The Starbird Files

If like me you weren’t really paying attention to NYCC there was a lot of Star Wars publishing news to catch up on, so I went hunting for all the news and collected it here for you too! Let’s begin with High Republic News There were cover reveals for wave 2 of the Phase II Cataclysm by Lydia Kang (Adult Novel, April 2023 Del Rey) Quest for Planet X by Tessa Gratton (Young Reader, April 2023 Disney Lucasfilm) Path of Vengeance by Cavan Scott (YA, May 2023 Disney Lucasfilm) There was a new book announced, a YA Anthology announced for July 2023, featuring stories connecting to all three phases, written by all the HR authors - Zoraida Córdova, Tessa Gratton, Claudia Gray, Justina Ireland, Lydia Kang, George Mann, Daniel José Older, Cavan Scott and Charles Soule. There was another new book announced, The Edge of Balance: Precedent the first manga revealed for Phase II by Daniel José Older & Tomio Ogata (Viz Media May 2023). Burryaga will return in children’s book ‘Yoda & the youngli...

  Marvel Star Wars War of the Bounty Hunters Vol.1 Written by Charles Soule Art by S McNiven, L Ross, D Messina, L Martin, N Menon, Guru-eFX I have a mixed history with the Star Wars comics, there are some I love - the first two Vader runs of the new era, The High Republic comics, I enjoy some of the short mini series like Lando and Shattered Empire. But I struggle with the main Star Wars line, that for me takes some of the mystery away from the time between the OT movies and makes it too crowded, and that was in part why I’d shied away from War of the Bounty Hunters for a while. But having seen people’s reaction to the series and the reappearance of Qi’ra piqued my curiosity to pick up this first trade paperback from the crossover event. The basic story hinges on Boba Fett’s prized bounty of Han Solo frozen in carbonite being stolen from him enroute to Jabba. The thieves are Crimson Dawn agents, led by Qi’ra who is now in charge of the organization, and they plan to auction Han of...

  Writer: Cavan Scott               Art: G. Jeanty, K. Story, A. Leoni, J. Caramagna I’m starting to feel like a broken record but once again I have to gush over Phil Noto’s cover art for the sixth issue in the Marvel High Republic run, Avar Kriss riding a Rancor into battle feels iconic already, and together with the Bad Batch, Rancor fans have been fed well lately! The story of this issue takes place after a period of time has elapsed and across two fronts. The first aboard Starlight Beacon, where Sskeer is being treated for his Drengir infestation, kept in a stasis field which prevents the parasitic plants from spreading while Keeve refuses to leave his side. The second location see’s Avar still working with the Hutts fighting the Drengir on the planet of Daivak, the monsters have spread and infested hundreds of worlds during the time jump. When Avar commands all Jedi on Starlight to come to their aid, Keeve decides to take decisive action and ...

  Writer: Cavan Scott               Art: A. Anindito, M. Morales, A. Leoni, A. Maher First off I want to shout out that cover. Phil Noto has been doing stellar work throughout this run but he outdid himself with this cover, even if Keeve holding a prone Sskeer with a BLACK header did give me anxiety. Cavan Scott has made an art form out of torturing us, and Sskeer over the course of 5 issues of the High Republic comic series. I’ve been interested in the character ever since that first concept art was revealed and this series has made him one of my favorites of the era, but so far there has been nothing but pain for Sskeer! The trandoshan continues to wrestle with the control of the Drengir, Keeve seems to be the only one who can break through to the real Sskeer. So it is particularly impactful when he reveals to her that his connection to the force has been fading since the start of the story. Sskeer instructs Keeve to perform a “Mind ...