Star Wars: The High Republic (2021-2022) #1

Star Wars: The High Republic (2021) (Single Issues)

by Cavan Scott, Ario Anindito, Phil Notto

BEFORE THE SKYWALKER SAGA! THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE JEDI! A new era of STAR WARS storytelling begins. It is centuries before the SKYWALKER SAGA. The JEDI are at their height, protecting the galaxy as REPUBLIC pioneers push out into new territories. As the Frontier prepares for the dedication of majestic STARLIGHT BEACON, PADAWAN KEEVE TRENNIS faces the ultimate choice — will she complete her Jedi Trials or rescue the innocent from disaster? New Jedi! New ships! New evils to fight!

Genres: Star Wars, Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Fantasy

26 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 6, 2021

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Alexandra Elend Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Whenever you feel alone… whenever darkness closes in… hear our signal and know that the Force is with you. Know that we are with you. This is our promise. This is our covenant. For light and life...”

I quite liked this little story.

First of all, The High Republic era has me down-right obsessed right now and I've found that I do like pretty much anything written in that time period. It's just so unique and different that I can't help myself.

With a typical Jedi/adventure story. Plenty of action, some feelings, and perilous danger for a group of vulnerable beings. There is little not to like with this trusted and proved formula. One that manages to add a bit of uniqueness to the situation.

I particularly liked the way it set up the stage for some things to come in the future The High Republic books/comics and how interconnected it all is.

I do want to see quite a bit more about this story and what is going to happen in the future.

“There’s always hope, Kanrii, sometimes you just have to work for it.”

_________________

This was nice.

It was a nice, short piece of pretty art and action. It did feel a little young-ish but nothing too bad.

RTC.
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I'm planning to drown myself in The High Republic era for as long as I can and that includes this comic.

Comics make my reading life so much better and enjoyable. I just love them to pieces. So, the first comic I picked this year I wanted it to be special in some way and, I figured, this one is a great choice for that.

Also, it's funny that last year's first comic was also a Star Wars comic... I really like that.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very interesting and I'm excited to see what happens in the new age of the Star Wars canon.

Kanrii was adorable and I love him.

Keeve is an interesting character and I'm excited to follow her through her future adventures.

[Scott Rhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, a movie review: “Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker” was an exciting and satisfactory conclusion to the nine-film Star Wars ennead, a series now referred to as the Skywalker Saga. I thought it was a brilliant idea to bring back Emperor Palpatine, as I felt that it tied the entire series together. Was the film flawed? Yes, but it was always going to be disappointing to a hard-core group of fans. Things I loved about it, others would hate, and vice versa. J.J. Abrams had an almost impossible task, but I felt that he handled it extremely well. Of course, seeing as the film was truly the final film in the series (not that there won’t be more, I’m sure. Let’s be honest: it’s Hollywood. If it’s guaranteed to make money, it’s not really over…), it sort of left a vacuum in the Star Wars universe.

Enter Star Wars: The High Republic: a multi-media event by Disney/Lucasfilm to keep the momentum going with the series in order to generate more fans and more money. That may be a cynical way to look at it, but it’s also a realistic one. Back in 1983, after “Episode VI: Return of the Jedi” left theaters, almost everyone—-including George Lucas himself—-thought that that was probably the end of the series. I doubt it took much convincing when writer Timothy Zahn pitched his idea for his novel “Heir to the Empire”, a book that carried on the story post-ROJ and basically started what was called the Star Wars Expanded Universe. It led to literally hundreds of novels, graphic novels, and video games that fans still talk about. It also inspired Lucas himself to finally make his prequel trilogy, something he had talked about for years but never actually attempted.

I’m fairly certain that the executives at Disney/Lucasfilm have the same hopes for The High Republic. They have launched a series of new novels, graphic novels, children’s books, and video games to garner interest, keeping old fans and sparking new ones.

The High Republic is set several hundred years before the events of the prequel movies. It is the golden age of the Jedi Knights, a time of galactic peace.

In issue #1 of the comic book series The High Republic, the inaugural launch of the space station Starlight Beacon is being readied. Jedi Padawan Keeve and her Jedi Master Skeer are training on planet Shuraden. When a migration of space locusts threatens to destroy a city on Shuraden, Keeve acts quickly to save them. She also realizes that it is the signal from the new Republic space station that is the cause of the space locusts’ disruption of their migratory pattern. Keeve, who believes that she acted rashly, thinks she is in trouble when she is called before the Marshall of Starlight Beacon. Instead, she is knighted. Her Master, Skeer, does not appear to be pleased with the decision…

I have only positive things to say about Cavan Scott’s writing and Ario Anindito’s artwork in this comic book series, but I also realize that Star Wars is, for the most part, critic-proof. I can simply say that the first issue has piqued my interest enough to want to read the rest of the series.

[Alec Costa · Rating 3 out of 5]

gostei do começo e d q como a história é mt bem situada cronologicamente, mas achei mt ~nada acontece feijoada. melhor parte p mim foi o final: 1. gostei pq deu um rosto p minha cena favorita d Luz dos Jedi e 2. o cliffhanger da última página

[Andreas · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a special feeling to dive into a completely new era of Star Wars, and this short comic has successfully gotten my attention. Not too thrilled over the four week wait for the next issue tho...

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great comic with lots of action and some quiet moments in between! I loved the mixture of the pastel world Shuraden and the bright, opaque Starlight Beacon. Keeve Trannis and Sskeer are an absolute pleasure.
However, this comic spoils a few things from Light of the Jedi, so I recommend reading the novel first to understand all the references!

I've also written a full spoiler review in German for Jedi-Bibliothek which you can read here: https://jedi-bibliothek.de/2021/01/ma...

[Kai (CuriousCompass) · Rating 3 out of 5]

CuriousCompass Reviews:

3 stars

Cute. Not the best, but a decent intro/prologue to a larger story, for sure. Loved the cute pixie aliens, loved the hot one-armed reptilian Jedi Master. (Henceforth he shall be known as Lizard Daddy.) And I guess I liked our hero enough, although she felt like "Generic Spunky Girl Protagonist #3010" I typically like that character archetype anyways.

I liked it enough to check out the next couple issues!

[Matěj Komiksumec · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nerad říkám já jsem vám to říkal, ale já jsem vám to říkal! Nečekal jsem nic takže mě mohlo jen překvapit což se nekonalo. První issue nové Star Wars éry je předvídatelné, nezajímavé a na můj vkus až extrémně cílené na děti. Kresba a panelování mi rovněž neseděli a já tady čichám průser. Pokud čtete ostatní Star Wars od Marvelu nijak vás to nepřekvapí a naopak si spíš dáte zábavnou akci od Aarona než tohle protože to krom nového období nijak nevybočuje.

[RG · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually didnt mind this. Yeh theres no actual story but I feel like it just gave us the overview of the characters. The plot will come within the next few issues ( I hope). Its pure disney all over. Clean characters, fun pop looking characters, light hearted humour. Yeh its not perfect but its given us star wars fans hopefully a new direction and canon material

[Amin Matin · Rating 2 out of 5]

دوران جمهوری والا واقعا ارزش خوندن داره. هر چند به حماسه اسکای‌واکر نمی‌رسه ولی هنوز جذابه.

[Marina Vidal · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

Que emoción empezar la nueva era de Star Wars, era que va a molar MUCHO. Número de presentación de personajes, pero que ejemplifica muy bien la esencia de Star Wars. Enamorada ya de los nuevos personajes y deseando poder leer la primera novela.

[Olivia]

disney was like, “guys look our first non binary characters in star wars, ok gay people buy stuff from us now :)” then created literally THE worst representation possible lmaooo

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a life long fan of Star Wars since the 80’s, this first comic kicking off a new era has got me hooked!

I’ve been enjoying Star Wars for over 40 years through movies, books, video games and comics. I found this first issue to include everything I love about Star Wars. Action, comedy, drama, mystery, and hope.

My only ‘complaint’ is that I want to know so much about these new characters NOW... but since the story has only just begun, I’ll just have to patiently wait for future installments in order to get to know them better.

The art and coloring is also fantastic in this comic, which is every bit as important as the writing, since it too helps helps in telling the story!

[Salo · Rating 3 out of 5]

mentiría si dijera q entendí algo pero el arte está bien bonito y soy fan de las relaciones que tienen los maestros con sus padawan. me voy a leer el próximo issue ji

[Krystal Jewel Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the High Republic stuff is living up to the hype so far. I loved this and I can't wait for the next chapter.

[Oneirosophos · Rating 4 out of 5]

VERY impressed! A strong start to a fresh world-building!

[Rachel Goodman · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE where this is heading

This works so well with Light of the Jedi... it was AMAZING having the comic to get a better view of some of the characters we’ve already met.

[Zeina (Taylor's Version) · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was such a good introduction for the new characters, I also loved the illustrations.

[Amy Walker - Trans-Scribe Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

The High Republic has been coming for a while now, teased with some amazing artwork and brief glimpses of the story, this new age for the Star Wars universe has been one of the more anticipated parts of the franchise for a while now, and this month it finally arrives. As well as Light of the Jedi, a new prose novel by Charles Soule, readers also get to step into this new era in comics too, with Star Wars: The high Republic #1, written by Cavan Scott.

This first issue introduces new readers to the Stalight Beacon, a huge space station built by the Republic in the outer rim of the galaxy in the wake of The Great Disaster. The station will act as a beacon to those in this distant part of the galaxy, and will hope to bring the light of the High Republic to these remote systems.

We're also introduced to a number of new characters, the main one being Jedi Padawan Keeve Trennis, a young woman who has travelled to a remote planet with her master, the Trandoshan Jedi Sskeer, to perform her trial in order to prove herself ready to become a fully fledged Jedi Knight. Unfortunately, thing's don't go quite so smoothly for her, as disaster strikes the planet and its inhabitants.

Scott drops readers into a first issue that already has a lot of backstory to it, thanks to the aforementioned novel Light of the Jedi, and we see the High Republic dealing with the fallout of the events of that book. Despite this being a follow on from what came in that book it never feels absolutely necessary that you have to have read it going into this issue, and despite all of the stuff that's happening it feels really easy to slip into this new place, with these new characters. There are mentions of things that came before this, but the book manages to give enough context to those events for new readers to be able to follow along, without it feeling like he's going out of his way to explain things. It's very natural feeling, and because of this we're never bogged down in trying to catch up if you've not read the novel yet.

The book manages to balance the world building and construction of this exciting new era with characters and action really well too, and an issue that could easily become bogged down in world building and scene setting is actually a really fun adventure story too, one where we get to see Keeve shine, and she quickly becomes a character that you'll like and want to spend more time with.

There are a number of characters like this in the issue, people like Sskeer, who ends up becoming one of the more mysterious and intriguing characters by the end of the issue, and Estan Maru, the Jedi who seems to be juggling a lot of balls by acting as a facilitator on Starlight, keeping track of everything that's going on. Both of these Jedi really fascinated me, and I'm hoping that they both get more of a chance to shine in upcoming issues of the series. The High Republic also features, briefly, a very recognisable character in the form of Yoda, who is much younger here, and not on the Jedi Council. Seeing just one familiar face in this new time really helped to ground the book, and reassure that this is a part of the ever expanding Star Wars universe, and it really helped to make this book feel like a part of the franchise even when doing bold new things.

The artwork for the issue is provided by Ario Anindito, Mark Morales, and Annalisa Leoni, and it all looks gorgeous throughout. The three of them really help to sell the idea that this is the Republic, and the Jedi, at their height, and the Starligh Beacon and its inhabitants all look grand and elegant, and have a sense of beauty and wonder to it that is sometimes missing from later eras of the Star Wars franchise. It wasn't until I came to look at the people working on the book come having finished reading it that I even realised that there was more than one artist on the book, because the three of them work so well together that it all flows beautifully together. Sometimes when a book features multiple artists it can be really obvious where the change over happens, and it can throw you out of the book, but that was never the case here; the whole thing looked wonderful.

If this first issue is any indication of the quality of the series going forward then this is one of the most exciting and engaging parts of the Star Wars universe in a long time, and one that holds so much promise. This is a time and place where anything can happen, where any type of character can turn up, where any of the heroes could die, and where some true wonders can happen. I can't wait to see what happens next!

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Star Wars: The High Republic shows us the period of the High Republic 200 years before the ents of The Phantom Menace! The Jedi are at their height and everything in the Republic is at peace! We are then introduced to Padawan Keeve Trennis who is completing her Jedi training under her master Sskeer! Keeve Trennis is epically earnest but her portrayl is excellently three-dimensional with all of her personality beign worn on her sleeve! At the same time her master Sskeer is completely up to more that is at first apparent! At the same time the book packs in a host of appearances and introductions from the introduction of Kanrii, Trennis's newly acquired friend, to Jedi Master Avar Kriss, to Yoda merrily striding down the passageway of Starlight Beacon etc!

Star Wars: The High Republic art is brilliant and marries up with the scrip perfectly! It's crispness dowetails with the poise of the Jedi! At the same time the art conveys the action perfectly with the script as the action piles on! Star Wars: The High Republic is cinemtic in every way with great art and script! Star Wars: The High Republic ties itself into existing works but at the same time creates new plots! It also hints at later events from The Phantom Menace, Empire Strikes back giving everything a brilliantly connected feel! At the same time has humour running throughout from Trennis and Kanrii running battles to Kriss shock at her new job etc. This tone all adds to the book other tones of adventure, action etc making for an epic roller coaster ride!

Star Wars: The High Republic will keep you guessing from the start! It sets up mysteries in abundance as something is definitely up with Master Sskeer as the other Jedi notice, introduces to a host of returning and new characters, world building as we are introduced to the period, the galaxy wide landscape etc in detail, three-dimensional characters as everyone is distinctly different, different technologies as we encounter different people and the differnet way things are done in this, adventure as we zip around from Shuraden, Starlight Beacon, the galaxy etc and action! Crisp High Five! Brilliant and Highly Recommended! Get it When You Can!

[Shadowdenizen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Ok, sorry if this is a bit ranty (and maybe a little schizophrenic, since I have mixed feelings (to say the least) about this franchise right now.)

This comic was fine. It introduced some characters, and started to set up a sort of story. It was interesting enough for me to put on my pull list for now. (Sounds like this is a multi-platform initiative, like they've tried in the past.)

But when it came to a star-rating I wasn't sure whether to rate it up or down... I CERTAINLY enjoy them taking a change of pace in the setting, and introducing new characters and places and time periods: I think a failing of Disney SW to date has been their desire to prey on and market (some might say bastardize) fan love for existing characters to often deleterious effects, and for no specific purpose beyond a feeble cash grab. (I'm talking corporate Disney now, as it seems like there's a schism in the ranks between Lucasfilm/KK and Favresu & Filoni.

BUT, I feel like this whole High Republic initiative doesn't have a creative VISION, but rather a cunning purpose to establish dominance in this IP. And while the characters are interesting enough after 1 issue, it also feels like they're checking off boxes rather than being organic.

And it also makes me wonder which side of the SW Universe I fall on.. The F&F side, where they do have a unifed creative vision, seemingly? But they are fan-pandering a bit too much for my tastes, and going back to the same tired wells?

Or the KK/ Lucasfilm side, where they are seemingly trying to ret-con the past in favor of something new, and possibly sterilized?

Not sure what I fall in this battle just yet. But it's definitely hurting the IP, IMO. (I gave this comic the benefit of the doubt for establishing new characters and time period: we'll see it the title and the characters grow on me.)

[Nerdmaling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Star wars The High Republic är mer ett koncept än en enskild bok. Det är berättelser som utspelar sig innan filmen Star Wars: Episod I – Det mörka hotet om man nu ska uttrycka sig på ren svenska.

Det är en tid när Jedi riddarna har högsäsong och är allmänt upptagna med att hålla ordning och reda i galaxen. Som jag förstår det så är det mestadels barn och ungdomsböcker som utspelar sig i den här eran. Jag tycker att Star Wars är ganska åldersneutralt men jag kanske inte gett mig på böckerna (jag är trots allt en gammal gubbe) men lyckligtvis finns serierna om man är nyfiken och vill kolla in vad det egentligen rör sig om.

Det här seriealbumet samlar Star Wars: The High Republic serietidningens fem första nummer (av 15) så det är tyvärr ingen avslutad historia. Karaktärerna är ganska coola dock, även miljön och jag måste erkänna att jag faktiskt älskar Star Wars, Jedis och kraften och allt vad som brukar kunna klämmas in i en Star Wars serie.

Om handlingen kan man lite kort säga att man följer padawanen Keeve Trennis (som är skitcoolt) som hinner bli en äkta jedi då hennes mästare Sskeer som är en ödla ...rymdödla eller vad det nu är..(också skitcool) ska låta henne genomgå nationella provet i att bli Jedi och så avbryts dom av ett nytt mörkt hot som kanske jag inte tyckte var så supercoolt.

Serien är bra. Snyggt illustrerad utan att vara så stilistisk. Karaktärerna är intressanta och jag ledsnar inte på kampen mellan gott och ont och dramat som uppstår när vänner ställs mot varandra.
Men förutom det är det lite väl mycket formulär 1A uppbyggnad på historien för att det ska bli något toppbetyg.

Men som introduktion till eran och Star Wars fungerar den bra.

[Kelvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually don't review single issued comics because the plot is usually episodic and relies heavily on the followup issues to make a complete story, but I found this first issue all right.

The artwork is fantastic, outside of that, the story is just a day-in-the-life of a Jedi Padawan. Or more likely, an hour in this case

If this were a book, this would easily be like the first 3 chapters of a novel. The ending was pretty weird. I'm assuming the dude at the end had a Force vision or something. There was no build up to the moment and it seemed to had come out of nowhere to act as a cliff hanger.

I'm giving this three stars because it's Star Wars, I liked the art and I'm willing to see where this story goes. Right now there aren't any real powerful adversaries against the Jedi in this era. I can see a lot of directions the Nihil can go. They're pretty one dimensional at this point, a street gang in space, but I'm willing to give them a chance to break out of that mold.

As for this issue, I recommend waiting for the omnibus edition to release to get the full story all in one go. But if you want to check this issue out to get a feel of where things might go, I highly recommend it

[Myles Likes Tacos and Rice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heard good things about this series and I'll continue to read, but as a first issue to try and hook people, it felt very flat. There aren't really hints of the state of this Pre-prequel world and no indication about what the major threat this world is facing (just a cliche comic cliffhanger at the end)

Felt like an incomplete World building job, I know it only 22 pages, but there has to be some sort of hook

I guess this series will be a test to see if a reader likes the Star Wars universe or if they just liked the Skywalker saga.

Its also possible that I missed the point of the issue. Maybe it was Scott's intention to just show how nice this world is prior to what might be a big storm

Hoping that the padawan doesn't end up being a Mary Sue Rae

[Hope M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really strong start to a new line of comics. The characters are really fun, likable, and have beautiful designs. Ario Anindito really goes all out with artwork.
The only thing I'm wondering is how good it is as an introduction to the High Republic. I'm currently halfway through Soule's novel, Light of the Jedi. So I've been introduced to some of these characters through the novel. It was hard to separate out my previous knowledge and look at the comic on its own.
Still, this is a solid open salvo to the High Republic line. I'm excited to see what the Star Wars Adventures comics bring too.

[Ashe Catlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

And here I thought Marvel could do no wrong, they've been knocking it out the park with Star Wars since 2014.

Now we have this, it's kind of dull and boring. You get a lot of action pieces but as they don't bother building up any of the characters, you don't really care what is happening to them. There is an annoying bug and people babbling on about leading something, without giving any indication what it actually means or what it is.

I'm a pretty big Star Wars fan and for something to be this confusing right off the bat, really irritates me. I know the High Republic is a new era but I don't want read all of the media just to understand one series, it's bonkers!

[Eileen F. Paredes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Very Good Start

After enjoying Cavan Scott’s Dooku: Jedi Lost, I am pleased that this too is turning out to be a very good story. This is era is very different from others in the Star Wars timeline, yet similar elements remain, It’s those similarities that will sustain this series. Looking forward to the next issue to see what’s next for Keeve and Sskeer.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the new characters, but the plot was pretty predictable. It was kinda neat that it references events from Light of the Jedi. But with that being the case, why couldn’t Light of the Jedi have been released back in August? All this time I’ve thought that the novels were delayed because of the comics, and I don’t get why the novel and this comic had to be released a day apart. Not everyone reads novels at a quick pace.

[Marek Bartoš · Rating 2 out of 5]

First issue and a major meh...

I had no expectations and they were not exceeded. Not insluted or anything, just not pleased as a reader. It showed no promise for the future, reminded me of some fan-fiction not very talented amateurs did.

Gonna buy the issue 2 anyway and will hope it gets better.

So far... meh the force be with us all

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting age... tapi tetep aja ada Yoda!