Republic arc — as far as I remember, this was to intro Tey and Vil to set them up for the current stories in Phase III but it his felt a bit flat. Art was fine, but far too many inconsequential characters to try to keep track of.
3.5 Stars. Picking up where the last Volume left off, we now follow our main characters through their viewpoints of the Battle of Jedha. Vildar struggles with the dark side, once encountering the Leveler. Overall, I felt like the novel really covered the event well, and the characters covered here I never got really attached to. The story is good.... but I think I'm really just ready to leave Era 2 behind and move on to Era 3. Recommend.
I enjoyed this story about the battle for Jedha, but constructively speaking the art was all close ups. I hardy ever got a sense of where anything was happening. The blocking was boring and there were no visual set pieces. It was closeups of characters shouting or fighting. The art was very “un-cinematic” and monotonous.
This is my favorite of all the High Republic comics so far. I'm loving the characters, but I am also appreciating that the writing and art are both top-notch. It really helps to have read the accompanying novels so I can recognize all of the huge cast of characters on sight. This was a great wrap-up to this comic arc.
More stories set in Jedha please. Also, love that sith artifacts continue to pop up in universe. Just means there is far more lore to tell. This comic series was great. Love seeing force practitioners from all walks of life unite in a common goal. The Path of the Open hand are pretty badass as well. Phase II continues to excel. Really enjoying the arcs so far.
The second arc of this series is even better than the first. There are some great moments for the characters in this, and the artwork is good. Like all things in the High Republic, it is better if you have read the other material in the era. Overall I have liked this the most of all the High Republic comic series.
It's not offensive for the expected reasons like far to many of the contemporary Disney publications, it's just so overstuffed with new (at least to me) types of Force users that a casual fan cannot hope to keep them straight - muddying the water of the plot to the point that it's almost impossible to follow.
The second volume certainly kicked it up a notch. The first volume felt like nearly empty filler. This volume filled in some gaps from the Battle of Jedha book. It fleshed out the Leveler's lore and, I think, it going to come in handy in Phase III. I also liked Tey's Spider-man-esque quips. He was a comic relief that had a good character arc.
The initial plot derives from a direct link to the threat the Jedi face in phase one of the High Republic. Clever.
On the other hand, Scott stretches the plot - 2 issues could easily have been cut off the ten issues run - and indulges a little in sentimentality. I have to admit that the threat-laden atmosphere of phase one appeals to me more.
I am admittedly a bit over the whole High Republic stuff as it all threads together, and there is honestly too much for me to be able to understand and fully follow everything while also keeping up with everything else I want, and need to read.
However, this is still a really good comic, if a bit short for my liking.