– Spoiler Review –
Begun, The High Republic Adventures from IDW, has! Daniel José Older finally joins his fellow luminous authors in offering new stories set in The High Republic era with this on-going title from IDW. In its first issue, Yoda’s out training a group of Padawans and they are thrust into a mission trying to prevent another planet from falling to the Great Hyperspace Disaster, but on the planet they meet dangerous foes and surprising new allies, the latter of which tests an old friendship.
Set after the end of Light of the Jedi (much like Marvel’s The High Republic comic series), where Starlight Beacon is up and running, the Hyperspace Disasters are mostly under control, and the Nihil seem to be out of the picture for now, The High Republic Adventures finds Jedi Masters Yoda and Torban Buck receiving a distress call from Trymant IV and they lead their Padawans into the fray to help the populace with the looming disaster. We specifically meet Lula Talisola, a promising young Jedi who is top of her class in everything, as well as her friends Qort (a new species!) and Farzala (Zygerrian), but her shining grades don’t tell her whole story. Turns out Lula isn’t confident enough in her skills regardless, instead more focused on the fear of things going wrong, a sinking feeling she can’t quite escape. It’s a relatable and understandable feeling, especially as this is her first big mission outside the Temple, especially one that involves falling debris and countless lives on the line, but it also hits readers because growing up and thrust into the real world, having to use all your training/learning to fulfill your role in society and chosen job, is something we’ve all done. Much like for Keeve Trennis of Marvel’s THR series, we get Lula’s internal thoughts, as it’s clear she’s able to easily hide her feelings behind a mask, which she hopes to one day not have to wear like Yoda doesn’t, and learning what she’s thinking helps us see the real struggle inside that no one else sees yet. As the situation on Trymant IV unfolds, her fears don’t abate, but the Force is a powerful ally and it begins to ease her mind, especially when a new and surprising face joins the efforts to save the city.
On Trymant IV itself, we meet Zeen Mrala (a Mikkian) and Krix, two life-long friends who happen to belong to a religion that considers the Force like a fire, something to revere and never touch. Obviously several Jedi showing up to save the day would certainly cause a stir, but it’s actually Zeen that causes the biggest scene. Turns out, Zeen has always known she could feel the Force, something she’d hid from her bud, Krix this whole time. She’s eager to keep it that way, but when she feels it bloom inside of her, asking her to use it to reach out and save lives, she gives in and impressively stops a giant bit of debris heading their way. Lula joins her in stopping it and Zeen and Krix’s lives change forever, a friendship broken, as Krix feels betrayed and Zeen finally feels alive. We spend more time with Zeen and her internalizations than Lula, so I enjoyed her journey of self-discovery, accepting the power inside, a bit more, and while the cost of her embracing what’s inside means losing a friend, it was still a big, thrilling moment in the issue. Her story, alongside that of Lula’s, as well as any time we get with Krix now that he’s with the Nihil, are all threads and characters I’m eager to see explored and focused on in the coming issues.
The Nihil were usually finding ways to capitalize on the chaos of the Hyperspace Disasters, but their appearance here (in an amazing and creepy spider-ship) felt far different, as they arrived only to pick up Tromak, the leader of Zeen and Krix’s Elders of the Path group. I’m not totally sure why they’d only want Tromak, but as I was typing out their religion’s name, it dawned on me: Path. The Paths are what the Nihil use to appear and disappear from hyperspace seemingly at will, so are they some type of cult that the Nihil use to recruit new members? Do they help ensure the Paths continue (which I’d say more but I don’t want to spoil the reveal in the Light of the Jedi), as trusted confidants to the now Nihil leader Marchion Ro? I’m sure we’ll find out soon! Speaking of Marchion Ro…was that him at the end, standing at the bottom of the ramp of the spider-ship, ordering the death of the Jedi? I wouldn’t be surprised if he still has some lieutenants aka Tempests who will do his dirty work, but it still could’ve been him, only adding to the potential importance of Tromak. But more importantly, how the heck will the Padawans escape the surrounding Nihil? Will it involve Torban Buck’s nickname?!*
On art, we have an impressive, detailed team in Harvey Tolibao for art and Rebecca Nalty on colors, while Jake M. Wood provides lettering. The opening page showed us the team’s ability to bring an impressive scale to bare on page, with a hole in space spewing out Legacy Run debris onto the quiet Trymant IV, while the subsequent pages on the ground are heavy on details that really make scenes feel grounded, weighted. In fact, the detail work highlights the unfolding disaster on Trymant, almost making one feel like you’re there in the thick of it or like a paused shot from an animated film, and it was incredible panel after panel how much work Tolibao put into each page. Nalty’s colors are really put to work, differentiating the various levels of ground, buildings, sky, people, and debris, and she truly brings each panel to stunning life. In particular, I loved the split panels of Zeen and Lula’s faces (and how Wood melds their thought bubbles), where both Tolibao’s art and Nalty’s colors show how different the two young women are, but the story and their internalizations reveal how alike they are inside; we’re all just beings in this galaxy, no matter what we look like inside, and can have more in common with one another than we all realize. As I mentioned before, the spider-ship the Nihil arrive in is so cool, I hope we see more of it even if it’s likely a pain to draw something so intricate, while I loved the retro-future look of the rescue speeders…they reminded me of something I’ve seen before, like a 50’s car, and it has guns so I want 13 toys of it them in every issue, thanks. In the end, much like Ario Anindito’s THR comic work, they went big for IDW’s own entry in The High Republic era and it pays off in dividends, giving this initiative the epic feel of the next big thing for Star Wars.
Here are a few other things:
- We have a page dedicated to The High Republic, which is where you’ll find all our reviews, news articles, and a list of what content is yet to come. I’ll cover that below, but you can always refer to our THR page in the future!
- Cham-cham was as cute as the concept art promised and I’m eager to see more of the little bat-scorpion thing.
- If you’re not following Daniel José Older on Twitter…go and correct that mistake right now. He’s been sharing tons of fun stuff around THRA and I quite enjoyed this glimpse behind-the-scenes of the process of making a comic.
- *Did you check out the video above? Or the livestream prior to The High Republic’s launch? Then you know Older has been hyping up Torban Buck aka Buckets of Blood for some time now! He doesn’t do anything really this issue, but I’m eager to see and learn why he’s nicknamed Buckets of Blood!
- There’s a good interview with artist Harvey Tolibao if you want to learn more about the design process for making a comic with totally new characters/ships/etc!
- The included Galactic Data File, which gives us a map of the galaxy with familiar or new names to ponder, as well as a look at Coruscant and the Starlight Beacon, was much appreciated and I’ll be curious if they have this Data File every issue or not…which I’d like!
The High Republic Adventures #1 is an excellent, character-heavy start, to what promises to be an memorable new entry in The High Republic story.
+ Following Zeen and Lula’s journeys
+ Why are the Nihil after the cult/religion’s leader?
+ Truly stunned by the artwork
+ What a cliff-hanger ending!
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
THE HIGH REPUBLIC ADVENTURES REVIEWS
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