– Spoiler Review –
While it’s been some time since the last manga, Phase II’s one and only is a memorable, important piece of the overall puzzle. With a story by Daniel José Older and script and art by Tomio Ogata, The High Republic: The Edge of Balance – Precedent enjoys playing with Wookiee Jedi Master Arkoff long-life, offering a story with connections from all Phases as Arkoff is the first to the investigate the mysterious disturbances the Jedi deal with on Dalna.
Picking up after the fall of Starlight Beacon/the destruction of the Banchii Jedi Temple, aka the end of Phase I, The Edge of Balance – Precedent starts not with heroes, but with villains, as Nihil leader Marchion Ro has come to Banchii looking for something from the past. The long-lived Harch bounty hunter, Vol Garat, was the only one alive to have seen what he’s looking for, and is left in charge of the operation, when he finds the item, we’re propelled into Phase II’s final moments to learn how the item is there and why it’s so damn important. And it all centers on a younger Arkoff, first introduced in The Edge of Balance – Vol. 1, as well as his Jedi Master Ravna, her droid named ZZ-10, and Jedi Knight Azlin Rell as they confront the Path of the Open Hand in their caves and tunnels on Dalna.
Whereas the recent Path of Vengeance would be easy for anyone to pick up and enjoy even if they haven’t read other Phase II outings, Precedent might be a little harder to follow for those who only read the previous two The Edge of Balance volumes, as even I was left somewhat confused at parts and I’ve read everything else so far. Some of it comes from the action in the Open Hand’s caves, as I often forgot we were in them or the next page cuts us to a scene with trees that doesn’t seem to fit with what’s come before, and some of it comes from the ambiguous way some scenes read to me, like Master Ravna’s fight with the Harch. For other readers who might not be picking up much other content, it all feels a bit rushed with details on the how and why of the Battle of Dalna, so other material would help supplement the fight, as now I’d love to have Cataclysm, Vengeance, and Precedent sliced together to see the full Battle together. However, these issues don’t detract from the overall experience and don’t last terribly long, as once Precedent really gets going, diving into the fallout of the Battle of Dalna and how the hidden item is important for the entire initiative, I found myself on the edge of my seat. It’s honestly such a great story overall, as the bigger implications will lead to big “oh’s” and “ah’s” aka Pointing Leonardo DiCaprio meme for fans of the era, while the potential for many of its developments to factor heavily into Phase III ramps up excitement for the final Phase of the initiative.
Arkoff’s Master Ravna is a fun new character for Phase II, as she’s old, eccentric, and overly calm, frustratingly so almost, but how at peace she feels and acts shields foes from the reality they are about to face a smackdown. She’s a formidable opponent and I love when characters play against their type, as she acts youthful, almost floating around as she moves, forcing everyone younger to catch up. Hopefully we’ll get to see her in other stories in the future. Ravna’s droid, ZZ-10, wasn’t my favorite character to start, as he was a bit too insistent at moments, but by the end I quite enjoyed his journey, one that lasts many, many years. The Harch named Vol Garat almost can’t stand his own against Ravna, but his and Arkoff’s battle does show how formidable a foe he is, especially when he worms his way out of dying several times. His personality is big and loud and Ogata’s art has Garat nearly breaking out of pages and panels often to convey it, making him a fun, in an annoying way, character to follow. Arkoff himself, who’s been in previous Volumes, really gets his moment here, as we see through Ravna, and his own journey trying to help his friend, how he becomes the Wookiee Master we all know, respect, and love in the ”present” of The High Republic. Seeing him come up short in certain aspects allows him to grow, and his centuries long mindset sets up some exciting ways the story here can continue into Phase III. As for Azlin Rell, we’ve had tidbits of the character in other stories, and already know things don’t necessarily go well for him due to Path of Vengeance, but what happens afterwards is endlessly fascinating in both the story and Ogata’s creepy, shiver-inducing art, though I do wish we had more of him before his mental issues begin.
As I’ve mentioned a few times already, Ogata finds ways to marry his art to his script and Older’s story, with my favorite being the absolutely creepy art for Azlin’s visions. As the Nameless ravage through the caves of Dalna, though we never see them here despite Phase II’s over abundance of them in other stories, Azlin’s heavily affected, which we see through point-of-view panels and the manic look on his face. The point-of-view moments take familiar characters and twists them into drippy, tentacled, swamp monster-like visions, consuming the page as the fear consumes Azlin, while other times his face has the appearance it’s melting, like what’s going in internally, as he scribbles madly on a piece of paper (!) or lays restlessly in bed. The creepy nursery rhyme about the Shrii-ka-rai that became prominent towards the end of Phase I comes from Azlin himself, lettered creepily throughout Precedent. Young Arkoff’s design helps differentiate him from his “older” look in the previous Volumes and lends itself well to some of the bigger emotions he deals with in this story. The Harch’s bigger than life attitude is wonderfully conveyed on the page, as I really do love how much Ogata makes it hard to look away from him as he takes up panels and pages, making him feel as big a problem as he claims to be. ZZ’s look is very cute, almost BD-1-esque, though his transformation in the final parts of the story offer a dynamic change and a cool, deadly look.
….
On the edge of balance we might all be…
…but you’re on the edge of spoilers here!
Here are a few other things:
- There’s still some remaining Phase II content as of publishing for this review: The High Republic #10 – Phase II wraps up Scott’s comic on May 24, while The High Republic Adventures – Phase II has a few issues left, one on May 31 and the remaining three all dropping on June 28!
- Before Phase III starts in earnest in October, with one still unannounced title, there’s going to be the big Tales for Light and Life anthology novel to enjoy, where the stories range from all over the Phases, but don’t quite cross over into Phase III. For tales set around Phase II there are: one with Marda Ro post-Phase II; another has Axel Greylark and the Mother during Phase II; one is set after Phase II with my favorite Jedi of the Phase, Silandra Sho; while one more introduces new characters after Phase II but not quite Phase I. It’s out September 5!
- While plenty of projects for Phase III were recently announced, the next entry (entries, hopefully!?) in The Edge of Balance series wasn’t revealed, but I’m sure we’ll find out more in the coming months.
The High Republic: The Edge of Balance – Precedent, lead by Tomio Ogata’s script and art from a story by Daniel José Older, might hold some confusion, but it’s a thrilling, exciting read with big implications you’ll be eager to see come to fruition soon.
+ Intriguing connections across the eras
+ Arkoff getting his due
+ Azlin’s break down and the amazing art which comes with it
– Small pockets of confusion
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.