Comic Talk: The High Republic

Star Wars fans who read comics should be overjoyed with the fact that 2021 will have 7 ongoing Star Wars comic series, which is probably the most in the history of Star Wars comics.

Over the next couple of months I will be checking in on these various series and this week I am looking at The High Republic #2 by Cavan Scott.

Prerequisites:

The High Republic series is part of the newly launched "High Republic" subfranchise which includes various comics, books, and novels which take place in an era set about 200 years before "The Phantom Menace". Though readers should feel free to dive into this series without any prior knowledge it might be a good idea to read Charles Soule's amazing novel "Light of the Jedi" which launches the series.

Who wrote this?

Before Disney purchased Star Wars, Cavan Scott wrote comics for many other franchises including Power Rangers and Doctor Who. Scott's first foray into Star Wars were the children's books "Adventures in Wild Space", which he wrote with Tom Huddleston. Since then Huddleston has worked on the Star Wars Adventures comics, the Choose Your Own Destiny books, and the Dooku: Jedi Lost audiodrama. Scott's "The Rising Storm" will be the second hardcover book in the High Republic novel series (due out June 29th)

Characters: 

Jedi Padawan, Keeve Trennis (introduced in the book A Test of Courage) and her Master Sskeer (introduced in the book Light of the Jedi) are stationed at Starlight Beacon in the Outer Rim territories (think Deep Space 9). Keeve is ready for her Jedi trials but there's something wrong with Sskeer. Every since the Battle of Kur the Trandoshan has been acting strange- like Dark Side strange. Trennis considers going to the other Masters with her concerns. 

Why should I read it?

This might be the first Star Wars comic (certainly the first Marvel Star Wars comic) to feature a black female in the leading role. But representation aside Keeve Trennis is a fairly cool character. Like Vernestra Rwoh (see A Test of Courage) she is a new Jedi Knight discovering her place in the galaxy. Also like Venestra Rwoh (see A Test of Courage) the creators have given Trennis a fairly unique type of lightsaber in that her double-bladed green lightsaber can unlock to form two single blades.

If Keeve Trennis isn't enough for you, Sskeer is the "mystery box" mechanism of this series. Just what is going on with this Jedi Master and how could that impact  the Jedi Order itself?

What's Next?
I will be back next weekend to review the comic Darth Vader #10 by Greg Pak