It's been a while since I read anything Star Wars. Following a very long quiet period since Legacy and Yoozhan Voong, only few books I was interested in were Republic Commando, Darth Bane series and those few Knights of the Old Republic novels. I stand corrected, I did enjoy that alternate universe Star Wars Ronin novel, that one was weird and thankfully I did not know anything about the author at the time (one more thing why books are to be judged by quality and not by author's approaches to life, Ronin was very, very interesting novel but again it was in alternate universe so not actually continuation of the main story, so unfortunately one off novel).

After that, nothing came out that I would find interesting for a very long time. You can call me weird but Dark Horse did (at least for me) very good job and Marvel's rather .... lukewarm? ..... continuance of the series was little bit of a letdown. Various rebranding (Legends, ultra legends :) cannon, non-cannon, I just lost interest).

High Republic was so controversial that I put it to backlog and after a long time decided to try first with the action oriented comic so I picked up The Blade.

So, first thing - art. I am fan of black and white art, ink playing shadows and giving volume to the art. Here, everything is very clear, very pristine, and for me a little bit non-Star Wars. Main difference between Star Wars and everything else was that everything in Star Wars had that patina of old, used, not unlike old cowboy shows or martial arts movies. There were shiny bits, sure but everything had that feeling of old, ancient (if you follow W40K you know what I mean). Not necessary sign of lack of progress, but just that technology is/was around so long that it feels.

Here, everything is a bit too clean, it just looks a little bit too sanitized. Coloring is good but art itself would benefit a lot from more pencil and ink and more elaborate page organization - I mean battle with the mercenaries was so lacking in depth that it just did not make sense. Much better page organization for me would be 200AD's Lawless and siege of that frontier city, it just gives you feeling of masses fighting it out. Or take those magnificent pages from Tales of the Jedi, land assaults or assault of Krath battle droids on Jedi conclave - not many pages or frames, but those that are given are so epic, so ..... full, they manage to show you the battle and loss of life.

It might be me but this element of war itself is missing here (even graphic novel about origins of Darth Bane while smaller in scale when compared to Tales of the Jedi, was serious enough to show the toll of combat and destruction when mighty forces collide).

If I understand correctly this period of the Republic is supposed to be relatively peaceful but again Jedi's are exploring isolated worlds without contact with the Republic so there is a chance to show conflict on the frontier, unknown enemies and empires fighting the Republic's expansion. I mean, it is Star Wars in the title, right? There needs to be conflict here, high adventure, armies clashing, space opera at its best - right?

Story is pretty straight forward, in a vein of veni-vidi-vici, I wont go much into detail because I would spoil it for sure. Ending I am not so sure..... it did not make much sense, especially last few frames (I guess follow up book will explain).

Characters were .... well I guess mercs will return at some point, and locals were OK I guess (although I would let the Queen to resolve the problem the way she wanted). Jedi's were..... like some weird cross between NGOs, hippies and A-Team. These are not wandering warriors going around and trying to help those in need. They are more like very young NGOs (think Salvation Army noobs) with weapons, and huge egos. When you take into account that (at least according to the books and previous cannon) Jedi Knights were rather serious people (remember Ulic Qeldroma, his master or various groups during the war with the Sith) and I do not remember them being this carefree with theirs and other peoples lives.

Also here they are shown as almost invincible - Jedi's were never invincible, no matter how powerful they were there was always a very serious risk of them getting killed when overwhelmed by opposition. Here, it does not matter - missiles, guns, tanks, blasters, grenades, hundred of troops, its all swatted aside as if they were fighting kids. It just seems weird considering the existing lore.

Not a bad story, but just does not feel complete, it is like entire story is [for lack of better world] too simplified (especially when compared to Dark Horse series which, compared to this look more like 2000AD/W40K, adult oriented works).

Setting looks interesting, will see if I can get more out of the novels, but will definitely try some other comics at later time. ( )

Charles Soule’s Star Wars: The High Republic: The Blade collects all four issues of the titular series illustrated by Marco Castiello and Jethro Morales with colors by Jim Charalampidis, letters by Travis Lanaham, and covers by Guiseppe Camuncoli and Frank Martin. The story is set in Phase II of the High Republic approximately 382 years before the Battle of Yavin and a century and a half prior to the fall of Starlight Beacon. It focuses on Jedi Masters Porter Engle and Barash Silvain in the attack on Firevale, a walled community under siege on the planet Gansevor.

The story highlight’s the Jedi Order’s moral authority in this period and their focus on preserving life whenever possible, ideally by settling disputes without taking any lethal action. Engle resembles a swashbuckling pirate with his gloves, robes, and lightsaber hilt, while Silvain is almost a forerunner of Avar Kriss from Phase I. Together, they serve to complicate the portrayal of the Jedi Order’s stated philosophy similar to Qui-Gon Jinn. Despite the prohibition on attachments, they’ve formed a sibling bond in their found-family dynamic. Though the Order forbids attachments, their relationship makes them both stronger. This subtle rebellion aside, the story works to subvert the supposed tranquility of this era and uses the frontier setting to its advantage. Specifically, elements of the story resemble the Romeo and Juliet story of Eiram and E’ronoh in Phase II, though the harsh environment of the planet shapes its people so that even a love story is twisted. Porter Engle first appeared in the Phase I novel, Light of the Jedi, set 150 years after these events, and was stationed on Elphrona alongside Loden Greatstorm and Indeera Stokes. Soule’s narrative helps to deepen Engle’s backstory while also introducing General Viess, who reappeared in the Phase III novel, The Eye of Darkness. ( )