SWBC: The High Republic timeline; review of 'Star Wars Timelines'
Plus: Review of one-shot comic "Quest of the Jedi."
The High Republic timeline
The High Republic era continues to be the most ambitious publishing initiative in Star Wars history. More than two years after its launch, The High Republic boasts more than a dozen novels, dozens more comics, reference books, art books, and manga.
And there’s still more to come over the next two years.
Some of the most common questions I get as a Star Wars book nerd and reviewer are about reading order and chronological order. I’ve already made a handy reading guide that I continue to update (How to read The High Republic), but it was about time for a timeline.
The basics
Phase 1 was released first, but occurs after Phase 2. Stay with me here. Think of Phase 1 as the original trilogy films and Phase 2 as the prequel films.
Phase 1: 232-230 BBY (over 200 years before the Battle of Yavin)
Begins with Light of the Jedi and ends with The High Republic: Eye of the Storm comic
Phase 2: 382 BBY (over 350 years before the Battle of Yavin; around 150 years before Phase 1)
Begins with Path of Deceit and ends with Path of Vengeance — both young adult novels
Phase 3: Specific dates TBD, but it’s confirmed this phase will return to the stories and characters of Phase 1 — so, books and comics will likely be set around or after 230 BBY
There are many more details in my full High Republic timeline guide, including the chronological order of the books, where the comics and manga fit in, and extra details about key events sprinkled throughout.
*Note: The guide is a paid subscriber post, but I always offer a free trial for new subscribers. Any and all support from fellow Star Wars nerds is greatly appreciated!
Star Wars Timelines: A bright and bold treat for galactic history fans
With the release of Star Wars Timelines this week, galactic history fans finally have the most detailed and comprehensive reference book seen in over a decade.
Spanning the entire Star Wars timeline, the book charts the galaxy’s earliest history - the time of the Old Republic and the dawn of the Jedi — to the most recent events like the fall of the First Order in The Rise of Skywalker. There’s also so much more in between those eras, which are set tens of thousands of years apart.
One of the things that Star Wars fans love to argue over — beyond pitting new canon content against the former Expanded Universe - is when things occur on the timeline, a.k.a. The continuity of events. For many fans, when something happens isn’t as important as how or why it happened. But for others, the Star Wars timeline is a sacred text, and it very much matters how many years before or after the Battle of Yavin something occurs (BBY or ABY).
Star Wars Timelines seeks to clear up a lot of that confusion by bringing together all the major events, characters, and even objects into one book that plots their journeys on the canon timeline.Â
Timelines plots all of the major eras, of course — from the Old Republic and The High Republic to the Fall of the Jedi and the rise of the Empire (prequels), the Era of the Empire (original trilogy and Rebels), to the Rise of the First Order (sequels).Â
The book also charts the histories of specific characters, groups of people and alien species, and even objects and ships. There are spreads for the history of the Skywalker lightsaber and the creation and theft of the Death Star plans. There’s even a spread dedicated to Thrawn and the Chiss Ascendancy, which is a bright blue visual treat.Â
One of the best parts of Timelines is its inclusion of all Star Wars stories – not just the ones from the films and TV shows. Characters and stories from beloved books are included right alongside ones from the comics and films. This is great for more casual fans who may have missed stories or plot details.
And with so much Star Wars out there, Timelines provides the most comprehensive guide to the galaxy beyond Wookieepedia.
There are downsides to a book like Timelines, however. Though the book just released on April 25, it’s already out of date. The High Republic Phase 2 is not as detailed as Phase 1, leaving out many key plot points and characters seen in the books. And there are no mentions of what happened during The Mandalorian season 3.
But that’s just the nature of a historical reference book like Timelines, especially since we keep getting new Star Wars stories nearly every month. Timelines could also benefit from including footnotes that list the entries’ sources — like where to read more about the Great Hyperspace Disaster in The High Republic and what Darth Vader was up to after The Empire Strikes Back.Â
Still, Star Wars Timelines is a highly detailed, visually stunning treat for longtime fans wanting to dive even deeper into galactic history and lore. The door-stopping tome is also great for newer fans, including story snippets and artwork from books, comics, and films to keep them wanting more.
*Thanks again to DK Publishing for sending a review copy of Star Wars Timelines
Buy now: Star Wars Timelines
Comic review: Quest of the Jedi
After quite a few delays, the Quest of the Jedi one-shot comic is finally here.
Claudia Gray’s sole contribution to Phase 2 of The High Republic comes from Dark Horse Comics in a tale set right after the events of Path of Deceit. The story follows Jedi Knight Azlin Rell’s investigation into the disappearance of Master Zallah Macri and Padawan Kevmo Zink on Dalna.
Back on Coruscant, Azlin delves into the Jedi Archives to learn more about the Force artifacts Zallah and Kevmo were searching for on the planet inhabited by the Path of the Open Hand. Azlin’s research takes him even further back in High Republic history to a story with Jedi Barnabus Vim and his Padawan Vix Fonnick.
The duo’s journey takes them to the planet Angcord, where they encounter a people with deep history and reverance for the Echo Stone — a relic with the power to amplify the Force, but one with a dark connection to the Sith.
As a one-shot comic, Quest of the Jedi is still an excellent standalone story that adds juicy intrigue to the overall story of Phase 2. It’s a shame this comic didn’t come out sooner, after the release of Path of Deceit. The story’s reveal would have hit harder.
However, Quest of the Jedi is very much character-forward — Barnabus and Vix both have strong personalities and incredible Jedi talents. It’s clear these two are not a new Master-Padawan duo, but rather have built a strong, respect-filled relationship through years of training. Their banter is also hilariously reminiscent of Obi-Wan and Anakin and even Kanan and Ezra.
Let’s hope this isn’t the last time we see Barnabus and Vix.
Star Wars: The High Republic: Quest of the Jedi is available now at your local comic book shop and digitally.
*Thanks to Dark Horse Comics for sending a digital review copy of Quest of the Jedi
The Mandalorian candles from Homesick
New Star Wars candles are coming — and they smell like The Mandalorian season 1 and 2.
After the success of Homesick’s first Star Wars collection (more on those here), the scent brand announced new additions to the lineup. The Mandalorian candles, The Bounty and The Rescue, will be available to purchase on May 4.
The Bounty candle is designed to evoke season 1’s evolving relationship between Din Djarin and Grogu — from bounty hunter and his bounty to father and adopted son.
The Rescue candle charts the intense stories from season 2 — crash landing on Trask, meeting Bo-Katan Kryze and the Nite Owls, meeting Ahsoka, and the mission to rescue Grogu from Moff Gideon’s clutches.
Over at Dork Side of the Force, we got the exclusive reveal of the new collection. And thanks to Homesick for sending The Bounty and The Rescue candles my way for review. They are almost too pretty to burn.
The new Mandalorian candles from Homesick will be available on May 4. Sign up here to get notified when the products go live.
Star Wars books and comics out this week
April 25
Star Wars Timelines
Return of the Jedi: A Collector’s Classic Board Book
April 26
The High Republic Adventures: Quest of the Jedi
Hyperspace Stories #5
The High Republic Adventures #5
Doctor Aphra #31
Darth Vader #33
Darth Vader: Black, White & Red #1
Timelines is a great book, totally agree with you about the footnotes. It’s a shame too, because I feel like that’s the only thing holding it back from being the perfect reference guide. But hey, still amazing. Great work!