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A review by twilliamson
Star Wars: The High Republic, Vol. 1: There Is No Fear by Cavan Scott
2.0
Star Wars: The High Republic, Vol. 1 is the first print collection of the latest series from Marvel, tying in with Disney's ongoing effort to present a multimedia epic set in a previously unexplored era of Star Wars fiction. With Cavan Scott at the helm of this series, it explores the genesis of the Drengir, a new antagonist to the Jedi of the High Republic.
The series itself, though, doesn't do an especially good job of establishing its characters, its pace, or its storyline. One of the major issues of modern comic writing is that many authors don't really have a good sense of how to pace a story told serially in monthly installments. The result is that many comics rush through the story to get after its overarcing plot beats, sacrificing characterization and worldbuilding along the way.
Ostensibly, as a tie-in comic, Star Wars: The High Republic should serve to compliment stories told in the novels or YA novels being published concurrently, but the characters of the comic don't bear very heavily on the development of the other books. The result is that while this comic presents a whole lot of action and a whole lot of plot, it's missing most of what would otherwise make its story work. Nothing feels very grounded, and the stakes don't feel very important when there's no real connection to any of the characters or their lives. It just doesn't do enough to be compelling--it's a story that seems only to exist because Disney wants a multimedia tie-in comic for a big storytelling effort.
The series itself, though, doesn't do an especially good job of establishing its characters, its pace, or its storyline. One of the major issues of modern comic writing is that many authors don't really have a good sense of how to pace a story told serially in monthly installments. The result is that many comics rush through the story to get after its overarcing plot beats, sacrificing characterization and worldbuilding along the way.
Ostensibly, as a tie-in comic, Star Wars: The High Republic should serve to compliment stories told in the novels or YA novels being published concurrently, but the characters of the comic don't bear very heavily on the development of the other books. The result is that while this comic presents a whole lot of action and a whole lot of plot, it's missing most of what would otherwise make its story work. Nothing feels very grounded, and the stakes don't feel very important when there's no real connection to any of the characters or their lives. It just doesn't do enough to be compelling--it's a story that seems only to exist because Disney wants a multimedia tie-in comic for a big storytelling effort.