– Spoiler Review –
Saber-for-hire monster hunter and ex-Jedi Ty Yorrick takes a starring role in Cavan Scott and Rachael Stott’s IDW miniseries, The High Republic Adventures – The Monster of Temple Peak, which serves as a prequel to the character’s appearance in The Rising Storm that fills in a fateful mission she takes prior to Valo, while also digging into her mysterious past with the Jedi. It’s an excellent and intriguing start to the 4-part series!
In the lead up to the second wave of The High Republic’s Phase 1 novels, all the teases about saber-for-hire Ty Yorrick made me eager to meet her and her simultaneous introduction in The Rising Storm and Race to Crashpoint Tower lived up to all my expectations. When we meet her in TRS, she’s left behind using stones of fate to make choices for her and gets roped up in a job that immediately makes her regret doing so, as it brings her face to face with the very thing she’s being trying to avoid for years: the Jedi Order. She has an interesting, revealing, and funny bond with Jedi Master Elzar Mann, who’s dealing with his own problems at the moment, but their bond gives us a peak at Ty’s past with the Jedi, specifically a Jedi named Kilas Teradine. Those who’ve read Dooku: Jedi Lost or checked out THR Easter Egg articles like ours will be familiar with the character and his mischievousness, and he makes his first appearance in the era in The Monster of Temple Peak #1.
Since this is a prequel, when we meet Ty Yorrick in The Monster of Temple Peak #1 (or TMTP), she’s reliant on her fate stones and not much else, worrying less about the credit intake and even less about who or what it’s for, just hoping for a successful end with credits attached. And even if things don’t go well and she comes back to her ship and her two droid companions credit-less, she’s not terribly concerned about it, willing and ready to live mission to mission, her only pressing concern staying away from the Jedi Order. A lot of what made me love the character in the novels comes to forefront here, be it her carefree attitude, snark, and indifference she hides behind because it’s quickly clear she cares about others, be it her droids or the plights of others, even if she leaves it up to chance with the titular job of the miniseries. TMTP really shows the benefits of Scott developing the character while he wrote both the novel and this comic side-by-side, as this feels like a natural step back from where she’s in the beginning of TRS while the flashbacks of her Jedi days already feel like they fit within her whole arc so far.
TMTP starts in media res, Ty battling a gundark for a client who wants the dangerous creature alive, but when a random kid happens into the fight, she decides to protect him rather than fulfill her contract, killing the gundark. Jedi are after her angry client and they offer her a distraction to get out alive, though her lack of credits and the ship’s need for repairs cause her to choose, via the stones, her next mission. Her secretary droid, KL-03 or Kayel, is a constant sarcastic reminder of their needs and of Yorrick’s detachment, as she refuses to nickname droids and ships, “tools” as she calls them, to avoid growing attached to anything. Why she might be eschewing attachments begins to take shape in the issue’s flashbacks and it’s a misguided usage of the Jedi Order’s feelings on attachments due to something dark happening, and I’m eager to see that explored as the miniseries continues. The stones guide her to the moof-milking farmland planet of Loreth, where the peaceful farmers were supposedly attacked by an ancient, myth-like creature called the Gretelax, which hides out somewhere at the top of, you guessed it, Temple Peak. Despite the danger this creature obviously poses to the farmers, Ty lets fate decide again for her about continuing with the job, and off she goes to the top of the peak to confront the beast.
Not everything seems above-board with the farmers, as The Monster of Temple Peak #1 starts with them, following the young Pela as she tries to tune into Avar Kriss’ message from Starlight Beacon in a bid for a taste of hope, but her uncle tells her she has nothing to fear…but then an explosion ripples in the distance. Next time we see them, this monster has attacked and Pela is now a mute, strangely appearing out of nowhere and seemingly warning Ty away from the mission (or wanting to rush to the monster’s side?), which her uncle blames on rhydonium tanks blown up in the Gretelax’s attack, but it seems odd for moof-milkers to need such a powerful and explosive substance. Then there’s the fact Pela’s uncle Layton named the mountain after a Temple from his home planet, but Kayel can find no record of there being a Temple on said planet. And lastly, there’s a chilling look shared between Pela and Ty before she heads up the mountain to the lair of the Gretelax. There’s definitely something deeper here, but we’ll have to wait for those mysterious unearthed. As she gets higher up the mountain, Ty’s tracking abilities in the Force show up, as she notices an invisible individual following her, with my bet on the Segredo Ty saves from the gundark in the beginning (who is pictured on the cover), but the issue ends as they get caught in a nasty spider’s web (with some great humor by Kayel about Ty’s words and the moment).
The flashbacks are something I’ve been desperate for since we knew Ty had a murky history with the Jedi Order, but I grew more impatient once her connection to Kilas Teradine was revealed. Before I dive into that, my favorite aspect to the flashback so far was a little thing: Ty is actually short for Tylera and Kilas even called her Lera for short instead of Ty. Remember how I mentioned she doesn’t nickname anything? Ironic she uses a nickname now, Ty, instead of her full name Tylera, and since a person deeply tied with her leaving the Order called her by two other names, it makes even more sense why she’s avoiding using anything but Ty. She was attached at one point, to Kilas, and what happened between them in the past is why she’s so hesitant on making connections again, as she’s once bitten, twice shy now. In TRS, we learned she had an interest in women and from the hand-holding here between her and Kilas, and Scott’s comments about her coloring similar to the bi identity flag, it seems Ty is actually bi, another rarity in Star Wars representation I’m happy Ty Yorrick fills, since she’s just an excellent character and this rep feels like one part of her, not a defining feature (as it should). It’s clear there’s a deeper bond than simply friends between her and Kilas, but the rapscallion pulls her towards trouble at the end of the issue, investigating a dark side ruin, and I cannot wait to see what happens to these two that leads to Jedi Council member Stellan Gios unable to find anything in the Jedi records about her and Teradine’s past similarly lost to history.
Drawing all these incredible moments is one stellar art team that has left quite an impression, making me hope their involvement with The High Republic or Star Wars in general isn’t over after this miniseries: Rachael Stott provides the art (pencils & inks), with Vita Efremova & Nicola Righi with the paints (aka colors), with Johanna Nattalie with production & design finishing touches (she’s seemingly the new IDW Star Wars letterer across all projects). Stott packs every panel full of the smallest and biggest details, providing a depth of field that provides scale unlike anything I’ve really seen before in comics, making each panel look like something you’d want to have framed and put up somewhere on a wall. The panels showing big cities in the distance or a bird’s eye view of a city as Ty flies away from it in particular were a delight to behold, grounding the work in the locations and settings. My favorite few panels of scenery and non-action stuff are the ones on the page when they enter the cave to look at the Gretelax drawing, as it has an almost dusty, clouded and dark feel, as if our eyes are just getting adjusted to the darkness, that made it feel like a discover out of an Indiana Jones movie or Uncharted game. As beautiful as all the scenery ways, so too are the characters, from their outfits to their facial expressions. Ty’s preferred monster hunting attire is such a cool look for a Tholothian like herself, from the crown-like gold parts of her skullcap (almost like she crowned herself a professional at her new job after leaving the Jedi) to the various aspects of the different cloth and pieces results in a living-breathing feel for her character, almost like something out of Lucasfilm Animation; there’s tons of variety when it comes to character outfits and designs that her particular style adds personality to each new face. Speaking of faces, I really loved the wide variations and emotional range to facial reactions, in particular Kilas’ mischievousness shines through with a grin I understand Ty having a hard time saying no too, while the contemplative looks as she remembers her Jedi past or the shock/disgust at her client’s guns all pointing at her, there’s added humor and weight to Scott’s dialogue thanks to Stott’s impressive work. My weird favorite design was the dinosaur-like camel Ty rides up the mountain as it’s such a unique spin on a recognizable creature. The coloring/painting from Efremova and Righi helps sell Stott’s work, with one of my favorite moments being the transition from one page of the dark, nighttime and muted Loreth to the bright, action-packed intensity of Ty’s battle with the gundark. They also offer all the added character to Ty’s outfit, a brilliant purple lightsaber blade, and make the ambiance of the cave scene land/give it the eye-adjusting feeling. Nattalie’s production design and lettering often let the art do the hard work though it draws you towards the next bubble well and lets you bask in the expansive scenery shots or gives space to the intense eye close-ups. Her VFX work is localized and often small, not covering art often but rather assisting make the sounds it so clearly makes due to Stott’s detailed art and love how its often dynamic, switching colors or placed within the engine trail of vehicles.
Here are a few other things:
- RO-VR, a uniquely designed astromech droid of Ty’s, doesn’t feature much in the first issue, but he and Kayel are both based of unused concept art for droids from Solo: A Star Wars Story. Scott also mentions this means both of his daughters are more immortalized as droids in canon!
- Releasing the same day as this issue is Scott’s 8th issue of The High Republic comic, a rousing finale to the fight against the Drengir. It makes for two stellar Scott written issues today, so read our review now to see what all the fuss is about! In a way, it’s basically Scott’s month, as the Tempest Runner original audiobook also comes out August 31!
- Make sure you’re also reading Daniel Jose Older’s mainline The High Republic Adventures comics, as they are excellent all-ages comics with tons of heart, humor, and intriguing events for the era on their own.
- Last and definitely not least, you’ll want to follow our channels, both Twitter and Instagram, next week Monday (8/16) if you like free things and The High Republic (as a heads up, it’s US only)!
The High Republic Adventures – The Monster of Temple Peak #1 is a stellar start, from Ty shining as the reluctant leading lady, the exploration of her past and present, and some stunning art we’re lucky to be graced with.
+ Ty Yorrick, leading lady and monster hunter, at your service
+ Exploring her Jedi past
+ Mystery and potential to the “present” set story
+ Stott and team’s art stuns throughout
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.