The release of this first volume of the High Republic is an event for Panini comics because it plunges you into an era where the Republic is expanding. But, behind the light, darkness is organized.
The Light of the High Republic
Screenwriter Cavan Scott goes back to the origins of the saga in The High Republic. This series takes place before the prequel and two hundred years before Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, The Republic is stable and prosperous thanks to the protection of the Jedi Knights. This force will be symbolized by the Star Torch, a space station and lighthouse on the border of the Outer Rim. But, as the Jedi gather for the inauguration, a dark threat asserts itself and the order should be much more suspicious… 
A new series that finds its classics
From the first pages, the fan of the films will be delighted by crossing characters he adores like Master Yoda and a Hutt. It will find strong themes of the saga: hope is always precarious and an anonymous threat looms from the first episode. Through the talent of the cartoonist Ario Anindito, we also find known scenes. The first episode begins with a fight with giant insects in an alien world. The Jedi also discover smugglers in a very bad situation. All this explains why the first episode was a quick success with several reprints. The French publisher of the saga has therefore chosen to offer the series a few weeks after its release in the United States in a new format: a bimonthly volume compiling two episodes. We can also salute the manufacture with a beautiful matte and glossy cover while wondering why opt for a hardcover rather than a flexible magazine format. 
Modernizing the Star Wars Universe
The High Republic is much more than a new series. It marks a new Star Wars chronology in comics but also manga and novels. This volume is above all a perfect gateway for a neophyte who has never read Star Wars comics or even someone who has never seen a movie. Indeed, this totally new series does not require any detailed knowledge of the force or the Jedis. The High Republic is a training story about the steps of Jedi apprentice Keeve Trennis as she must pass the last step to become a signet ring and then this young black woman without experience will lead her first mission. This neophyte in learning allows to enter the story. However, she is only one of the many new characters in the series, some of whom are very successful like her master the lizard Sskeer. He recently lost an arm in a battle. Even if this member will grow back, his soul is more affected. These heroes are also more in tune with modernity. Kotabi are two non-binary beings. Women wield power because Master Kriss leads the Torch as marshall. There is also an ecological dimension when a cloud of threatening insects crossing space with a crash are actually disturbed by torch waves, as in the real world whales by sonar. Both anchored in the tradition of the saga and put back on the agenda, The High Republic brilliantly launches a new series and opens a new era. This progressive narrative gives a new vision of space opera while being a pleasant adventure story. If you enjoyed this review, you can find the reviews of each episode of The Mandalorian and the other comic releases of Panini for May.
