Fans who are already familiar with Lucasfilm’s ambitious multi-platform storytelling initiative Star Wars: The High Republic will know that it takes place hundreds of years prior to the events of the Skywalker Saga as depicted in the franchise’s various live-action films.
And now, thanks to Dark Horse’s new one-shot comic book Star Wars: The High Republic – Quest of the Jedi by writer Claudia Gray (Star Wars: Lost Stars, Star Wars: Bloodline), the narrative dives even further into the mysterious past of A Galaxy Far, Far Away.
But first, Quest of the Jedi begins during the time period of Phase II of The High Republic, with Jedi Knight Azlin Rell and Master Vin pay tribute to their fallen comrades Zallah Macri and Kevmo Zink (see the excellent young-adult novel Star Wars: The High Republic – Path of Deceit for details on how these two met their grisly end) before flashing back over a hundred years earlier to the adventures of Jedi Barnabas Vim and his Padawan Vix Fonnick. Note: Lucasfilm Publishing creative director Michael Siglain has noted that an edit will be made to this comic in digital form and later editions to clarify a potential continuity error. From that point on, the bulk of this single-issue comic is about Vim and Vix’s journey to the planet Angcord in search of a mystical Force-imbued artifact known as the Echo Stone. They meet a civilization localized to an archipelago surrounded by an almost-entirely water-based world, and then are extremely surprised to find that some elite members of its populace are capable of manipulating the Force in quite impressive ways. When Vim asks the Lady of Angcord how these feats are accomplished, she leads the two Jedi into an underground chamber where the Echo Stone rests on a pedestal, emitting Force energy through the islands. The Lady’s guards, known as the Pilgrim Warriors, become suspicious that the Jedi will steal the Echo Stone from Angcord, though our protagonists insist they would never do so without permission.
But Barnabas soon begins to theorize that the relic may have a dark-side hold on the Lady and her underlings. One meditative rest later, and Vim has learned more about the history of the planet and the true nature of the Echo Stone, so he summons the Lady back to the chamber to reveal the truth. A battle between the Jedi and the Pilgrims ensues, culminating in Vix shattering the stone and releasing the citizens of Angcord from its powers. Then the Jedi take the three fragments of the Echo Stone to separate parts of the galaxy, with (I believe) the implication being that these shards may come to be embedded in the coveted Rods of Daybreak and Seasons that can control the vicious Force-eating creature known as the Leveler later on in the timeline. It’s tough to say for sure, but if that’s the case then it’s nice to have this bit of backstory to flesh out some of the history behind The High Republic, and it’s also wonderful that the powers that be have opened up the intriguing potential of exploring Star Wars storytelling in even earlier eras. As usual, Gray does a great job with the writing (in what I’m pretty sure is her first Star Wars comic book after having contributed a number of novels), and artist Fico Ossio (of Dark Horse’s No One Left to Fight) delivers just the right tone through his illustrations, collaborating with talented colorists Sebastian Cheng and Candice Han. All told, Quest of the Jedi is an appealing story that potentially shines some light on a couple lingering questions from The High Republic Phase II, and I sure hope it’s not the last we see of Barnabas Vim and Vix Fonnick.
Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures – Quest of the Jedi is available now wherever comic books are sold.