Star Wars: The High Republic: Fear of the Jedi #1 – What Does A Jedi Fear?

Hello there! Padawan J here, the resident Star Wars expert from the ODPH! And this week I’m going to be reviewing the FIRST issue of the new series set during The High Republic titled, “Fear of the Jedi” from Cavan Scott & Marvel!

This series was announced back at San Diego Comic-Con in 2024. It is the final story for Phase III of the High Republic era. The High Republic era is set a couple of hundred years BEFORE the events of the films and kicked off in 2021. The stories have been told across novels, short stories, audio drama’s, YA books, childrens novels and comics. And in my opinion it’s been some of the best storytelling done in recent Star Wars history.

So will this live up to the hype? Let’s jump into it!

Star Wars: The High Republic: Fear of the Jedi #1 by Cavan Scott (writer), Marika Cresta (artist), Jim Campbell (colorist), VC’s Ariana Maher (letterer) & Phil Noto (cover art) is a very solid start for the series, and one that I expect will have an explosive conclusion when it’s all said & done.

The story in this issue is a fairly simple one. It isn’t a surprise since it is the debut issue. It’s setting up all the players we’ll have on the board for this five issue miniseries. The story gives us a glimpse at how things are going for some familiar faces behind the Nihil stormwall, and just how they’re making due given the circumstances.

LEGACY OF VADER!

Of particular interest is Jedi Master Keeve Trennis and the journey she’s on. She’s been featured pretty heavily throughout the High Republic era, and is one of my favorite character’s that’s been introduced. So I’m very curious to see how things develop. The Jedi have really been put through their paces throughout this whole run of the High Republic, so perhaps so cracks are starting to spread.

The artwork in this issue is also top notch. It is some of the best you’ll see in a Star Wars comic today. The panels in space at the beginning of the issue particularly stood out to me. Star Wars is best known for it’s sweeping space battles (the opening of Revenge of the Sith for one), and the work done in this space encounter is fantastic.

I also like the color choice in the issue as well. Things haven’t exactly been sunshine and rainbows for our heroes. So to see some darker tones and colors really sets the mood & tone for this series. And since it’s the finale to Phase III you have to expect some crazy stuff and I know the whole art team is going to step up to the task.

Overall grade: 9.5/10

Even if you haven’t read everything High Republic, this is still a very easy issue to jump in on and read. It’s a very good story, from one of the best storytellers in Star Wars right now. Plus the artwork is also incredibly done. This issue is sure to make waves over the next couple of issues and it’s going to be interesting to see how it sets the tone for whatever comes next.

If you’re a Star Wars fan, you’re absolutely going to want to want to pick this up at your local comicbook shop. And if you’re looking for something fun you can’t go wrong with this! This issue should definitely be high up on your read list this week!

Thanks for checking out my review on Nerd Initiative. For more of my content, check out ODPHpodcast.com, follow me on Twitter, and check out more of my reviews here on Nerd Initiative: https://nerdinitiative.com/author/padawanj/!

What did you think of the issue? Let me know in the comments below, or reach out to me on social media!