Comic Book Review: The Monster of Temple Peak #1
When Cavan Scott’s The Rising Storm came out in June, in and among the chaos, tragedy, and wonderful moments of levity, readers were introduced to the mysterious saber-for-hire Ty Yorrick. Beyond a quick mention that she’d once trained as a padawan, Ty doesn’t elaborate further on her past.
Fortunately, that’s where The Monster of Temple Peak, a new four-part series from IDW comes in.
On the frontier world of Loreth, a young girl named Pela is eager to listen in on broadcasts from the Starlight Beacon. Despite her uncle’s insistence that there’s nothing to be afraid of, an ominous sound in the distance suggests otherwise.
Meanwhile on the planet Blarrum, Saber-For-Hire, monster hunter and former Padawan Ty Yorrick is in the middle of an assignment, trying to apprehend a gundark alive, when a curious bystander forces her to kill the creature instead.
On the run from her disgruntled client and keen to avoid the Jedi looking to arrest him, Ty and her droid KL-03 decide to set a course for one of the worlds that are begging for her help. A toss of her Varazeen Stones determines that their destination will be Loreth.
On arrival, Pela’s uncle tells Ty they’re in desperate need of her help. A creature called a Gretalax has been attacking the settlement. The last one resulted in Rhydonium being overturned, its fumes harming many of the settlers including Pela.
Unable to resist a call for help, Ty agrees to scale Temple Peak and see just how she can help the Loreth villagers.
Artist Rachael Stott has done a fantastic job in bringing the landscapes and the people of the Outer Rim to life, in an expressive, larger-than-life way, while colourists Vita Efremova and Nicola Righi’s vivid work really brought it all together, making each locale stand out in its own unique, visually stunning way. Credit must also go to the entire team for drawing such a visual distinction between the present day, and the flashbacks to Ty’s Padawan years.
One of the bigger overarching mysteries of Ty Yorrick is just how much Jedi training she’s had, and when and why she left the order. It seems as though the Monster of Temple Peak miniseries will dive into just that. The A-story is periodically intercut with flashbacks to Ty’s Padawan days, where readers meet not only her master, Cibaba, but also fellow apprentice/rival/perhaps-more-than-just-a-friend Klias. The Rising Storm suggested that the death of someone she cared about was part of the reason Ty left the order, and I cannot help but wonder if that someone is Klias.
Cavan Scott, I’m already upset.
The nature of Star Wars storytelling means there’s never a bad time for foreshadowing. Master Cibaba’s encouragement that Ty follow her own path rather than pretending to be something she’s not will likely be the exchange that prompts her to leave the order by the end of this comic's run. But looking ahead to the future of the character, when we meet Ty in The Rising Storm, her tough-as-nails exterior often gives way to a much kinder heart when she is faced with those who need her. She returns to help Elzar after running away from him, after all. I suspect we’re about to get a very clear picture of who Ty Yorrick really is, no matter how much she’d like to pretend otherwise.
The Monster of Temple Peak #1: Saber-for-Hire is out now!