– Spoiler Review –
Free Comic Book Day is always a joyous occasion and a fun reason to go out to your local comic shops and show them love and support, but 2023’s took on a whole new meaning for Star Wars fans, especially The High Republic fans, as a short coda story was released by Dark Horse! The High Republic Adventures Free Comic Book Day 2023 returns us to the crew we all fell in love with during Phase I of the initiative, exploring their tumultuous time on Starlight Beacon as it falls, so as you can imagine, this is anything but a peaceful return but well-worth a read!
The last time we saw the characters in IDW and Daniel José Older’s The High Republic Adventures – Phase I was in February of 2022, where many of their fates were left on cliffhangers, be it Lula Talisola, Farzala, Qort, Torban “Buckets of Blood” Buck, Bibs, and Ishnar Ti-Kharatal. Some were on their way to Starlight Beacon, others were already on it, choosing to sacrifice themselves (and clothes) to protect others so they might flee the doomed station. It’s been an aggravating year plus since for fans, though Older’s current The High Republic Adventures – Phase II has certainly done a wonderful job filling in the all-ages gap with Sav Malgán’s story amongst Maz Kanata’s pirate crew, but it’s hard not to think back on the fates of all these characters as we anticipate their return in Phase III: Trials of the Jedi, kicking off in October 2023. At Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023, we got our first cover for The High Republic Adventures – Phase III, which showcased Zeen Mrala, who we knew was alive by the end of Phase I, and Qort, one of the unknowns, but it still left many questions, especially since Phase III will pick up a whole year later.
So with Lula Zalisola front and center on the cover for The High Republic Adventures Free Comic Book Day 2023, it seemed our wait to learn more about her and the others around her would come to an merciful end sooner than later. However, Older decided the cliffhangers already present just weren’t good enough, embraced chaos, and created THRA FCBD ’23 specifically to hurt us all. Because while we get to see all the above characters struggle through Starlight Beacon’s doomed fall, the issue ends with an even more intense cliffhanger, which becomes exponentially more frustratingly good knowing we won’t see what happens next since Phase III picks up a whole year later! Older ended up having gremlins in his walls following the release of this issue, understandably so, because he deserves it after what he’s done! It was such a blessing to see these characters again, be it Qort trying to save the day and nearly perishing, Buckets’ plan to disguise the Padawans/younglings so the Nihil don’t target them, and seeing Lula can’t stop thinking about Zeen….though this last one we learn AS SHE’S PLUMMETING TO HER DEATH ALONGSIDE JERK KID KRIX KAMERAT!! Are you kidding me, OLDER?!! WHY!!!??? The wait for Phase III just become so much more difficult and who knew it could all come from a short little coda like this?! Don’t ever let him write a FCBD issue again…maybe.
Joining Older is the return of artist Harvey Tolibao, who was the main contributor to THRA – Phase I and is set to take over THRA – Phase II for two issues, while colorist Michelle Madsen, and letterers Jimmy Betancourt & Tyler Smith join! There was no mistaking seeing these characters again in Tolibao’s style, as it instantly felt at home be with them and in his distinct, heavily detailed ways. The double page spread of Qort leaping into action, attacking the Nameless monster which we can’t see because the hallway is too bright, was one of my favorite parts of the issue. It was so cool to see him smiling, eager to help his friends even if it puts him in danger, and then it’s devastatingly scary to see him in utter fear after his attack, struggling through a residual effect from the encounter, and then collapses, seemingly dead for a second before Lula and Buckets confirm he’s alright. The next part is how devious Krix looks now, so fully turned and evil he’s got a menacing smile as he taunts Lula as wide as the Joker’s. Watching his slow fall to darkness, and being consumed by it, was one of the fascinating aspects of the original run and seeing it visually shown how committed he is to his new life was the perfect coda on that storyline. However, it’s a knife in the heart to have Zeen and Lula’s heads against one another, the thought Lula can’t stop having, in the same panel as the one where we Starlight Beacon rocketing to the surface below, followed by Betancourt and Smith’s placement of the final line of Lula’s opening narration way down in the corner, both to serve as an end of this part of the issue but also to highlight how she almost didn’t need to say Zeen’s name as we all knew exactly what she was talking about. Madsen’s colors in Qort’s heroic moment give him a bit of a glow, as if the Force is with him as he makes the valiant effort to help his friends, while the fire and explosions of many of the last few panels are intimidatingly bright, as if they could consume Lula and Krix at any moment as they tussle in the ship. Lastly the lettering duo really build up the ticking bomb Krix as planted, the “deek”s getting larger and larger as the time runs out, the big bubble letter “FOM” SFX let’s the bombs impact be felt before the final page hits us in the gut about the young Lula and Zeen.
Here are a few other things:
- The High Republic’s Phase II: Quest of the Jedi is rapidly coming to a close this May, though the final two issues of The High Republic Adventures – Phase II will close it all out in June.
- The other half of the FCBD issue is an Avatar: The Last Airbender tie-in and thankfully it’s nowhere near as tragically frustrating as THRA’s half!
The High Republic Adventures Free Comic Book Day 2023 is a chance to spend some time with our favorites in the most heart-wrenching way. You know what you did, Older!
+ Getting to spend time with some old favorites…
+ …BUT HOW DARE YOU, OLDER?!
+ Welcome return from Tolibao!
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.
DISCLOSURE: I received a copy of this comic from the publisher at no charge in order to provide an early review. However, this did not affect the overall review content. All opinions are my own.