Star Wars: The High Republic #9

Star Wars: The High Republic #9

Marvel Comics 2021

Written by Cavan Scott

Illustrated by Ario Anindito

Coloured by Rachelle Rosenberg

Lettered by VC’s Ariana Maher

A NEW STORY BEGINS THIS ISSUE – THE SHADOW OF THE NIHIL!

Following the terrible events of The Rising Storm, the villainous NIHIL are in retreat, hunted by THE JEDI. WAYSEEKER KNIGHT ORLA JARENI is attacked by a lone Nihil Stormship in deep space, a Stormship commanded by one of the Jedi’s own. Which of STARLIGHT BEACON’S number have joined the Nihil Horde? And how far will they turn from the Light?

This is another series that I haven’t reviewed in a while, it’s got a huge fan base and I didn’t think it really needed me. So with a new story arc happening I thought it would be the perfect time to jump in and do a review. What I like and enjoy about this is that it’s subtly a strong series. It isn’t in your face and full of Jedi tricks it relies more on the storytelling and how the characters act and behave to tell us what is happening. It also shows us how annoying and ineffective this Jedi council is, at least in how I see it. Then again any kind of governing body usually has it’s good points and its flaws and for me we see a lot of the flaws but then these are Jedi and not like the ones I grew up with in Luke so they will do things differently.

I am very much enjoying the way that this is being told. The story & plot development we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceedingly well. The character development we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter is phenomenal in bringing these characters to life. The pacing is amazing and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story we’re caught up in something more than we expected.

How we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen in such a magnificent manner. The layers here are where we see the different avenues opening up and some of which are being explored while others just enhance the moments and what they all do is add this great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is impeccably rendered.

The interiors here are absolutely incredible. The linework we see and with its varying weights and techniques creating the detail work that we see throughout the book is really rather exceptional. The creativity and imagination we see here in the myriad of species’ that make up this galaxy is utterly delightful to witness. Plus the detail that goes into bringing them to life really is extraordinary. That we see backgrounds the way we do as they enhance and expand the moments as well as work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is rendered fabulously. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work showcases an extraordinary eye for how colour works.

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I really like this series. It is more of an unknown quantity than the more established characters that we see in the other titles. It is much the same reason I loved Dark Times as much as I did. This has some great original characters and a lot of classic intrigue and espionage happening within its pages making this really exciting to me. The writing is strong and interesting with some snappy and smart characterisation wrapped up in these amazing interiors. Sometimes it takes an original cast of characters to keep a franchise alive, vital and full of verve.