On a remote farming planet, the Jedi come face-to-face with a terrifying new enemy while they also deal with conflict from within in Star Wars: The High Republic #3, out today from Marvel Comics.
Picking up where we left off last month, Jedi Master Avar Kriss, her former Padawan Keeve Trennis, and Kotabi bond-twin Terec have traveled to Sedri Minor in an effort to assist fellow Jedi Knights Sskeer and (the other half of the bond) Ceret as they investigate mysterious disappearances in the local community. Both Terec and Sskeer are acting very strangely, with the latter seemingly giving in to some dark-side tendencies as he lashes out as his fellow Jedi.
Meanwhile, Keeve interacts with the friendlier denizens of the planet, who offer food and help until their more hostile self-labeled leader Kal Sulman intervenes. Still, Tennis is determined to get to the bottom of the vashinings, so she investigates on her own, finding that the crops have been failing and rotten in the fields. A young boy joins her on her quest and they wind up at the bottom of a pit leading to a series of underground tunnels, where they encounter– SPOILER ALERT— the sentient dark-side plant monsters known as the Drengir (see last month’s novel Star Wars: The High Republic – Into the Dark by Claudia Gray for more information on this menacing new threat). The Drengir have drained the life from another local youth and are in the process of doing the same to Ceret when Keeve begins to put up a fight.
Of course back on the Jedi’s ship the Ataraxia, Terec is affected by the mind-link to Ceret and begins exhibiting some rather alarming behavior toward the already-compromised Sskeer. This issue culminates in a no-holds-barred showdown against the Drengir in the subterranean tunnels and a shocking cliffhanger with particularly terrifying implications for the Jedi. I love how writer Cavan Scott has kept things simple with this series so far, grounding the action in limited, often claustrophobic locations. And artist Ario Anindito is no slouch either, conveying the story in appealingly kinetic drawings that are further accentuated by inker Mark Morales and colorist Annalisa Leoni. Marvel’s The High Republic comic book series may be just one piece of an ongoing multi-platform initiative, but in successfully connecting us with its characters and their investigation, Scott and his extremely talented collaborators have made it feel as though this is as good an entry point as any into this new era of Star Wars storytelling.
Star Wars: The High Republic #3 is available now wherever comic books are sold.