With 2022 looking for be a banner year for on-screen Star Wars content, with numerous shows on their way to Disney+, and the first Star Wars Celebration since 2019, it’s only right January’s Star Wars comics belong to The High Republic. The 4 issues scheduled for the month coincide with the launch of Phase I: Wave III’s content, which brings the opening salvo of the era launched in 2021 to a ominous sounding close. Elsewhere, January 2022’s Star Wars comic solicitations promise more treasure hunting for Doctor Aphra and Sana Starros, T’onga’s new groove, and a…Ochi and Deathstick team-up mission for Crimson Dawn’s Qi’ra?! Head below to see all the teases of what’s to come!
{These are from the initial solicits from the official site’s preview, so no release dates quite yet nor IDW’s issues. We’ll update as those come in!}
Update 11/10/21: IDW’s solicits are now included, as are the dates for Marvel’s content. The wedding/honeymoon happened just after this so I sort of forgot to fill in all the other info! It looks like some Marvel issues have slipped into February, so I’ve made sure to include those new dates.
MARVEL
Halcyon Legacy #1 (on sale 01/19)
Ethan Sacks (Writer), Will Sliney (Artist)
Cover by E.M. Gist | Variant Cover by Will Sliney | Variant Cover by Caspar Wijngaard | Variant Cover by TBA | Attraction Variant Cover Also Available
THE VOYAGES OF THE GREATEST OF ALL-STAR CRUISERS!
- As the legendary HALCYON embarks on a momentous…cruise, the ship heads toward a confrontation with THE FIRST ORDER!
- But what secret from THE HIGH REPUBLIC ERA can help the passengers and crew all these years later?
- And how did JEDI NIBS and BURRY fend off a NIHIL attack on one of the ship’s first ever voyages?
If the Star Wars Park got tie-in material, from books, comics, and even games, it shouldn’t come as a surprise the Star Wars immersive Hotel would too. Galactic Starcruiser’s 5-part miniseries begins in 2022 with the opening issue of Halcyon Legacy, and its The High Republic content is the main reason I’m really considering checking this comic out. More Burry, the most empathetic Wookiee and one of many Jedi of the era that needs to be protected?! Sign me up, but from there on, I’ll be curious to see if this has a good enough hook to prevent it from feeling like the tie-in that it is. The creative team’s last collaboration, the Galaxy’s Edge comic building up to the opening of the park, wasn’t the most spellbinding but it did it’s best with the material it had. The recent Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge game, my review of the superior Last Call expansion is almost out, did it right, and while I don’t have too much faith in Halcyon Legacy, I’ll hold out hope for now. But I am happy to see it is just one small entry in the month’s big The High Republic focused content!
The High Republic — Eye of the Storm #1 (on sale 01/12)
Charles Soule (Writer), Guillermo Sanna (Artist)
Cover by Ryan Brown | Variant Cover by Carlos Pacheco | Variant Cover by Cory Smith
ACT ONE: Ro. The Truth. The Lie. The Kill.
- In which we reveal the true origins of MARCHION RO, the Eye of the Nihil and sworn enemy of the Jedi Order.
- In which the lie at the heart of his family is exposed.
- In which the doom of the High Republic begins…with a single kill.
Announced not terribly long ago, Eye of the Storm will uncover Marchion Ro’s past in two super-sized issues. This solicit is the first real details we’ve gotten maybe what we’ll see, as now we know it’ll dive into a lie weaving its way through his family history, which is interesting considering we recently learned Marchion Ro might not even be his real name. And how or why do they know about the Great Leveler and its kind, able to bring its considerable Jedi squashing powers to bear on an unsuspecting Jedi Order? As this lines up with the release of the final wave of content for Phase 1, I suspect answers will be plentiful but they’ll probably come with their own new set of intriguing questions.
The High Republic – Trail of Shadows #4 (On Sale 1/5)
Daniel José Older (Writer), Dave Wachter (Artist)
Cover by David López | Variant Covers by TBA
TIME IS RUNNING OUT TO SOLVE THE GREATEST MYSTERY OF THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE JEDI!
- As pressure mounts, EMERICK and SIAN follow a desperate lead to close in on their suspect!
- A sentimental mistake may tip the balance, but a creeping horror lurks in the shadows…
- Can the investigators uncover the NIHIL’S secret weapon before it’s used to bring down THE REPUBLIC?
The opening of this noir seeped thriller gave fans everywhere the deepest of chills with its catchy yet spooky nursery rhyme. With it opening on Loden Greatstorm’s petrified body, it seems we might get answer on the Great Leveler which dusted the Jedi Master, but don’t expect it to be an uplifting journey. This solicit for issue #4 exposes the downward but thrilling rise will continue.
The High Republic #13 (on sale 1/19)
Cavan Scott (Writer), Ario Anindito (Artist)
Cover by Phil Noto | Variant Cover by Ario Anindito | Variant Cover by Khoi Pham
THE BATTLE FOR NO-SPACE!
- Since MARCHION RO attacked the Republic Fair on VALO, everything has been leading to this moment. Now it’s THE JEDI’s turn to strike the heart of THE NIHIL.
- AVAR KRISS VS. LOURNA DEE. JEDI VS. NIHIL. JEDI VS. JEDI.
- A line is about to be crossed!
Is this exactly what Marchion Ro wanted, the Jedi coming to him, especially has he still likely has the advantage of the Great Leveler? Trail of Shadows obviously isn’t over yet to potentially answer what the Nameless are, Wave III novels drop this month, and Eye of the Storm starts Ro’s deep-dive backstory, so how much overlap will we see with answers and revelations regarding the era coming to this significant milestone?! We’ll likely have to tell the whole Luminous group they know what they did
Bounty Hunters #20 (on sale 1/12)
Ethan Sacks (Writer), Paolo Villanelli (Artist)
Cover by Giuseppe Camuncoli |Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary Variant Cover by Chris Sprouse | Variant Cover by Ken Lashley
FORLORN FOR 4-LOM!
- T’ONGA and her bounty hunters are desperate to recover 4-LOM for their mission…but the upgraded killer droid is the one hunting them aboard a ghost ship.
- Can ZUCKUSS survive a reunion with his onetime partner?
- Meanwhile, VUKORAH makes her move…and the criminal underworld will never be the same!
I never imagined I’d be invested in the saga of Zuckuss and 4–LOM, but after the stellar War of the Bounty Hunters one-shot, I can’t wait to see if they’ll be able to repair what’s broken. And more T’onga and Vukorah, especially the latter since she took a backseat during much of WotBH, is exactly what this series needs.
Doctor Aphra #18 (on sale 1/19)
Alyssa Wong (Writer), Minkyu Jung (Artist)
Cover by Sara Pichelli | Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary Variant Cover by Chris Sprouse | Variant Cover by Babs Tarr
“CONJURATIONS”
- With STRANGE RITUAL MURDERS on the rise, DOCTOR APHRA and SANA STARROS’ hunt for ASCENDANT ARTIFACTS is growing dire!
- Their leads keep turning up dead, and they’re running out of time!
- They’ll have to delve deep into the secrets of an ANCIENT TECH CULT if they plan to catch the killer!
In the latest Doctor Aphra issue, we were introduced to our first Ascendant artifact, a deadly thing with a silly name, Thought Dowser, and it scared even Aphra and left her scarred after breaking free from it’s growing grasp on her mind. We don’t know much about the Ascendant cult overall, but we do know not even the Sith wanted to deal with their shenanigans so they are something quite deadly indeed and something I am eager to see explored in the coming issues. I’m just really glad the series is heading back towards some of the weird, the strange, and the archaeology-minded content only it can explore.
IDW
The High Republic Adventures #12 (on sale 01/12/22)
Daniel José Older (Writer), Harvey Tolibao (Artist/Cover Artist)
The Padawans and their masters rush to Corellia where Nihil inductee Krix Kamarat has been planning his next attack. Lula struggles with her new responsibility while Zeen struggles with Krix’s quick descent into evil; both girls worry for the other but are distracted when they’re split up and hear a mysterious distress signal…
Not looking forward to Zeen and Lula split up, as they definitely work best with and for each other when together, so hopefully they can rise to the challenges facing each of them alone! Otherwise, I’m betting the distress signal is either tied into events from The Fallen Star or other Wave III books also releasing in January, or it could finally be Yoda, who’s been missing since THRA #5! Which, interestingly enough, the cover for issue #12 connects/is the opposite of issue #5’s cover!
The High Republic Adventures – Galactic Bake-off Spectacular (on sale 01/19)
Daniel José Older, Vita Ayala (Writers), Toni Bruno, Jo Cheol-Hong (Artists)
Cover by Jason Loo
Torban “Buckets of Blood” Buck and Kantam Sy face off in a brutal, intense, ruthless… bake-off!
Lightsabers and Jedi robes are put aside in favor of whisks and aprons as the two competitors bake Master Yoda’s special pastry recipe. But the recipe requires one extra special ingredient: a story! “Buckets of Blood” and Kantam recount the tale of an epic battle as they whisk away, both hoping to win the prize of Padawan approval.
Daniel José Older and Vita Ayala team up in this heart-warming one-shot. Plus, bake Master Yoda’s pastries yourself, with the recipe included in the back!
Literally already my favorite issue of all the comics and I haven’t read it yet. A bake-off special issue?!?! For reals?!? The fact the Jedi Masters, even Yoda, are baking fanatics has been a fun thread running throughout The High Republic Adventures, but I never imagined it would come to the forefront in such a fun and exciting way! Plus the recipe is included?! Wonderful.
Star Wars Adventures #14 (on sale 01/19)
George Mann, Justina Ireland (Writers), Butch K. Mapa, Nick Brokenshire (Artists)
Cover A by Francesco Francavilla | Cover B by Nick Brokenshire
First, from author George Mann (Doctor Who): after stopping to repair the Millennium Falcon, Rey, Chewie, Finn, and BB-8 must escape a bounty hunter set on turning them over to the First Order!
Then, an exciting Nihil story from High Republic author Justina Ireland!
SWA #14 finishes the sequel-set main story, which I’m curious to learn more about, like who is the bounty hunter and when this takes place in the films, but I’m more intrigued by Justina Ireland’s Nihil-focused story for the backup part this issue! With all the Wave III content out there in January, will this expand on something from those stories, like her own Mission to Disaster?
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.