"The High Republic #1: There is No Fear, Chapter One: Trial by Ordeal" by Cavan Scott

 "The High Republic #1: There is No Fear, Chapter One: Trial by Ordeal" written by Cavan Scott, illustrated by Ario Anindito, Mark Morales, and Annalisa Leoni

I really enjoyed this premiere of the comic side of the High Republic publishing campaign!! There was engaging character development and fascinating world building that made for an excellent read. And the art was simply spectacular!! Vivid colors, well depicted characters, and super clear images really helped to pull me into the story further (see Sskeer and Keeve fighting below for a great example). I fully read this issue twice through and thoroughly enjoyed it both times--yay for Cavan Scott!! Here's hoping this series continues to impress! (And there were no discrepancies with Light of the Jedi!!! Hallelujah!! This comic seamlessly connected with the adult novel, making me incredibly happy.)

The events of this issue take place after those found in Light of the Jedi up until the dedication ceremony of Starlight Beacon toward the very end of the novel. And they take place before the events of A Test of Courage as it is Sskeer and Keeve Trennis who come and rescue Vernestra, Imri, Honesty, Avon, and J-6 from Wevo and it explicitly states that the pair had just returned from Shuraden where the majority of this comic issue takes place. With everything so interconnected amongst these High Republic works, its very difficult to parse them out individually in a set order. This is definitely an intriguing and unique way of approaching a brand new story, and I guess it's the best way to do so since not everybody will be reading literally everything that gets published like I will. For me it would be more beneficial to have the story continue in a straight timeline from one media to the next, but that's asking a whole lot of people...so I get it. Regardless, with the way it's being formulated and published, readers will definitely have to be paying careful attention so they can suss out how the stories interweave.

As I said above, the majority of this issue occurs on the planet of Shuraden, homeworld of the Ximpi!! Those are the little, four-winged, flying sentients of which the crime boss Papa Toren is a member (see two of them below). Of this species, we meet Kanrii who repetitively wants to know if the Jedi are on Shuraden to help/protect the Ximpi and later wants to know if Keeve is scared during her Trials described below. He's one annoying bugger!! There's also Lekaki who joins Kanrii's irritating chorus.

Our two main characters are the Trandoshan Jedi Sskeer and his human Padawan Keeve Trennis. We know this story takes place after Light of the Jedi because Sskeer is already missing his left arm, an injury that occurred during the final battle in that novel--the Battle of Kur. Luckily, Trandoshans can regenerate their lost limbs!! Sskeer has brought Keeve to Shuraden to undergo her Jedi Trials--he takes her to some ancient rock formations and says, "The Needles have stood for millennia. Many have tried to climb them. Many have failed. They are fragile and old. And I have hung a Tythonian pendant at the top of one of the peaks." (See the formation below. And recall Tython from both the end of the first comic run of "Doctor Aphra" and "Chapter 14" of the "The Mandalorian.") In the midst of her trial, a swarm of Ridadi (see them below), a species of quite large star-locust, explode through The Needles and make a mess of everything, even heading for the Ximpi city!! (See Keeve communing with the Ridadi to figure out what in the world is going on, below.)

We also get a peak into what's going on at the Starlight Beacon...apparently the Jedi there are unsure of Sskeer's whereabouts and Avar Kriss is worried. We meet Estala Maru, a male Kessurian Jedi, who's working over time to get the Beacon up and running while also planning for the dedication ceremony and still coordinating care for victims of The Great Disaster. We are additionally introduced to another Grandmaster besides Yoda, Grandmaster Veter, a male Tarnab. And there's some interesting info on Yoda's sabbatical from the Council (as mentioned in Light of the Jedi): "Not finished on the Star Hopper am I. A different path I walk, as the Force leads." I wonder what's up with this Star Hopper ship and why it's so important that it leads Yoda to take a break from the Council... The two Grandmasters have arrived at the Beacon to bestow upon Avar Kriss, the title of Marshall of the station (since Jora Malli, a female Togruta Jedi, who was slated to take that position was killed in the Battle of Kur). 

I'm chomping at the bit to read the next issue and cannot wait for its release!! Apparently Sskeer has some sort of dark secret and I'm anxious to discover what this Jedi could be keeping from those around him, including his Padawan. Such a great start to this new era in regards to the comic book format!!