– Spoiler Review –
Arriving at the halfway point of the series and all its mysteries aren’t quite adding up, will our Pathfinder team begin uncovering answers? And will we be terrified at what they might be? George Mann and the art team dial in another great issue with The High Republic Adventures: Pathfinders #3, an excellent midway point where the answers offer even more dangerous questions than before.
With the death of a Jedi Master unsolved, a missing comms team to still find, and sabotage to EX communication droids to deal with, there’s a lot going on that is just itching for answers by the time we start The High Republic Adventures: Pathfinders #3. Writer George Mann decides it’s time we uncover some of the answers, but in doing so we get a play on the detective show genre in the process, mixing up an issue’s formula once again, keeping things interesting in more ways than one. I’ve really enjoyed how each issue has felt very distinct that way, dealing in different genre tropes and yet still moving the overall story and characters forward at the same time. Issue #1 was a daring and rule breaking Jedi adventure, #2 was the obligatory monster story, and now as I said before, detective time. I really hope Mann keeps this genre hopping up, as it’s a great extra bonus to this engaging story.
The investigative shenanigans begin with Jedi Master Vix Fonnix, who we met last issue and first were introduced to in The High Republic Adventures: Quest of the Jedi #1. There’s a little nod to her past, as we learn she’s at a listening station post, hoping to catch some hint at her old Master, Barnabas Vim’s, whereabouts. As i mentioned in the previous review, technically the story we first saw Vix and Vim in takes place almost a hundred years prior to Phase II’s start and this is 20 years after Phase II’s end so….Barnabas, a human, would likely be dead (though if he made it to Planet X truly, maybe not), but there’s a hint later on in the issue why she might still be looking regardless. According to her, if you know where to look, one can hear echoes of long lost transmissions, so she’s hoping to catch one of his. Much like Rooper Nitani’s cameo last issue, Vix exits the story by issue’s end, with what she does next and if she ever finds out Vim’s fate remains to be told.
How Vix ties into this issue is her vigilance at the comms uncovers screaming and she rushes to help, only to find she’s too late. Anula and Temesh arrive shortly after, hot on the trail of the sabotaged EX droid. Are the murders of the base’s comms team and the sabotage connected? The remaining members of the base become prime suspects in the investigation as it’s revealed the doors were locked from the inside and someone erased some comm logs. The way issue #3 deals with the situation is rather fun, from the double page splash where the others are questioned, how the group starts pointing fingers at one another, and how some red herrings play out resulting in Anula showcasing some impressive skills and reliance in the Force.
In my review of issue #1, I was guessing Atticus Cale’s death was a result of a sonic weapon of some sort and issue #3 confirms it’s certainly sonic related (the great cover by Jake Bartok certainly helps too!). How it’s being created and who’s using it, and most importantly, why this is being done remains to be seen, but whomever is behind this struck again with the comms team. I doubt this theory, but what if someone is already messing with the terrifying sound of the Dizonites, the same beings whose screams were used by the Imperial Security Bureau for torture as seen in Andor, but since this is centuries before the Empire massacres their race, it could be like someone recorded the death sounds of one or two of them. Regardless what the noise is, it’s more frightening to think we still don’t have a why it’s being used yet. Always nice when some answers come in and the new questions are even more exciting than the last.
For art, it’s Caío Filipe again, with Michael Atiyeh coloring as always and Tyler Smith & Bobby Bradford of Comicraft lettering. As I said before, there’s some fun ways this issue leans into the investigative/detective genre and it’s all thanks to what the art team pulls off. The two back-to-back double splash pages seal the deal in terms of interesting and engaging ways to show the Pathfinders hot on the trail of murder. The first of the two contains images within the outlines of the two murdered bodies, a startling red engulfing the negative space of the outlines, with scenes of Temesh, Anula, and Vix exploring different aspects of the crime scene, the letterers navigating the connections in an organic, yet missing-piece-of-the-puzzle sort of way. The next page almost implies the questioning of the remaining outpost members is recorded, with the scan lines often seen in the holograms and the ghostly blue of its usage the predominate color scheme of the two pages. It’s really on Bradford and Smith to guide us around the interviews, which ring the outside of a middle circular panel keeping the poor dead bodies front and center, as if everyone talking is being reminded of what this is all about. Filipe really makes the best of these insert panels with the characters, the change of expressions between the first and second time each member appears drops hints at who might be involved, making it as much of an investigation for readers to partake in as it is for them to passively experience. When the culprit for deleting the comms logs after the team has died is revealed, well, you guessed it, another double-splash page contains the action-packed and stunning showcase of skill by Anula as she ends the perpetrator’s attempt to flee. Anula, who has been largely complaining about the cold of the ice up to this point, shrugs off those concerns and speeds after them like Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon going Force speed from The Phantom Menace. She easily catches up to the ship, jumps onto it, and secures herself with a lightsaber through its hull. She adjusts her placement, using the saber to get a better grip, and jams it down into the controls, wrenching them away from the problematic individual and setting the ship they took on course for a pounding crash. It’s a thrilling and fast-paced sequence, peeling back a layer on Anula I really wish to see and learn more about.
Here are a few other things:
- Still crossing my fingers some “Phase More” releases will be revealed at SDCC later this month!
- Also continuing to wish we’d get a bit more time with just Anula and Temesh, but they’re growing on me as the series progresses.
- After some delays, Pathfinders‘ release schedule has been updated again: issue #4 on August 19, issue #5 on September 9; and the finale issue #6 hitting October 21. I’ll be keeping the release schedule section of our High Republic page updated as soon as possible if there are any changes!
The High Republic Adventures: Pathfinders #3 digs its heels into a fun investigative mood, finding answer and more compelling questions along the way
+ Answers have arrived yet the new questions are more haunting than before
+ Art team playing up the detective genre
– New characters still need more time in the spotlight, but it’s getting better.
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.