Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures – The Monster of Temple Peak #1
In the aftermath of the Great Disaster, Republic Chancellor Lina Soh prepares to unite the galaxy on Valo with a worlds-spanning Republic Fair.
But not all systems share in this spirit of unity. And not all is at it seems, as former Jedi Padawan turned saber for hire TY YORRICK will soon learn….
Writer: Cavan Scott
Artist: Rachael Stott
Letterer: Johanna Nattalie
Colorist: Vita Efremova, Nicola Righi
Cover artist: Harvey Tolibao
Publication date: August 11, 2021
Pages: 32
The Great Disaster has shook the galaxy to its core, and the Jedi are racing to keep pace with the wave of nervousness and tension that’s sweeping the stars. As Chancellor Soh plans the great Republic Fair to bring the galaxy together and show defiance to the Nihil, we swing to the galactic frontier and the world of Loreth where a young girl named Pela is keen to listen to the Jedi broadcasting from Starlight Beacon, her uncle snatching the reciever away from her, telling her she needs to toughen up to survive on the frontier. From there we head to the Outer Rim and Blarrum where former Jedi Padawan Ty Yorrick is chased by an angry gundark, its claws slashing at her as she tries to bring it in alive for a hefty price, but not before an unexpected complication appears in the form of a kid who is attacked by the gundark, forcing Yorrick to end its life.
It turns out the Segredo boy knew of Yorricks monster hunting reputation and sought her out, a fact Yorrick relays to her droid KL-03 as she arrives at Kul Kenada spaceport to explain her lack of gundark to the buyer, an angry criminal called Triv Blago. As Jedi arrive to apprehend Blago, Yorrick makes a sharp exit, not wanting to meet with them. Instead she kicks the captured animal cages over, distraction enough to dive into her speeder and making good her escape. Back at her ship and admonished by her less-than-impressed droid she learns she has two jobs to choose between; one on Toydaria and another on Loreth, and as she consults her Varazeen stones – small, domino sized tabs with moons on one side and stars on the other – the stones choose the Loreth job.
On the rain-drenched world of Loreth, Yorrick is told of a creature called a Gretalax that has ravaged the township and set up its lair on Temple Peak. Still unsure whether to take the job or not, she is knocked into by young Pela who has raced into the cavern, now voiceless after inhaling rhydonium gas overturned by the rampaging Gretalax. Once again thinking back to her Jedi training and a former padawan she was once close to, she climbs the peak on a sturdy beast of burden called a Lyuna, tracking the Gretalax as Kayel tries to keep in touch on the comm, the signal breaking up in the snow and altitude. Suddenly she senses the presence of another person, invisible, and as she swings with her saber the unseen person gets caught up in a weave of web as Yorrick holds and the Gretalax – a huge, Shelob-sized spider – advances.
Originally set to be a single graphic novel, The Monster of Temple peak very much feels like a mini series. Kicking us into the world of Ty Yorrick and her droid KL-03, we’re dipping into an unfamiliar past and a galaxy that is prepared to hire the former padawan…if she completes those jobs, of course. As ever Cavan Scott brings a fresh and brisk tale to the page, complimented by some sharp art from Rachael Stott, and if this first issue is anything to go by then the Gretalax is the least of Ty’s concerns as she flounders in a galaxy already cast adrift from stability and security. Very engaging, another solid entry in the era of The High Republic and as always an attractive offering from IDW, who will be very much missed when their tenure in the GFFA comes to a close.
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