Published: August 11, 2021
Writer: Cavan Scott
Artist: Rachael Stott
Paints: Vita Efremova & Nicola Righi
Cover Artist: Rachael Stott
The synopsis;
Follow former Jedi turned saber-for-hire monster hunter Ty Yorrick in her first comic appearance in this all-new High Republic miniseries by Cavan Scott and Rachael Stott!
Ty is a brave yet superstitious monster hunter, traversing the galaxy with KL-03 and her trusty rune-stones fighting the deadliest monsters on any world. After dealing with an escaped Drewen being transported to the Republic Fair, Ty heads to Loreth, where local pioneers have tasked her with taking on the fearsome Gretalax that terrorizes them. She takes the mission but can’t shake the feeling that something is amiss with the Force.
The review;
Sometimes series can release far too much material, too much reading, too many titles for readers to keep up with. Yet on a very rare occasion, a series can be so good, so well planned that the writers can’t keep up with the demand of fans. The High Republic is thankfully very much of the latter. This is a series that has completely reinvigorated Star Wars, releasing incredible title after incredible title. One of the five main authors and creators of this entire series is Cavan Scott. Scott leads The High Republic Marvel series as well as writing the breathtaking The Rising Storm novel (and I say breathtaking, more nerve-racking, intense and completely turning things on their head!) to lead fans into the next part of the series. Not only that but he has written numerous Star Wars stories and the audio drama Dooku: Jedi Lost. The Rising Storm introduced fans to a very interesting character, Ty Yorrick, the focus of this series. Here Scott will fill fans on her backstory as well as possibly make links to events in Dooku: Jedi Lost. Call me intrigued to say the least! He is joined by artist Rachael Stott, who is no stranger to comics, having illustrated many Doctor Who comics. This is her first foray into a galaxy far, far away and having seen her other work, I can’t wait!
Let me start with the artwork of Stott, for this is the first thing that completely captivates you in this story. It is stunning. The artwork is so crisp and detailed that it draws you in from the very first panel, where there are no words but Stott’s images to tell the tale. The atmosphere is so well created and flows so fluidly from scene to scene that it feels like you are watching a movie. This is really helped by Stott’s subtle manipulation of the background colours behind the panels themselves. She fluctuates between black and white, which in and of itself helps to highlight the different panels, but then creates wide panels that fill in this background at other times to bring a grandiose feeling to the setting. It is all done so well.
If the artwork by itself doesn’t completely absorb you, then Scott will cement your attention to the issue. The opening of the story follows a girl called Pela. This is just an ordinary girl at the galactic frontier. She needs to be normal, to have the same fears that any child may have been so far away from true civilisation. This could be a child from any point on the Star Wars timeline but for one fact. This girl’s comfort is the Straight Beacon. We have seen and read how important this construct is, we’ve heard how it should work, but here we get to see it for the first time. Why is a message spread across the galaxy so important? Because it allays the fears of those so far away from the core. It is such a simple scene that Scott and Stott have created here, but the impact if you’ve been reading The High Republic as a whole is so big. This is why the project from the very beginning was created, to make a difference, to reassure people that they aren’t alone.
Of course, the real star of the comic is Ty. She was introduced in The Rising Storm and has something about her the makes her worthy of this prequel. Building on what was given to us in the book, Scott reinforces her belief system, to make sure we as readers know and to catch up any readers who may not have read The Rising Storm yet. What makes her so intriguing to me is that this is a character that has left the Jedi Order, who is fending for herself, but still holds a very strong belief and moral system. She is beholden to no-one and so has only herself to rely on. The money she makes from the jobs she undertakes is essential and she can’t afford not to get the money. Yet between doing what is right and the money, she always does what is right. When this is combined with the stones, she uses to help make her decisions, then we’re left with a question about this character: does she trust to the force or to luck? Does her character believe it is the force that controls the outcome of her stones or is it luck? It is this question that really endears me to this character, as we’re never quite sure which it is.
To help answer this, Scott has provided flashbacks to Ty’s training. Here we are introduced to a fellow padawan, Klias and the adventures that will ultimately explain why Ty left the Jedi Order. The character of Klias has been designed to be rather irritating, a way for us as the readers to relate more to Ty and sympathise with her. Yet within these flashbacks we get to see Jedi training on Alanis Prime. These sorts of things seem so simple and yet visuals of how Jedi were trained back during this time are few and far between at the moment. I love all these extra details to how the Jedi and galaxy function normally. It is these flashbacks that as the series continues, will really allow us to see what happened to Ty to turn her into the character we know.
The other relationship that is really prevalent here is the one between Ty and her droid KL-03, or Kayel. This plays very much like the relationship Lando has with L3 in Solo, which as the droid was inspired by concept art, makes a lot of sense. Scott use Kayel to remind Ty, but also us the reader, of the very real problems Ty is up against. The fact that they need money, that the ship needs upgrading. It is the voice in Ty’s head of what she should be doing to survive against the side of her that says what she should morally be doing. It allows Scott to vocalise what Ty would otherwise keep quiet, and I rather like it as it’s a technic used often in radio dramas.
This first issue really sets a high bar for the rest of the series. Ty is a character that deserves a series, possibly even more than one. What little we know of her back story is certainly interesting enough and Stott presents us here with a story that seems a cross between Star Wars and The Witcher. This is a story of going on a monster hunt, but there is so much more than just this. Ty is a character that holds a very high moral code, that tries to do the right thing whenever she can, even when it’s to her detriment. That story alone, of how she needed up like that, makes her a character worth the time and energy to have more written about her. Yet there is something more here and that is how Scott weaves in all the different elements of The High Republic that we have read up to now. The impact of the Starlight Beacon, the rare species being collected for a future event, the presence of Jedi in the frontiers, it all helps to really bring this time period to life, to link all the different parts and stories together. This doesn’t need to be a galaxy shattering story like The Rising Storm or Light of the Jedi, it quietly fits into place in a very meaningful way about a very intriguing character. For me, that’s the beauty of this story, it’s homing in to one individual that really makes this stand out. Throw in the incredible artwork by Stott and you have what promises to be an incredible series. Should we be surprised? Has anything from The High Republic failed to deliver? And that is why I’ll return to what I said at the start of my review, there is so much demand for this new era, as fans we want more and more and thankfully, Scott, as always, delivers something to satisfy our appetites…
Availability;
Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures – The Monster of Temple Peak is a four-part mini-series available from IDW Publishing. This issue is available from all good comic bookstores in the USA and from Forbidden Planet in the UK. This issue retails at $3.99.
