– Spoiler Review –
With Maz Kanata still in the hands of the dastardly Dank Graks, Sav Malagán makes a dangerous decision: try to join them to rescue the pirate captain! Will she be able to fool the group, join them, and help put a stop to their plans from the inside? And if she joins them, what secrets will she uncover? Find out what unexpected things Sav gets up to in my review of The High Republic Adventures #4 – Phase II!
Daniel José Older always manages to infuse his stories with a sense of exuberance, yet lacing it with deeper themes and conversations, all sorts of fans have something to enjoy. The High Republic Adventures #4 – Phase II balances this really well, if not leaning a little more on the vibrancy side, and I had a total blast with this issue. Sav’s mad-cap energy when confronting the Graks and hoping to join, and Arkik Von’s over-confidence in just how tough his made up tests will be while Saya Keem groans over the charade, all were a funny, enjoyable opening to the issue, while seeing inside the Grak’s ship and how they operate, it was interesting to see a group who lived with such unpredictable energy. This issue almost hides its hard-hitting punches amongst all the fun, but what’s there is a testament to the quality of representation and the subtle, yet pointed remarks Older can deliver which offer readers of all ages important topics to think about. In short, you can’t go wrong with this issue, but did we expect anything less?
I want to focus on the interactions between Saya and Sav, which was a refreshing part of this series both for us and for these two characters. So far, Sav’s been mixing it up with characters who are older than her, which shows us how mature she is for her age, how ready she is for these things, but she’s still a kid at this point and yet she’s not really hanging out with people her age. Amongst the Dank Graks, Saya falls under the same umbrella, acting older than she is to keep up with her cohorts, but at the end of the day, a kid should be a kid every once in awhile, hence her eagerness to allow Sav into the group, expressed loudly and proudly, calling out Arkik’s sham initiation process. Her enthusiasm after Sav passes the tests and is allowed to join, even if Arkik is sure she was lying the whole time, is almost too much, nearly pushing Sav away to start by making it seem like she’s just happy Sav’s there to help with chores. How she clarifies her feelings hits Sav real hard, as they both don’t feel like they belong in the only family they’ve ever known, while further discussion between the two paints Saya as a ‘dark’ mirror of Sav, as she’s living the chaotic life our Padawan sneaks out at night to explore, while she scoffs at structured life on places like Coruscant. I know we’re at the halfway point of this series, but I’ve been searching for what would start to convince or show Sav her way back to the Order, as we all know this is where this is all headed, and Sav’s time with Saya felt like the opening argument. There’s other stuff this issue which still doesn’t give the Order any points, but Sav being incredulous after seeing what a life like this all the time could be like, no structure, no meaning, always looking out for someone to prank you, and without any peers around the same age, feels like a step towards her seeing the benefits of the life she left behind.
But her rejoining or focusing on the Order shouldn’t simply be because it offers structure or meaning, there needs to be an actual shift in how they treat her/she’s able to interact with the Order itself. The last few issues have shown her current interactions, specifically with her Master, are part and parcel why she’s been driven away from it, while this issue has a preview of how things aren’t always that bad. Sav speaks of her interactions with Tera Sinube, who looks a little younger than we’re used to seeing him (and alive! Too soon?), where his instruction lacked what her Master would shove her way about rules and protocol being so vital to life. Most fans likely know the Order isn’t always as rigid as this series has made it out to be so far, and this was an acknowledgment of it, but combine this moment with Sav seeing how far her current path could take her, together we see groundwork for what could lead her to choose the Order after all this freedom with Maz and crew. Will the Order allow her to have a different Master? Or will her Master learn as well, see what he’s been doing wrong this whole time with his apprentice, and make the necessary changes? It sure feels like Sav doesn’t need to make any changes and it’s all on the Order at this moment, so I look forward to see how this all plays out to bring us to the Sav we all know and love from Phase I.
The queer underlying themes have their moment this issue too thanks to one part of Saya and Sav’s interactions. Last issue, when Sav pretended to be someone working for the Grafs, she was gendered as a boy and didn’t say anything about it, and the Dank Graks continue on with the assumption. In fact, Saya thinks it’s a secret Sav’s hiding, that she’s not a boy, and confronts her about it, and Sav delivers an absolutely astute point: “Is it really a lie if you just let people who go around making assumptions remain in their ignorance?” I imagine there’s another mesmerizing article distilling this moment and the issue’s many other underlying themes heading our way by James over at Eleven-ThirtyEight, though I’ll try to unpack it here a little bit. In a time where making assumptions about people is leading the US, and other countries in the world, to fight against what they don’t know or what they only know from assumptions and lies, Sav’s point hits across multiple levels. As important as it is to hear something like her statement in the context of the queer community’s larger struggles, taking it at a smaller contextual level holds just as much value, as younger readers out there who might deal with situations like Sav’s, where people assume for them despite their own choice in identity or as they remain unsure, it’s often easier to not say anything than face blacklash; One could argue holding back the truth could only make responses worse, but as Sav says, it’s not a lie if someone else assumed for you, so it’s not your fault when things turn out differently than others expect, which can apply to a giant list of situations, including ones the queer community has to deal with like coming out or misgendering, and I love how easily this point Older is making, through Sav, is so versatile. But when it comes to choosing your identity, especially gender, this point feels tailored for those going through it, after all, moments before Sav catches herself and asks for the “little Graks’ room” aka the bathroom, why should the refresher have a gendered name on a ship full of aliens of different shapes, sizes, and anatomy? And what are a bunch of fictional characters but an allegory for ourselves here, showing how inane focusing on such topics over the bigger issues really is? There’s a war brewing or already started, why should it matter what Sav is?
Saya’s excitement leads her to talk a lot, revealing rather quickly to Sav the Danks’ next target: Jedha! This is why Sav asks for the refresher, as she makes a quick message to the remaining team following along, telling them where to go and that she hasn’t found Maz on the ship yet. When Dexter, Therm, Alak, Quiet Shan, and Cormorant arrive to Jedha, briefly arguing about Alak wanting to call pirate hunter Raf, they realize even enemies might be the best friends, as the battle of Jedha has already started! The novels have largely moved on from the Battle of Jedha already, with Cataclysm, Quest for Planet X, and this week’s Path of Vengeance forging ahead to Dalna and the battle there instead, but between this comic and Marvel’s, there are spots left to fill in the blanks of what all went down on Jedha. Issues #5 and #6 have a cool connecting cover depicting the battle in a way only Harvey Tolibao could, and they should be out in May along with the rest of Phase II’s final stretch of content, though issues #7 & #8 will wrap it all up in June.
There’s a double page spread, and the resulting panel on the page after, which really showcase artist Toni Bruno’s work, alongsider colorist Michael Aityeh, and lettering duo Tyler Smith & Jimmy Betancourt. The final test for Arkik’s initiation rite is sending a wave of droids at Sav and she responds with igniting her signature purple dual blades and going to town on the mechanicals which plays out in a really fun and intuitive way across the two pages. Sav’s swipes with her saber are the little panels within the pages which help guide us along, Aityeh’s colors washing those squares in Sav’s purple lightsaber color so we know they are her blade swinging through the scene. And beforehand, Bruno has pasted Sav’s face with delight and grins as she works her way through outsmarting Arkik’s game, while the other characters’ expressions are also very noticeable and bright, so it only stands out more in these two pages when Sav’s face goes neutral, attuned to the Force, not enjoying the combat but letting the Force guide her through it, more happy to be interacting with Saya or being smarter than Arkik instead. The following page’s first panel sees Smith and Betancourt get in the fun, the first SFX of the scene as she’s sheathing her blades, the word bubble very near to Sav’s face, as if she’s very quietly asking if she’s done after the epic moves she just put down. I felt like nothing better encapsulated Saya and Sav’s burgeoning friendship than them laying on the floor of Saya’s room, little mock planets and stars hanging from the ceiling, starkly stating how young these two are, having them on some sort of cosmic sleepover with the adults in the other room, while Saya’s word bubble calling it home allows us to bask in the scene to make her words hit. Lastly, one thing I really liked towards the end was the two panels with us first seeing Maz’s crew, as one has Alak telling everyone he’s about to tell Raf what’s going on and the next panel is all their silent reactions, as Dexter, Therm, and Cormorant’s eye’s go wide in surprise, while even Quiet Shan’s eye opens an almost imperceptible amount as well, though whereas everyone else isn’t happy with what Alak’s saying, it makes it seem like Shan is waiting to see how everyone else reacts.
Here are a few other things:
- Free Comic Book Day this weekend, as of this publishing, and it features a return to Older’s Phase I The High Republic Adventures journey, catching us up with Lula Talisola, Qort, Buckets of Blood, Farzala, and more as they try to escape the dying Starlight Beacon! Cannot wait to go and pick this up at my local comic shop, Lost World of Wonders!
- The High Republic Adventures – Quest of the Jedi #1 came out the week prior to this, which seemed unreal after all the waiting, but it was well-worth it! It has a big connection to the era’s larger storyline!
The High Republic Adventures #4 – Phase II puts Sav behind enemy lines to help save Maz, though along the fun-heavy way, some intriguing themes and messages appear like only Daniel José Older could.
+ Sav making the important point
+ Sav and Saya’s connection
+ From the big two-page spread to Maz’s team going bug-eyed over Alak’s words, art team finds a way to do it all
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.