After much hype and circumstance, the latest The High Republic Show finally arrives with the promise of revealing Burryaga’s fate. It was a foregone conclusion they wouldn’t center a big hype train on revealing his fate only for him to be dead, but it was still very reassuring when host Krystina Arielle brought the good word: Burry Lives!! We’ll find out how in Tales of Light and Life (out September 5, available at SDCC early, and ebook releasing July 25), likely via Charles Soule’s story called “All Jedi Walk Their Own Path,” which we already knew would center on Bell Zettifar’s tireless search for his friend. Beyond the good news, we got a reveal of the cover for The Eye of Darkness, George Mann’s opening novel to Phase III, as well as a promise of at least one reveal at the SDCC Lucasfilm Publishing Panel on July 21! This was a short one, a little disappointingly so, but it’s awesome to have Arielle and the Show back. Head below for The Eye of Darkness’ cover!
Beyond the thirsty cover by Grant Griffith, we did learn Ario Anindito and Mark Morales are for sure coming back for Cavan Scott’s The High Republic – Phase III for Marvel in November (the first cover is the SDCC reveal we’ve been promised), while we got a blurb for The Eye of Darkness:
“The galaxy is divided. Following the shocking destruction of Starlight Beacon, the Nihil establish an impenetrable barrier called the Stormwall around part of the Outer Rim, where Marchion Ro rules and his followers wreak havoc at his every whim. Jedi trapped behind enemy lines, including Avar Kriss, must fight to help the worlds being pillaged by the Nihil while staying one step ahead of the marauders and their Nameless terrors.
Outside of the Nihil’s so-called Occlusion Zone, Elzar Mann, Bell Zettifar, and the other Jedi work alongside the Republic to reach the worlds that have been cut off from the rest of the galaxy. But every attempt to breach the Stormwall has failed, and even communication across the barrier is impossible. For both Elzar and Bell, their failures and losses weigh heavily upon them as they search desperately for a solution.
But even if the Republic and Jedi forces manage to breach the Stormwall, how can the Jedi ever fight back against the Nameless creatures that prey on the Jedi’s connection to the Force? And what other horrors does Marchion Ro have in store? As desperation for both the Jedi and the Republic grows, any hope of reuniting the galaxy could be all but extinguished….”
We saw this Stormwall be built at the very end of Phase I in The Eye of the Storm comic and it’s very interesting to hear Avar and other Jedi are trapped behind its lines, while Elzar and Bell remain on the other side. I really hope Avar gets a prominent role in this novel, as she’s severely been missing in prose form since Light of the Jedi, as while her time in the Marvel comic was great, it still wasn’t enough and didn’t give us a bigger insight into her feelings/mindset. Otherwise, the mystery of how to break the Stormwall, built thanks to the now dead Chancey Yarrow (damn it, Elzar!), will be an intriguing one, while I look forward to the first glimpses of how it’s changed the galaxy a bit with Lydia Kang’s Star Wars Insider shorts, starting in October.
Phase III hype is building, there’s no doubt about it! We’ll have our Phase II retrospective on the site sometime no later than August, so stay tuned for that and more reveals!
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.