THE BLADE OF BARDOTTA’S ORIGIN STORY! For ep 130, Mike delves into the 4-part mini-series surrounding Porter Engle; an Ikkrukkian Jedi who lives throughout the High Republic (around 300 years old during Phase 1). In Phase 1, he is a talented cook with a dark past so in Phase 2, we get to delve into The Blade’s past and find out about the Barash Vow, while along the way meeting Porter’s sister and seeing more of the Republic during it’s more exploratory age!

The Blade 1 was released December 28th 2022, issue 4 was released March 29th 2023 and the trade paperback collection is due for release June 27th 2023. The Blade was written by Charles Soule, with Marco Castiello as artist on issues 1-3 and Jethro Morales on issues 2-4, while Jim Charalampidis is colour artist on issues 1 & 2 and Jim Campbell is colour artist on issues 3 & 4.

As The Blade takes place in Phase 2 of The High Republic (approx. 150 years before Phase 1), it is in 382 BBY.

Mike has tackled all of Phase 1 of The High Republic and has released episodes on the books of Wave 1. The episodes were released; Path Of Deceit on 7th Jan, Quest For Hidden City on February 14th, Convergence on March 18th and The Battle Of Jedha on April 22nd, with the first volume/wave of phase 2 comics being tacked in episode 126 (out May 13th 2023).

For the first volume of 2017 Darth Vader comics, check episode 62 of SWCIC!

In episode 129, Mike answers the question; AS THE HIDDEN EMPIRE ENDS, WHAT ARE QI’RA AND DOCTOR APHRA’S FATES? In more detail, Mike delves into the final issue of Hidden Empire; ending the Qi’ra trilogy, plus Aphra issues 30 & 31 bring an end to the Spark Eternal story arc! Mike delves into the plot of these final comic issues, while providing connections along the way, to provide the exciting conclusion to these comic issues, with hints of what’s to come!

More Content:

Mike, Maff & Dave’s new show; Rebels Reviewed is out now (with episode/season 2 coming out soon), listen on any podcast app or watch on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://pod.fo/e/166659⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://youtu.be/oVXItTYLe68⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Mike spoke with High Republic author George Mann, watch the interview here: https://youtu.be/IWJBMb9OOT8

To support Mike, you can rate/review the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & other podcast apps, you can share the show or support financially. You can give a one-off payment/donation at ⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/genuinechitchat⁠ or you can subscribe monthly at ⁠⁠⁠https://Patreon.com/GenuineChitChat⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ – either option will give you access to the exclusive “Afterthoughts” episodes. Patreons get access to weekly episodes plus every past episode (even when paying £1 a month) while Ko-fi tippers will be able to choose some episodes, depending on how much they give – Afterthoughts includes several Star Wars Legends book reviews/plot overviews including Rogue Squadron, Shatterpoint, Revan, Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, the Darth Bane Trilogy and Darth Plagueis!

Subscribe to the Pop Culture Collective Newsletter for weekly updates on both of Mike’s shows, the Femme On Collective and plenty of other incredible creators, here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://pccnewsletter.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Find all of Mike's social media & links at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠linktr.ee/GenuineChitChat⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Outro read by BZ The Voice: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.bzthevoice.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Intro theme arranged by Mike Burton, backing music by Eric Matyas at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.soundimage.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:07 What To Expect

01:44 Timeline & Personnel

03:40 The Crawl For The Blade

04:09 Porter Engle Introduction

04:58 Issue 1 Plot

13:16 Issue 2

17:16 Issue 3

20:16 Issue 4

24:30 The Blade Sequel

26:00 The Vow

27:12 Support, Ko-fi & Patreon

28:31 Coming Up

30:50 Outro