No. Star Wars: The High Republic and Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures are different comic-book series within the same Lucasfilm publishing initiative. The first is published by Marvel and mainly follows Jedi caught up in major conflicts of the era. Adventures places greater emphasis on younger characters and all-ages adventure. There is an important detail for collectors: Adventures launched at IDW in 2021, then moved to Dark Horse for the later phases.
Marvel or Adventures: what's the difference?
| Series | Publisher across the main phases | Principal writer | Story focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| The High Republic | Marvel in 2021, 2022 and 2023 | Cavan Scott | Jedi missions, threats including the Nihil and Drengir, mysteries and horror elements |
| The High Republic Adventures | IDW in 2021; Dark Horse in 2022 and 2023 | Daniel José Older | Padawans, young Jedi allies, friendship and adventures connected to the era's conflicts |
The word Adventures is part of a separate series title. It does not mean a special edition of Marvel's comic or the next numbered installment of the same comic. The publisher's imprint and the series year help identify the right issue.
Which characters does each comic follow?
In the Marvel series, the run launched in 2021 highlights Keeve Trennis, her master Sskeer, and other Jedi, including Ceret and Terec. The 2022 run moves backward in the timeline to a story involving Jedi Vildar Mac on Jedha. When the series relaunches in 2023, Keeve returns to the center of a story unfolding amid the crisis caused by the Nihil. These are distinct stories even though they belong to the same larger project.
In Adventures, IDW's 2021 run follows Lula Talisola, Qort and Zeen Mrala, among other young people dealing with the fallout from Nihil attacks. Dark Horse's 2022 series centers on Padawan Sav Malagán, who becomes involved with a pirate crew that includes Maz Kanata. The 2023 relaunch brings back Zeen and Qort as they face a changed galaxy. These shifts in protagonists make the phases easier to tell apart without conflating the two comic lines.
Why do both series have multiple issue #1s?
The High Republic initiative was organized into three publishing phases. Each brought new comic runs or relaunches, frequently starting again at issue #1. So finding The High Republic #1 or The High Republic Adventures #1 from different years does not necessarily mean you are looking at a reprint of the same issue.
- Phase I, Light of the Jedi (beginning in 2021): Marvel publishes The High Republic, while IDW publishes The High Republic Adventures.
- Phase II, Quest of the Jedi (beginning in 2022): the comics return with new numbering; Marvel retains the main title and Dark Horse publishes Adventures. In-universe, this phase takes place roughly 150 years before Phase I.
- Phase III, Trials of the Jedi (beginning in 2023): both lines receive newly numbered runs, one at Marvel and one at Dark Horse. The story returns to a period approximately one year after the events of Phase I.
That leaves two different orders to keep straight: publication order runs I, II, III, while in-universe chronology places II before I and III. Each volume's numbering belongs to its particular series and phase, not to a single numbering sequence for every comic in the initiative.
Which comic should you start with or buy to complete your collection?
If you want to follow Keeve Trennis and the Jedi storyline developed by Cavan Scott, the most direct entry point is Marvel's The High Republic, the 2021 run, issue #1. If Lula, Zeen and Qort are your focus, look for IDW's The High Republic Adventures, the run that began in 2021, issue #1. For Sav's adventure with the pirates, look for Dark Horse's Adventures run that began in 2022.
When buying a single issue or collected edition, check at least the full title, the run's starting year, the original publisher and the phase. This matters especially when two covers show the same issue number or a collection combines multiple installments. A number on the cover does not, by itself, establish where the entire saga begins.
The two lines share events and characters in the same universe, but reading one is not mandatory to understand every single issue of the other. Lucasfilm itself describes formats that can be followed separately, even though reading across them offers more perspectives. Readers seeking a full timeline can use the franchise's official reading guide; readers choosing between these two comics can start with the cast and phase that interest them.
Sources and references
- StarWars.com: official chronological reading guide
- StarWars.com: what is The High Republic
- StarWars.com: interview with Cavan Scott and Daniel José Older
- StarWars.com: Marvel's Phase II relaunch
- StarWars.com: Phase II Adventures comic
- StarWars.com: Phase III Adventures announcement
- StarWars.com: Phase III launch
