Published: November 8, 2022
Publisher: Abrams Books
Author: Kristin Baver
Foreword: Kathleen Kennedy
Formats: Hardback
Jacket front and back: Grant Griffin
Pages: 224
Illustrations: 300 colour illustrations
ISBN: 978-1-41975-655-9
RRP: £35 (UK), $50 (US), $63 (Canada)
The synopsis;
Featuring exclusive concept art, character and costume sketches, and vehicle and creature designs by Lucasfilm Publishing and its partners, this official companion to Star Wars: The High Republic (Phase One) offers fans a definitive, behind-the-scenes look at an ambitious new era of Star Wars storytelling
The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic takes fans behind the scenes of Phase I of Lucasfilm Publishing’s massive crossover event. Collecting the very best concept art of the new characters, worlds, ships, and creatures of The High Republic—designed jointly by the Lucasfilm Visualists and a team of legendary comic book and Star Wars artists, including Phil Noto, Iain McCaig, and Ryan Church, among many others—and presented alongside development materials and interviews with High Republic architects Claudia Gray (Star Wars The High Republic: Into the Dark), Justina Ireland (Star Wars The High Republic: A Test of Courage), Daniel José Older (Star Wars The High Republic: Race to Crashpoint Tower), Cavan Scott (Marvel Comics’s The High Republic), and Charles Soule (Star Wars The High Republic: Light of the Jedi), The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic is an essential guide to the creation, design, and realization of a new era of Star Wars storytelling.
The High Republic Phase I: Light of the Jedi finds the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic at the height of their respective powers, but following the events of “The Great Disaster,” the Jedi, led by Jedi Knights Avar Kriss, Loden Greatstorm, Keeve Trennis, and Stellan Gios and joined by a diverse group of Padawans and Jedi Masters, are confronted by the looming threat of the Nihil—a marauding group of Outer Rim anarchists who stand opposed to all the Galactic Republic represents. In The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic, readers will discover the origins of the fan-favorite new characters taking on this threat, as well as exciting new starfighter and creature designs, beautifully rendered environments, and detailed views of Starlight Beacon—the shining symbol of hope in the Republic.
The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic is the only book to explore all facets of the design and artistic direction of a story that spans comic books, novels, and young adult books, taking Star Wars fans of all ages on a deep dive into the development of the New York Times bestselling series.
The review;
The dust jacket images are great choices. For the cover, Yoda is accompanied by Stellan Gios, Keeve Trennis and Burryaga in artwork. The rear cover is the final concept art for The Eye of the Nihil, Marchion Ro. Both these are by Grant Griffin. Slip that dust jacket off to reveal a beautiful painting of the Starlight Beacon with what seems to be a tibanna gas storage facility floating in space on the back.
If you have read one of my reviews on any of ‘The Art of’ books from Abrams Books, you will know they are possibly my favourite publications. Yet again, they have delivered the perfect package onto our bookshelves.
The New Republic era has been a very successful project, for which there has been a deluge of publications over the past 2 years. Ranging from adult novels, young reader novels, teen comics to junior comics, the constant stream of new content has been prolific. But, with no animated or live action TV series to guide us, the only visual interpretation we have seen is via those comics and some of the concept art created to help realise the story groups vision. And that is where this book comes in. Collating so many of those different pieces of artwork and bringing them into one bind.
Page after page of some simply stunning artwork. As a huge fan of comics, it’s brilliant to see so many of the talented artists feature like Ario Anindito, Nick Brokenshire, Will Sliney, Harvey Tolibao and Phil Noto get their work showcased in such an amazing way. These are set alongside the sketches and polished samples produced by established Lucasfilm concept artists Ian McCaig, Ryan Church, Grace Lee, Glyn Dillon and Jeffrey Thomas. The list of names is pretty well endless, just check out the Who’s Who section, but under the guidance of Phil Szostak and Erik Tiemens the visual depiction of this new era has flourished.
Bringing all these amazing artists and their artwork together are the words of Kristin Baver. Known to so many of us as the presenter of This Week in Star Wars and contributor for StarWars.com. She goes to great lengths to explain the processes that were applied to create this new era from the concepts born of the Project Luminous and Lucasfilm story group teams. Her words stitch everything together so neatly and although I have read most of the publications to date, I learned lots from those little anecdotes that fill this book.
The High Republic era is written in such a way that each story can be read independently, or you can read just one genre, like a comic series or range of novels. By doing this, you get a taster of the bigger picture, but it doesn’t affect your reading. This is a great book for fans of the era, as it joins up many of the publications so well. But, if you have never delved into The High Republic yet, it is the perfect introduction for you. It explains so much, and just by reading this book, it will draw you in and I’m sure you will at least sample and grow to love this new era.
I must give a huge shout out as well to Charles Soule, Cavan Scott, Claudia Gray, Justina Ireland, Daniel José Older and Michael Siglain. Their creative ideas have brought us fresh, new, and exciting Star Wars stories that have captivated the imagination of so many. This book shows how their creative minds have then stimulated the imaginations of the brilliant artist at their disposal to create such a visual display of phenomenal artwork.
The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic (Volume One) is a triumphant success and a book that Kristin Baver should be very proud of. Phase Two of the era is now well and truly underway, and I sure can’t wait for Volume Two to hit the shelves!
Availability;
The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic (Volume One) by Kristin Baver was published by Abrams Books on November 8, 2022. It is available from all good high street bookstores and online retailers, including Amazon UK and Amazon US.
