Comic Review: The High Republic Adventures: Echoes of Fear Trade Paperback

Writer: George Mann
Artists: Vincenzo Federici, Vincenzo Riccardi, Juan Samu, Giorgia Sposito
Colors: Michael Atiyeh, Vincenzo Riccardi, Francesco Segala, Gloria Martinelli, Nicola Righi

Publisher summary:
A pair of Jedi investigate the strange and powerful Echo Stones in the hopes of defeating the Nameless. What they discover is a legendary story that spans the galaxy's history!

When Jedi Knight Reath Silas and Jedi Padawan Amadeo Azzazzo are charged with delving into the Jedi Archives to learn more about the mysterious Echo Stones, they're not expecting to find themselves starting out on a dangerous quest that will eventually see them going after one of the stones themselves, in the form of the mystical Rod of Ages.

But first, they must learn everything they can about the origin of these strange stones and their Force-amplifying ability, leading them to uncover three epic tales from the annals of galactic history.

Collects Star Wars: High Republic Adventures Phase III – Echoes of Fear #1–#4.

Dark Horse Comics

Why it matters: George Mann set up plenty of interesting mysteries with Tears of the Nameless, and this comic story seeks to answer some of them which are key to the story of The High Republic.

Key moments:

• Incredible Art: The art throughout the miniseries is fantastic, but issue 1 from Vincenzo Riccardi is particularly phenomenal.

• Ancient Sith Tales: Sith tales are few and far between in Star Wars (granted, George Mann is responsible for quite a few). This comic brings us the haunting tale of the ancient Darth Ravi.

• Phase 2 Connections: Quest of the Jedi introduced us to Barnabas Vim and his padawan Vix Fonnick. Although it seemed to be an isolated story at the time, it paid off here in Phase 3.

Dark Horse Comics

The big picture: This miniseries is a highlight of Phase 3. Tears of the Nameless, in the opinion of this reviewer, was a superb novel and George Mann continues the stellar streak in this comic. His Myths & Fables and Dark Legends are fantastic, and this story really feels like it allowed him to play into those strengths.

Reath Silas has been a fan-favorite character for some time, and this story finds him in at an interesting point in his arc. He is a Jedi Knight now, with responsibilities. Quite a significant level of responsibility, in fact. He has become a mentor for Amadeo Azzazzo, but this is contrasted with his unique relationship with his former master Cohmac Vitus.

This story relies somewhat on a deep cut. As previously mentioned, Barnabas Vim originated in the Quest of the Jedi one-shot. It was a comic issue that was hard to find physically and was never collected in TPB format, so I believe that many never read it. However, for those who did, it is really cool to see these ideas (mainly the echoes stones) followed up on here. I honestly do wish they would’ve included the issue in this TPB. It doesn’t really rely on Phase 2 stories and if it’s going to be collected anywhere, this is the place that makes the most sense. Although we don’t get that extra inclusion, the collection does give us a brief character concept sketchbook, which is always appreciated.

Overall, Echoes of Fear is a fantastic addition to the initiative. It’s a great entry for those who don’t normally dip into the comic side. Like previously mentioned, outside of some referencing to Quest of the Jedi, it functionally builds more off of the books. This short adventure not only is a fun read, but feels important to the overall story of The High Republic and could have solid implications to the upcoming finale in Trials of the Jedi.

Our rating: Masterpiece

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What’s next: Stay tuned for the next High Republic TPB from Dark Horse in the Crash Zone collection dropping on April 29th, 2025.