– Spoiler Review –
After a bit of delays, The High Republic Adventures – The Nameless Terror miniseries finally begins! With the spooky, Force-disturbing creatures in the title, needless to say there’s been some anticipation and fear around what will go down in this comic’s pages and after issue #1, I’m here to say it doesn’t disappoint, with great, nail-biting writing by George Mann and gorgeous, yet frightening art by Eduardo Mello and Ornella Savarese.
While this is a Phase II story, it has a wonderful gift for High Republic fans, as The Nameless Terror’s framing story is set in Phase I, starring saber-for-hire monster hunter Ty Yorrick!! Ty is an awesome character in her own right, ripe for many exciting and fun tales (as evidenced in her addition to 2022’s horror anthology, Tales from the Rancor Pit), and it’s fitting for her to be the one regaling us with this terror-filled story of the Nameless monsters as rumors swirl in the galaxy about their presence, which to her feels more like a Wednesday (these rumors seem to place her part likely between Phase I and Phase III, which will begin in November). Knowing how deadly the Nameless are to Force-sensitives, the idea this tale is one passed down through the years, Ty the latest to tell it, gives The Nameless Terror an almost legendary feel, with potential for the ultimate fates of its many characters could be shrouded in mystery and conjecture, both to fit within the all-ages natures of The High Republic Adventures but to also build up the creatures’ reputation even further. Just by including this framing story, something which often feels like it takes up the main story’s valuable space though not the case here, it’s raised the tension and excitement for the series. How Mann plays out the main story and Mello draws it from there only feeds into the building anxiety Ty’s narration sets up.
While there’s a bigger cast to be introduced to readers, Mann ensures the pace of the issue does not let up, dropping us into a sticky situation which only gets worse as the pages flip on, and it’s so compelling we can’t look away. Knowing what the Nameless can do, the image of their egg breaking open, is just one of many pieces which build on the spooky tone of the story, while knowing at least one character survives leaves one wondering how…and what happens to the rest of the crew. Mann’s Quest for the Hidden City was one of the early highlights of Phase II and remains one, from how he provided scares for any age reader to the insightful time with characters, and those skills are vibrating at high frequency again here, while Mello’s art is an added benefit which elevates The Nameless Terror to something every fan should enjoy. If this is just the first issue, we are in for what’s already trending towards being one of Phase II’s, and maybe the entire initiative’s, most memorable entries. I have a feeling not even some recent delays to upcoming issues will get in the way.
A Pathfinder team, the groups of Jedi and Republic who go out into the galaxy to explore the wild unknown and establish communications, finds themselves in a collision course with an unknown vessel, leading them to crash land on a nearby planet. With injuries needed tending too and the ship destroyed, the Jedi on the Pathfinders team set out to explore the planet, and the other ship, to see if there’s a way off. But the situation is far more complicated than that when we both see a creepy, purple egg crack open from the unknown vessel and its occupants end up being the Jedi-hating cult Path of the Open Hand. For the egg, High Republic fans by now should know this is a Nameless egg, found a special planet and gathered by the Mother and the Path for nefarious, Jedi-slaying purposes, and the idea it cracked open and is now empty throws a sense of dread on every panel, as readers are left waiting for when and if the other shoe will drop…and it does just as the issue comes to a close, providing quite the cliffhanger, one it totally earns on atmosphere alone. We don’t quite get to know much of the Jedi and Republic characters, as there are quite a few, but I’m already eager to see more of them and worried for each and every one of them, maybe mainly from how they sensibly react to situations instead of acting in a way meant to push the plot forward. Of the Jedi, Master Rok Buran featured in Mann’s Hidden City and his sense of adventure and desire to be always out on the frontier made him an engaging and intriguing character, which continues here, while the issue manages to address and set up his still lingering guilt over the loss of his Padawan prior to Hidden City‘s events; seems like something the Nameless creature could dredge up if he happens to run into one of them. Master Xinith Tarl, a Bith Jedi who appeared briefly in Mann’s The Battle of Jedha, is a reassuring hand on Rok’s shoulder. Coron Solstus, a human male Padawan who will later teach Ty’s Master, doesn’t seem to enjoy the potential adventure ahead of them; Coron’s Master, Sula, is a headstrong Jedi who keeps moving forward, and I love she’s the second Black representation in the comic; Ambar is the Pathfinder medic discovering Master Tarl’s renewed pain towards the end might not come from within; and Pako is the team’s pilot, pulled into the forefront the explorations. There was a little confusion at times who was being addressed/character names, but a second read through helped make it clearer, though it didn’t stop me from being intrigued by the characters.
As I’ve touched on briefly here and there, the art team of Eduardo Mello, colorist Ornela Savarese, and lettering by Studio Ram is a big factor into what makes The Nameless Terror #1 so special, and I am sure will make the remaining three issues worth the wait as well. The crash landing at the beginning of the issue is one big showcase of their work: just before the two ships collide, we get 7 little close-up panels on the Jedi and Republic characters, shock, uncertainty, and concern as the inevitable runs straight towards them, and all of these hover over the firey collision itself, Studio Ram’s SFX guiding the weight of the impact as it falls off the edge of the page. The panels afterwards all slant downwards to some degree as the ships begin their uncontrolled descent into the nearby planet, the empty, barren rocky plains foretelling the depths of the situation before our heroes and enemies, while the aforementioned Nameless egg dropping out of the ship, hitting a sharp rock, and cracking adds another layer of unease regardless of how pretty the object looks…in fact it looks to gorgeous, too alluring that it’s unnatural against the rocky solidity of the surrounding planet. Saverese’s colors really help the egg stand out, while the fiery plumes erupting from the ships as they crash, violent shades of oranges and yellows, sure hint the ships won’t be in any condition worth hoping about after they land. In fact, I really enjoyed the difference in color schemes between the framing story and the flashbacks, as it’s vibrant and bright and hopeful around Ty onboard her ship, while the story in the past is all drab and one-note, giving it a hopeless, almost oppressively so, feel. Mello is also really good with the fear overwhelming everyone’s faces, regardless of species as even Xinith’s looks painful, while characters like the fierce Sula gracing the final, piercing page, the fear across her face, hands reaching for her head, on her knees when we’ve only ever seen her standing tall and strong, the word bubbles ending in a frantic scream, practically leave readers shivering for the next issue.
Here are a few other things:
- The Nameless Terror, as long as no more delays hit, should sees its finale out on shelves in May, right around when Phase II will be wrapping up.
- The more I think about it, Ty seems like a great choice to lead an eventual party to hold back/fight/end the Nameless menace in Phase III…let’s hope this miniseries ends with some hints about the final part of the era.
The High Republic Adventures – The Nameless Terror #1 is a thrilling, atmospheric start by George Mann and Eduardo Mello that begs for the next issue to be released already.
+ Unnerving sense of growing dread while reading
+ Mello and teams art is delightful for how it adds to the issue’s terror
+ Framing story with Ty is such a brilliant move
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.
DISCLOSURE: I received a copy of this comic from the publisher at no charge in order to provide an early review. However, this did not affect the overall review content. All opinions are my own.
THE HIGH REPUBLIC ADVENTURES – THE NAMELESS TERROR REVIEWS
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