– Spoiler Review –
While it’s only been since August of last year the final story of the main The High Republic era came out, it feels even longer, not only due to all the real-world events, but mainly because 4 years of nearly non-stop releases to nothing has been a bit of a shock. But “Phase More” is here and it kicks off with Dark Horse’s The High Republic Adventures: Pathfinders #1, written by George Mann with art by Partha Pratim & Jagdish Kumar, a return to the era’s usual form with some intriguing mysteries that any fan can jump into.
During the main Phases of The High Republic’s story, while most novels and comics were written with the best attempt to be self-contained enough a reader could easily jump, it was still one small part of such a larger story, readers might’ve gotten some creeping fear of missing out if they didn’t read more. “Phase More” is designed differently, as it’ll be full of stories set all over the High Republic era’s timeline, using the era as a backdrop for catching us up with familiar and new characters and expanding on its many events. The High Republic Adventures: Pathfinders, a 6-issue miniseries, is the first story under this new Phase and, with only one returning character (who’s already dead when it starts, first revealed in the previews) and so far its story doesn’t have any ties to plot threads from the main story of the era, it’s an excellent jumping on point to the High Republic era as it’s really fresh and new for everyone reading. It might help a little to know Pathfinders is set 20 years after Phase II, which itself was a prequel to Phase I/III and set 150 years prior to them, making it 350 years before The Phantom Menace, but mentions of the Office of the Frontier and the whole Pathfinders concept do enough heavy lifting it won’t matter too much if you don’t have this one marked on the timeline calendar.
The High Republic Adventures: Pathfinders #1 starts with a Jedi found dead and the nearest Pathfinder team, which is a mixture of Jedi and Republic members exploring the Outer Rim, sent to investigate. The dead Jedi is Jedi Master Atticus Cale, an Abednedo who first appeared in a flashback for writer George Mann’s The High Republic Adventures: Echoes of Fear. We first met him looking for a missing Jedi, curiously enough, and I’d be interested to know when this takes place compared to Echoes of Fear #3 flashback, as I’m wondering if his Padawan in that issue is now a Jedi Master herself by this point in the timeline and if we might get to see her again before this series ends. Either way, by the end of Pathfinders #1, curious circumstances mark Cale’s death, with some type of potential sonic weapon involved, and yet the main characters we meet learn they have another situation to solve as well, saving a comms team. Could the two be related? I’m assuming it’s highly likely! Plus, I’m already wondering if it’s not a sonic weapon that killed Cale, instead maybe it’s a creature/being that gives off sonic waves who killed him, either on purpose or by accident? It’s an intriguing mystery and I look forward to Mann revealing it in due time!
As for Pathfinders‘ main characters, we’re introduced to Jedi Master Temesh, a Mirialan, and his human Padawan Anula, who are the Jedi contingent of their Pathfinder team alongside their pilot, Pol, and their medic, Harby. Temesh seems like your typical Jedi Master, a bit aloof in his methods, but is respected by all those around him and isn’t too concerned about worrying about the circumstances of another Jedi’s death, focusing on the here and now instead. Yet he’s not as straight-laced as he first seems, as he and Anula sneak around a dignitary’s home to steal back Cale’s ship after they suspiciously claim jurisdiction over it. As for Anula, she’s eager to learn and not even realizing she is at times, yet has an ear for potential trouble and doesn’t mind hooting and hollering when stealing back the Jedi ship. I look forward to learning more about both of them, as we only get some cursory moments with them to start, while I appreciate how we not only have a non-human lead Jedi Master, but most of the other characters aren’t human either. Pol seems like a fun pilot, willing to cover up Temesh and Anula’s lateness with a funny conversation about hair colors, while Harby’s disposition brings several laughs throughout the issue. We meet even more Republic Pathfinders on Jagoth, which is where Cale’s ship is found and is being held by the local government, so the Jedi seem pretty alone on this one and will have to rely more on their team than just themselves, which will be nice to see the Pathfinders in action together more than we had in the past. Also, I hope Pol’s bird-like creature, Ezal (who is on Jake Bartok’s cover next to Temesh), gets more time in the story ahead!
For Pathfinders #1 art team, there’s Partha Pratim on pencils, Jagdish Kumar on inks, Michael Atiyeh handling colors, and Comicraft’s Bobby Bradford & Tyler Smith on lettering! While Atiyeh and the Comicraft team are the usuals these days for Dark Horse work, and Atiyeh’s had a lot of Marvel Star Wars comics work too, Partha Pratim and Jagdish Kumar are new to me but already I’m a fan of their overall style and hope we’ll get more of them beyond this series! I like the little ways they drew the differences and yet connected nature of Temesh and Anula. When we first meet Temesh and Anula, he’s running after Ezal, who throws his lightsaber, and he leaps out over a cliff, catching it and coming down for a smooth landing. In these moments, Temesh’s movement feels purposeful, like he only moves as much as necessary and is confident in his movements, like how his landing kicks up little to no dust. This is best exemplified as he holds his lightsaber out, the other arm out and waiting, holding the same pose as Anula rushes down after him, coming to a landing, kicking up dust unlike her Master, while Ezal lands on Temesh’s outstretched free hand. As much as they are different, this pair is connected, which we best see in a scene late in the issue, where they take out security droids with their lightsabers and then brush off their shoulders, which felt like both a reference to Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi cutting down droids in Revenge of the Sith‘s elevator scene and Luke Skywalker’s famous little shoulder brush in The Last Jedi. Overall, I’m also really liking the way this pair draws lightsaber swings, going for a thinner line that reminds me more of how they look in Original Trilogy than in more recent works, and it makes their swings feel purposeful, directed, and precise, showcasing their skill. Bradford & Smith’s sound FX give the swings a little extra flair, but also maintains the more precise way they’re drawn, and I like the balance these maintain. Their flair does enhance the splash page of Anula and Temesh flying away in the ship after they steal it back, with the little SFX of the security droids shooting seeming desperate, while Anula “Woo!” breaks word bubble containment, as if it’s dragging behind them for how fast they are taking off, while the warning the Jedi will pay for their actions seems like it’s shouted loud enough it hasn’t escaped attention. On colors, I enjoyed how Atiyeh really played up the emergency red in the opening scenes, as we leading up to seeing Cale’s body, while he does a great job keeping Anula and Temesh in the shadows as the skulk around the dignitary’s home, yet when confrontation is set to come with the landing ship, the shadows have gone and the Jedi are truly out in the open.
Here are a few other things:
- At this moment, Pathfinders is the only announced Phase More release, but we’ve been teased enough it’s just the start, so expect more announcements sooner than later!
- At this moment, barring any delays, Pathfinders‘ release schedule is: issue #2 on May 6; issue #3 on June 17, and issue #4 on July 29. I’ll be keeping the release schedule part of our High Republic page updated as soon as possible if there are any changes!
The High Republic Adventures: Pathfinders #1 is a great place to jump into the era for new and old fans alike, as returning fans will feel like no time has passed and we’re back into it, while new fans will have a low barrier to entry, both ending up with an intriguing mystery to read and pretty of promise for what’s all ahead!
+ Interesting mysteries ahead
+ Promising new characters…
+ Art team makes a great first impression
– …who could use more time in the spotlight personality-wise
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him and the website on Bluesky.
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.