“Heart of the Drengir: Of Sith and Shadows”
Creative Staff:
Story: Cavan Scott
Art: Georges Jeanty. Karl Story
Colors: Annalisa Leoni
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramgna
What They Say:
A frontier in crisis. The Jedi of Starlight Beacon have joined forces with a feared enemy to face the terror of the unstoppable Drengir Horde. While Avar Kriss and her new allies fight nightmarish creatures on the lava world of Daivak, can Keeve Trennis save her former master from complete absorption? And, who or what is the Great Progenitor?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With so much work to do to establish this time period if the comic is your first experience with it, it took some time but I’m definitely enjoying what Cavan Scott did to get things in order and moving. With the book now in its second arc and getting a little… weirder, shall we say, it’s definitely hitting a strange sweet spot, Georges Jeanty and Karl Story are on board for the artwork here and they’re working well with colorist Annalisa Leoni as there’s a distinctive feel to things while still feeling a part of the larger Star Wars universe. I like the detail we get with all of the creatures with the Drengir and the layouts are pretty solid all-around so that it has a good flow to it that makes it engaging to read.
There are a number of things going on in the High Republic era at this point and the shift to Mulita as set in the previous issue was definitely intriguing with what it can represent. And we do get some time with Kriss calling into Starlight Beacon requesting as much help as they can, though the Jedi that’s operating things seems to view it as just one of many operations as opposed to the most critical of them, hence not sending everyone possible. In fact, they opt to send Keeve on a mission to deal with some remnant Nihil that are running around causing trouble, but this may be good for other reasons. Keeve’s experience have left her in a place where she’s not feeling worthy and she’s placing that feeling on others to reflect back on her, making her view them in a way that they aren’t actually acting. It’s amusing but comes from someone who is dealing with her master being overwhelmed and never thinking she could equal him or surpass him. How to face a threat that overwhelmed him has sent her into a tailspin.
And to be fair, Keeve is dealing with the fallout of the Drengir in her mind as they’ve taken some root and are causing her some serious nightmares while trying to meditate. When she’s on her mission to help a group under attack, she struggles there to fend off the simplest of rogue Nihil, which doesn’t say much for her, but we do get the introduction for Orla Jareni, an almost all-white ghostlike humanoid who is a Wayseeker, someone like a Jedi but not bonded to the Order itself. He’s able to help her because he’s been drawn to her as someone in need by the Force but she’s so up in her own head that she can’t really grasp or work with that. It is interesting to see how Keeve falls apart during the mission while trying to project well and then to wilt a bit and draw inward once Orla gets involved and begins to explain things. It does set up for a decent partnership going forward that Keeve might be able to learn and grow from.
In Summary:
The High Republic era has that delicate balance to work of feeling like a Star Wars property but removed from the era that we know so well. And that means being a bit weirder while leaning into the familiar from time to time. This issue is focused heavily on Keeve and spending time getting to know her and her struggle more is good because we don’t have decades of film and imagination built into the character. Scott’s script has her dealing with things well but not getting the help she needs because of the scale of events going on, especially with what Avar Kriss is drawing people in for. I do like the smaller nature of things and the introduction of the Wayseeker has me curious if this will really get explored or if it’s just a little extra color for things in the end.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics
Release Date: July 28th, 2021
MSRP: $3.99
