– Spoiler Review –
With the Nihil pushed back on Takodana and the Jedi of Starlight Beacon finally having a chance to relax, Master “Buckets of Blood” Torband Buck introduces them to…Great Jedi Rumble Race!! Daniel José Older’s The High Republic Adventures #11 has no rules, but it does rule, from the humor and fun of the race, Lula’s introspection, Nihil in-fighting, and the return of Harvey Tolibao.
The last few issues of The High Republic Adventures focused on Qort, and previously Farzala, and now we return to original focus of the series, Lula Talisola and Zeen Mrala. It’s more Lula than Zeen this issue, but their connection means whatever Lula is going through, she can’t really hide it from her friend, even though she tries here. Lula’s emotions are ruling her, a general sense something is wrong in the galaxy driving those emotions in her that the Jedi find so dastardly when combined, rage, sadness, and then fear. The Jedi of this era, while still also discouraged from attachments, form them far more easily and openly than the Jedi of the prequel era, like the strong connection between Lula and Zeen, this group of Padawans’ tendency to hug one another, and to quickly bring others into their group. For the most part, those attachments have made these Jedi stronger nor have they held them back, from Sskeer and Keeve Trennis’ friendship helping one another and win against the Drengir to Avar Kriss’ ability to connect the Jedi together to pull off the rescue of Hetzal (which I’m worried might be used against them soon), but this golden age won’t last forever so Lula’s admittance her attachments are causing her such rolling emotions is a dark sign of things to come for this era.
It doesn’t help that at the same time we’re learning about Lula’s fear, Sabata Krill is talking about using the Jedi’s attachment against them. Sabata was one of the sisters captured by the Jedi after the first failed attack by the Nihil on Takodana, who later planted explosives around the Jedi Temple and scurried back to the Nihil after its destruction. Her ability to mislead the Jedi and hide her true intentions, even if Sav Malagán suspected something was amiss, is a small part of her skill set, as her time with the Jedi has given her a unique insight into how they’d react if one they cared about might be hurt. As much as I want to hate Sabata for her plans against the Jedi, she’s also trying to manipulate these events in hopes the Jedi kill Krix Kamerat, which okay, I can totally understand. But she’s playing on the Jedi’s attachments, maneuvering events so Krix confronts Zeen, who she knows would rather bring Krix in alive than dead, while the later would rather kill Zeen than ever show weakness again (the Nihil would kill Krix for it), and Sabata believes the Jedi are in a delicate spot here and one might react, killing Krix in retaliation, no matter what their creed says. Lula’s emotional turmoil is exactly what Sabata hopes is ravaging a Jedi, so hence my concern for what’s to come, especially since all the hints and teases about next month’s launch of Wave III content for Phase I paint a fairly dark picture. This issue also ends with a tease of some of the Nihil’s plans, as Sabata and Respriler watch over the construction of ships on Corellia, hinting of coming attacks on the Core of the Republic itself…so maybe not just Starlight Beacon is in trouble next, but maybe Coruscant too?!
Thankfully, and for the majority of it, THRA #11 is not all dark, in fact it’s damned fun as the Jedi of Starlight Beacon get to enjoy the GREAT JEDI RUMBLE RACE!! What the heck exactly is this race, you might ask? According to Buckets and Kantam Sy, it’s a race that has no rules…and that’s basically it! The Jedi race through Starlight, by any means necessary! It’s a fun idea, something Buckets says he used to do elsewhere, and it makes sense it comes from a medic, as not all wounds can be healed by medicine. This is more of a release, a way to let the Jedi, Padawans and Masters alike, to blow off steam, relax, have fun, and let cares and worries rest for just a moment, so it’s Buckets’ way of helping out other injuries and pain. It was fun to watch the Padawans and others run amok on Starlight Beacon and I totally should’ve seen the ending of it coming as well, but all this ominous imagery about the station certainly make me feel like we won’t ever see a race again in the story of this era. Enjoy the smiles and laughter now, as it’ll be awhile before we might see those again. Thanks for giving us this release as well, Older, we need it before it all comes crashing down in January 2022.
Returning to the series after a brief hiatus, artist Harvey Tolibao is back, while Rebecca Nalty continues as colorist and Jake M. Wood also returns for lettering. One of my favorite aspects to Tolibao’s work is the detail heavy and jam-packed panels he creates, which was perfect for the chaos of the Great Jedi Rumble Race, as the piles of Jedi climbing over one another, Ram Jomaram blasting through the halls on an astromech, or the big splash page of spectators and visitors enjoying the crowd rumbling through, Tolibao really brought the humor, excitement, and no rules to life in such a fun, physical way. The conflict in Lula also gains lots of focus from Tolibao, adding to her internal dialogue about the emotions rolling through her, evident by the scrunch of her face or the pained way she looks like meditating. Tolibao iterates on Toni Bruno’s work aging the characters, easing their looks into his style with zero fuss, adding the attention to detail Bruno’s cartoonier, but still very enjoyable work, didn’t quite have. Sabata also loses her more lanky look for one that’s sharp, subtle, but yet powerful, making me worried her plans are one she can see through, while Krix’s reveals more of his youthfulness that was missing in his age-up previously. Nalty’s colors hue a little darker this time around, especially in the scenes on Corellia, adding to the ominous nature of Nihil’s discussions, while the brighter look for the rumble race kept the mood lite and humorous. I loved Wood’s “GREAT JEDI RUMBLE RACE” lettering when Buckets bellows the race begins, a fitting look for the likely boisterous way he delivered the line.
Here are a few other things:
- After this, there are technically two issues left in the series for Phase I, though how the series continues when/if IDW loses the license and Dark Horse takes over remains to be seen, but there are actually two other issues on their way. There is both The High Republic Adventures Annual (December 15) and the Galactic Bake-off Spectacular (in January) to enjoy as well!
- As there are only a few issues left, Older has teased these are a bit of a prequel to Midnight Horizon, his upcoming YA novel set to release in February as part of Wave III!
- Sian Holt and Emerick Caphtor, who star in Older’s The High Republic – Trail of Shadows miniseries, have a funny cameo in the crowd watching the race. Makes one curious when this takes place in regards to that series, as they only started working with one another and haven’t been seen on Starlight together yet. I imagine this appearance might technically be after or toward the end of the miniseries.
The High Republic Adventures #11 wants you to have fun even as it warns you of what’s to come.
+ GREAT JEDI RUMBLE RACE
+ Lula’s worries and Sabata’s plans
+ Return of Harvey 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.
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