This year’s Lucasfilm Publishing Panel at SDCC had some little tastes of other publications on their way or recently released, but a big focus was the upcoming third and final Phase of The High Republic, revealing new covers full of theory-inducing images fans will be ruminating over until it begins in the fall. Head below for all the new covers and additional images from upcoming works like the Dark Droids Marvel comics crossover and Rebellion focused visual guide!
PSA: In case you weren’t aware, September 5’s The High Republic – Tales of Light and Life, the anthology novel covering tales all over the initiative from every Luminous author, was on sale early at SDCC. We can all hope fans will be respectful with spoilers, but no matter which social media site you’re on the most now, be careful (and hopefully people use things like rot13 and not a couple dashes to hide spoilers). If you want access early, the ebook comes out July 25 still, so those not at the convention have their chance too. Just be warned, whether they got it at SDCC or you get it in ebook form, even from Barnes & Noble, none of those will come with Alyssa Wong’s B&N exclusive story. And for international fans, that will be harder to get, I am sorry to say. It seems the ebook will not be releasing early, so only SDCC fans and some reviewers have been lucky enough to get it this past weekend. As for international fans and getting the B&N exclusive story, it seems they are trying to work out something!
With that out of the way, let’s jump into it! As you see above, they revealed the cover for the second issue of The High Republic – Shadows of Starlight, a 4-issue miniseries starting in October from Charles Soule which will fill in some details about the in-universe year gap between Phase I and the start of Phase III. Thanks to its initial announcement we already know whom each issue will focus on, but they reiterated them at the panel: Issue #1 (out October 4) is all about the Jedi Council, which according to the solicitations released a day before the panel, focuses on Yoda having to tap into the dark side to achieve his plan to save the galaxy and, “…the consequences will be grave indeed.” I have chills!; Issue #2 (out November 8) is all about Avar Kriss and Elzar Mann, who graces the cover above; Issue #3 is about Bell Zettifar and Burryaga; and Issue #4 will feature Marchion Ro himself. Phase III will start in November proper with The Eye of Darkness (out Nov 14), which we got the moody, Marchion-filled cover for already, and at the panel it was described in one word: “Brutal.” Yikes!
I’m going to let y’all marinate on those covers for Marvel’s The High Republic – Phase III from the dynamite team of Cavan Scott, Ario Anindito, and Mark Morales. Issue #1 (out Nov 8) has JEDI MASTER KEEVE TRENNIS, which I’ll never quite be normal about, gracing its cover, alongside Ceret or Terec and….LOURNA DEE?!! The year between Phase I and Phase III is far more wild than I could’ve imagined. What brings these two together? Did Lourna’s experiences in Tempest Runner, and later her confrontation with Avar and Keeve, where the latter saved her, brought her around and against Marchion? At the panel, Scott said the first issue will focus on Keeve coming to terms with being a Master now, much like the first issue for Phase I did for her being a Jedi Knight. The second issue’s cover has not only a little Nameless creature on it, but a new, creepy looking antagonist, part of something call the Children of the Path. That’s like the 100th name for the group in over 150 years! Originally the Path of the Open Hand, and later for a bit the Path of the Closed Fist, many schisms later have resulted in the Elders of the Path, which is where Zeen Mrala was rescued from in Phase I (and one of its Elders was a Little way back in Phase II), and now this Children of the Path. What are their goals? Why were they formed? Are they even more extremist or trying to find a middle ground? Only Phase III will tell!
We already got a little peek at a preliminary cover for Daniel José Older’s return with The High Republic Adventures – Phase III from Dark Horse, which showcased Zeen Mrala and Qort, looking much older and hardened, but the official covers are here and wow, did they go really metal and look even more toughened than we originally saw! As many question as I have about what these two are up to, and WHERE THE HELL IS LULA TALISOLA IS SHE OKAY IS SHE ALRIGHT AFTER THE FREE COMIC BOOK DAY ISSUE, I really really want to meet the little chaos droid on the cover for issue #1 (out December 13). Older not only revealed the droid is she/they, a RARITY but very welcomed for droids in Star Wars, but she is also as chaotic as Nimona?! Which if you haven’t seen the film on Netflix, come back to this article after doing so (you’re very welcome). Elsewhere, Older teased that Qort became a man in the year between Phases and Ram only grew up?! Hmmm. Speaking of Ram….
Speaking of people I want to meet…all these little newbies gracing the cover above with Ram Jomaram (which I’ll spell right without looking up ONE day)! This is the cover for Escape from Valo (out January 30), written by Older and Alyssa Wong, and is out in January. Alyssa took to Twitter to reveal the two grey-skinned Jedi on either side of Ram are the same species as Kho Phon Farrus, so as a big fan of theirs, I can’t wait to learn more about the species! The official blurbs for this novel and the one below don’t help much with speculation!
And now the cover above, for Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland’s Defy the Storm (out March 12), which is not only one of the most beautiful yet, but opens SOOO many questions! Also seen on Escape from Valo’s cover, the Nihil symbol here is very, very blue, which is more of the color from the Path of the Open Hand than the Nihil in Phase I…is this a splinter group? Are they against Marchion for what he’s done or how he’s painted their group to the galaxy? Or is this part of Marchion’s always changing plan, some new way to present the group to those trapped in the Occlusion Zone he set up, and hasn’t been breached, since the end of Phase I? And what are Jordanna Sparkburn, Avon Starros, and Vernestra Rwoh doing amongst them?! Are they leading the group somehow?! Could it be due to the special Path Vern received from Mari San Tekka before she passed (is that how they break through the Zone)? Why is Jordanna there with them and how is Slyvestri Yarrow doing after her mother’s death? Are they there to rescue her? How about Avon? From the panel at least, we have a bit of an answer, as this will deal with her learning her mother, Ghirra Starros, slept with Marchion! We already know thanks to Ireland’s Sana Starros comic Avon seems to disappear from the galaxy (with Vern and her special Path?) at one point, not before having Deva Lompop vow to protect her family, and I’d certainly want to flee the galaxy after what she learns. This is the final cover from the panel, but is still one last bit of High Republic goodness left before we switch into news about other comics and novels.
It’s nice to get another glimpse at the upcoming The High Republic Character Encyclopedia, which has been delayed to December 5, even if it includes a moment ripping open the band-aid of Stellan Gios’ death.
OTHER COMICS/NOVELS:
August begins the next Marvel comics crossover event, Dark Droids, and we received a lettered and expanded glimpse at the main miniseries’ first issue, where the Scourge narrates a bit. The Scourge is something inside the puck picked up by the KX droid, a puck which was sealed away in the Fermata Cage until Qi’ra opened it in an attempt to trap Darth Sidious and Darth Vader (which failed, obviously), while the Spark Eternal possessing Doctor Aphra joined with said puck after the Sith tossed it aside. It seems to be after the Force, for droids, and despite concerns about another comic event, I’m getting quite excited by this idea! Also included in the previews was another page from Dark Droids: D-Squad, a 4-issue miniseries detailing Artoo’s efforts to save Threepio from the Scourge, which will feature many familiar droids, including Chopper, as seen above.
Also previewed was another horror-themed comic, this time the next installment in the Tales series, this one called Tales from the Death Star, said to feature stories from the original trilogy through The Rise of Skywalker! The preview above features some of the absolutely scary and cool art we’ll get in the upcoming release. It’s out September 26.
In another bit of PSA, Crimson Climb, the upcoming October 10 novel from E.K. Johnston about Qi’ra’s rise in the Crimson Dawn ranks in-between when Han Solo leaves her on Corellia and when they meet again, was also on sale at SDCC. Myself and Chris at the Manor have had review copies for a little bit now and will have reviews coming up, and I will say, despite my initial hesitation, I’ve quite been enjoying this one. I’m curious when we’ll Qi’ra again, especially after the ending to Hidden Empire…
Marc Thompson, Star Wars novel narrator extraordinaire, read an excerpt inside From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi, out August 29, in an Obi-Wan Kenobi focused tale by author Alex Jennings, which gives us a look into Obi-Wan’s thoughts during his conversation with Luke Skywalker.
And lastly, we got our first look inside the upcoming Dawn of Rebellion: The Visual Guide, with pages about the Fortress Inquisitorius, House Organa, and the rise of the stormtrooper project for the Empire. This is out November 7.
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.