The High Republic #14 - Comic Review

A small group of Jedi led by Jedi Master Avar Kriss have infiltrated the Nihil hideout of the Great Hall and confronted the dark forces within! While some of the Jedi do battle to apprehend the Nihil, Kriss fights tooth and lightsaber against Lourna Dee who she has incorrectly guessed is the leader of the group. Her violent and angry ways have clouded her mind and opened a small gap to the dark side of the Force, leading her to believe the only way through this confrontation is to kill Lourna Dee. Thankfully, Trennis is here to stand up to her and attempt to stop her from falling to the darkness! Shortly after their confrontation ends, the group head back to Starlight Beacon, but something is drastically wrong in the galaxy.

The High Republic #14 is hard to discuss without giving away too many spoilers. Writer Cavan Scott‘s Star Wars masterpiece is now directly tying in with the recent novel The Fallen Star, so if you have read that you know where this series is headed. Scott handles this story deftly and beautifully as he continues to tackle themes of life, hope, and happiness, despite all of those being pitted once again against the violent and angry ways of the Nihil. It’s another rich and deep tale in the lives of these Jedi we’ve come to know and love over the past year or so.

The visual arts team of The High Republic #14 is made up of artist Ario Anindito, inker Mark Morales, colorist Carlos Lopez, letterer VC’s Ariana Maher. They do a stellar job translating Scott’s writing to the page. From the intense and heated action, to the deep character moments, all down to even the feeling of impending doom on Avar Kriss’ face, they’ve crafted a stunning work of art that is a wonder to behold. The two big highlights of this issue is the battle between Kriss and Dee as their thoughts and feelings shift so much over just a few pages. Dee’s facial expressions are some of the most menacing visuals I’ve seen in Star Wars comics ever! The other big standout hits spoiler territory, but let’s just say the final page of this issue brings back some psychedelic horror visuals that will really rock your world!

The main cover art of The High Republic #14 comes from artist Phil Noto and boasts an incredibly menacing piece showing the Nihil, including Lourna Dee, gazing menacingly at a holo of Starlight Beacon. The first of two variant covers is by Caspar Wijngaard and shows off a fun, yet horrifying, depiction of an unmasked Lourna Dee with a green lightsaber ready to take on anything and anyone. Mike McKone and GURU-eFX are back for the second variant cover, this time giving us a portrayal of Avar Kriss that, for all intents and purposes, should be a light beacon of hope in the Jedi world, but is given enough dark shadows that cover the background and parts of her face to show she’s very much struggling within the dark side of the Force!

All in all, the High Republic #14 continues this epic comic series with an equally epic and emotional issue. The series is finally starting to tie in with the conclusion of Phase I of The High Republic, and the danger and depth are ramping up for it’s inevitable finale! It’s absolutely an issue that demands to be read, so fire up your Jedi Vectors and fly down to your local comic shop to get your copy today!