Canon Comic Review: The High Republic Adventures #13 – Phase III

Posted on by Head Butler Ryan

– Spoiler Review –

The series’ detour to the plight on Valo reaches an engaging conclusion in The High Republic Adventures #13 – Phase III, where some familiar faces and the power of the people give the Nihil a run for their money.

It’s all just Daniel José Older’s comics’ world and we’re just living in it, aren’t we? After my initial misgivings about stepping away from Eriadu to visit Valo’s problems were proven to be hasty, Older manages to wrap up the side trip in such a way I was left hoping we’d had more time there. Funny how that works, hey? It’s not Older’s only impressive bit of work out today, December 18, as The High Republic Adventures: Dispatches from the Occlusion Zone #3 dropped with a look at Emerick Caphtor’s investigations around the Nameless, and then of course The High Republic Adventures: The Wedding Spectacular, which shows the wedding of Lula Talisola and Zeen Mrala! There’s the suggested reading order of first The High Republic Adventures #13 – Phase III and then Wedding Spectacular, which makes a lot of sense given how each starts and ends and they work really well together, but fans won’t be disappointed in any of the above comics.

Each issue of the “Return to Valo” storyline has focused on a different character, with Padawan Gavi and his struggles maintaining the rouse of Valo’s “occupancy” by the Nihil being the focus of issue #11, then issue #12 put Ram Jomaram’s optimism in light, and now issue #13 not only gives Zyle Keem, the young pirate heir, a spotlight, it also shows how each issue has helped build mini-arcs within the three issue storyline. Zyle’s trying to be their own legend and rise as a pirate, so they don’t like it when their mom keeps saving them and calling them a kid, which of course Tanana Keem does when she arrives on Valo. I enjoyed the relationship between the two, and the familiar The High Republic Adventures – Phase II faces she brings with her, as Zyle and Tanana are stubborn to one another but eventually Zyle sees sense in Tanana’s requirement they check in more often and acquiesces, while her support of Zyle and their path forward was a small, yet nice thing to see. A mother/child relationship still remains pretty rare in Star Wars overall, so a healthy one like this is commendable, and between Tanana and Zyle’s time in Escape from Valo and now this issue, it leaves me wishing we’ll get to see more of these two even in the big Battle of Eriadu storyline going forward.

As for the little arcs, with the help Ram’s message spurring on the population of Lonisa City and the returning favorites like Maz Kanata, Sav Malagán, and Dexter Jettster, Gavi’s hard work with Valo wasn’t undone, as their fight against the Warden’s forces is enough to cause him to leave, though he vows to commence the battle on Eriadu, which will take over this series leading up to its finale next year. For Farzala, who was eager to take back the Star Hopper from the Nihil since his time aboard is what helped him get through Nihil prison, their success is brief, as they have to abandon it in the fighting to jump on Kanata’s ship instead, but it’s in a conversation with Zyle he is able to let go of his connection and feelings for it with the hopes he’ll get to liberate it once more. The Jedi and Warden leaving comes on a little fast at the end, to the point I was a little confused why everyone was leaving as the population was still in a fight with the left behind Nihil and why the Star Hopper had to be abandoned so hastily, but this overall felt like a worthy detour as it helped work through some characters’ arcs before the main series focused on the Battle of Eriadu.

With this issue, Caìo Filipe, besides in the Wedding Spectacular, brings his time on the series to an end, while Michael Atiyeh on colors and Tyler Smith & Jimmy Betancourt as letterers will remain. When Tanana and Zyle have it out over being too much of a helicopter parent and too much of a rogue wannabe pirate, Filipe’s control of the scene really makes the two feel like they have valid points despite the apparent differences in height, as they both stand their ground in the fight, with Smith and Betancourt’s word bubbles for their arguments at the same level, but you can tell one is the parent and other is the child as Tanana often presents a stern face while Zyle wears their emotions on their sleeves, with big exasperated facial reactions and lots of arm movement. Throughout the scene, Farzala is in the background, willingly oblivious to their fight as he rushes to fix the Star Hopper, moving up and down, a fun bit which also helps show the flow of the conversation, while him being smaller and in the background makes his meek interference about fixing the ship really feel so small compared to the fight between mother and child. That this whole situation is followed up by a big one-page look at what everyone else is doing, fighting back the Nihil, is such a fun swerve, as it makes all of their points feel less important than the larger reason why they are all here. Sav is our line into the action, as she’s jumping into the fray with her two purple sabers, tons of blast fire all over the place, then we have Maz Kanata, double guns blazing, as she stands on Dexter’s shoulder, his four arms committing blaster fire to the fight, which we follow over to the real Lavalox Verzeen (it’s not Tera Sinube in disguise anymore), and lastly there’s even Ram, his yellow outfit and lightsaber blade really making him stand out compared to the pirates. On both pages, Atiyeh’s colors for the background are rather peaceful, the Star Hopper looking very blue and earthy, the forest around the battle page is green with a cool night sky, as if Valo will continue on even after this battle has been fought or who wins. The image of the people of Lonisa City, arrayed before the capital, the sound FX for their chant about no more Nihil cutting through the heart of the building, was a rather powerful bit of scenery.

Here are a few other things:

The High Republic Adventures #13 – Phase III helps alleviate concerns after last issue by bringing everyone up to speed and still pushing the story forward, while its hope-filled message will be one to remember in the dark times ahead.

+ Zyle’s focus and familiar faces return!

+ Even the small moments get all of Filipe’s tricks

– Some confusion at the end

Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Bluesky, 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.

THE HIGH REPUBLIC ADVENTURES – PHASE III REVIEWS
Vol. 1: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 — Vol. 2: #6 | #7 | #8 | #9 | #10 — Vol. 3: #11 | #12

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