With the third and final Phase of The High Republic era just getting started, we’re slowly coming to understand the scope and scale of where the story may all go. While we might know all the novel names for Phase III, it’s clear stories still remain to be announced and we got our first new one: Dark Horse’s The High Republic Adventures: Saber for Hire, starting April 10!! Jedi turned monster hunter Ty Yorrick is back in a starring role, with writer Cavan Scott and artist Rachael Stott returning to show us her next adventure, where we’ll see her face new challenges behind the Nihil’s Stormwall, including trying to be a Master! Elsewhere in High Republic news, we got our first synopsis for the upcoming young-adult novel Tears of the Nameless, while new concept art was released of said scary creatures recently! Head below for the full cover reveal for Saber for Hire, more details, a glimpse at the Nameless, and more!
We first met Ty Yorrick in Scott’s The Rising Storm, followed by the comic miniseries The Monster of Temple Peak (also by Scott and Stott), later got a small story with her in Tales from the Rancor Pit (by Scott again), and finally saw the first continuation of her Phase I story in a Phase II miniseries, The Nameless Terror (by George Mann), where she starred in a framing tale. She’s been a fun character to follow and it seems like Saber for Hire, will take everything fans have come to love about her and put it all through the wringer. At the end of The Nameless Terror, we saw her take Drewen, whom attempted to help her in the Temple Peak miniseries, on as an Apprentice of sorts, as much as she didn’t want to, and we’re picking up how that’s going in Saber for Hire. As writer Scott puts it:
“Former Jedi-turned-monster-hunter Ty and her apprentice Drewen are trapped behind enemy lines and having the time of their lives hunting beasts and making a small fortune. Well, Ty is having the time of her life. Drewen is feeling sidelined and wants more from their partnership. As Ty faces a nightmare from her past, Drewen steps out on his own. What could go wrong, right?”
It’s no surprise to me Ty is enjoying the heck out of this situation, as it’s not like her to get involved with the bigger fight but in a way she is by helping out those in need…especially those with credits and a particular problem. Drewen wanting more, the young idealistic youth that he is, also doesn’t come as a surprise, but him going out on his own should certainly kickstart Ty to maybe pay attention to him, and the bigger problem, more. Yet this tease from creative director of Lucasfilm Publishing, Michael Siglain, holds even more promise of what we’ll see in the 4-issue miniseries:
“Ty has left the Jedi Order far behind and has fully embraced her role as a monster-hunting saber-for-hire — or has she? As we’ll see, Ty is key to the larger battle between the marauding Nihil and the monstrous Nameless — she just doesn’t know it yet.”
Does that imply the Nameless have turned on the Nihil? Is it something to do with Baron Boolan’s experiments on Force users, the Children of the Storm, and the Nameless themselves? Or is this just a hint at the larger picture of what needs to be done to bring the Nameless threat to an end, involving Planet X and whatever the heck is going on there? Only time will tell, but it’s intriguing nonetheless!
Speaking of the Nameless, the latest concept art drop was all about the spooky experiments the Nihil’s Baron Boolan has done to the creatures, mainly the two which have survived his work and are his personal guard, of all things! We’re also more formally introduced to his assistants, Reek and Niv Drendow Apruk (as we’ve been told, Niv Drendow is his first name and don’t forget it), the former a rodent-like species we’ll see in future issues of The High Republic – Phase III, and the latter being a main antagonist for Escape from Valo in January. Either way, both Siglain and Charles Soule teased how, “The Nameless are their own kind of storm,” maybe hinting at what Siglain said for Saber for Hire with Ty’s role! Either way, more Jedi will have to face them, so prepare to lose more of your favorites, maybe!
Next up, we got the first synopsis for Tears of the Nameless, George Mann’s YA novel out September 3, 2024. It comes chronologically after books Escape From Valo (January 30), Defy the Storm (March 5), Temptation of the Force (June 11), and Beware the Nameless (July 23), the latter two we don’t have synopsis for, but this doesn’t look to have any real big spoilers or anything (besides mention of a certain character’s return first seen in Shadows of Starlight #1):
The New York Times best-selling series continues in this heart-wrenching sequel to Defy the Storm where fans will reunite with fan-favorite Jedi Knight Reath Silas.
Written by the author of The High Republic: Eye of Darkness, The High Republic: Quest for the Hidden City, Dark Legends, and Myths & Fables, this next High Republic installment is perfect for fans of investigative mysteries, mythology, monster-hunting, and apocalyptic sci-fi.
It’s been over a year since the fall of the Starlight Beacon space station, and both heroes and villains alike must face the consequences of their decisions. When Jedi Knight Reath and Padawan Amadeo Azzazzo are sent on a mission to test their theories about the Nameless, they’ll come face-to-face with the terrifying creatures once thought to be myth—and learn the true meaning of fear . . . fear that fallen Jedi Azlin Rell advised them to embrace if they have any hope of defeating the monsters . . .
Phase III: Trials of the Jedi is going to be quite the treat, even with tons of potential heartbreak, as it works through all these intriguing mysteries and threads while finishing the era’s story, for now, through 2025.
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Bluesky, Twitter @MynockManor, and Instagram @mynockmanor.