– Spoiler Review –
Star Wars Adventures #6 (Vol. 2) closes out a quick and cute Anakin and Padmé tale, while the Tales of Villainy back-up story dives into a small moment from the distant past of The High Republic!
“The Incident – Part 2″ Written by Katie Cook, Art by Cara McGee, Colors by Brittany Peer, Lettering throughout by Johanna Nattalie
The fun, light art style once again was a highlight of this tale, as Part 2 made something a little clear to me in regards to how Casey McGee draws Anakin and Padmé. With Anakin, there’s a lot of goofy stylization, especially when he’s fawning over Padmé or trying to be flirtatious, but she gives him a more serious, defined face when he’s being roguish or a Jedi helping others, allowing the child and adult within him their own moments to appear. With Padmé, McGee doesn’t allow her face to change much, instead opting for Padmé to constantly have the older, more mature look for the majority of the issue, highlight the characters’ grace beyond her years and composure, as compared to Anakin’s inability to hide much of anything. It was still very odd to see the characters expressed in such a way, Sunday Morning Newspaper strip style with the emotive faces and big blushes, but I appreciated how McGee used it to highlight the differences between the two parents of destiny while bringing their inner personalities outward. Brittany Peer’s colors continue their vibrancy and keep the tone of the story intact, with one my favorite pages of her work is the stained glass windows room, which letterer Johanna Nattalie adds to with her almost hand-drawn looking “Boom.” Since she didn’t use much SFX in the previous or latest Tales of Villainy, I’m glad she got to show off a little of her work here. Lastly, I’m just glad to see Anakin’s robotic hand found itself a glove; a quick and easy fix for a small mistake.
As I was hoping after last issue’s cliffhanger, Anakin and Padmé are not only together, but they get to help one another save the day, as Katie Cook ensures both of them have their fair share of the life-saving. Anakin oversteps at one point and Padmé rightfully puts him in his place, though they don’t let it dampen their feelings for one another, instead it only makes them seem to fall in love with one another more. Well, at least it’s more obvious for Anakin, as he maybe admits a little too much in front of her friend once they rescue him. It’s more of the romance one expects between these two, as their relationship and the few moments they have to enjoy it aren’t usually heavy on romantic gestures, instead on little stolen moments or watching each other grow as they deal with the conflict as brewing around them. Cook offers some good content for the two, though the overall story Otherwise, even the little droid Checker had a heroic moment in the end and that’s all I wanted for the astromech.
Tales of Villainy: “The Gaze Electric” Written by Daniel José Older, Art by Nick Brokenshire
The mainline Star Wars Adventures gets a little tease of the High Republic era thanks to Daniel José Older’s first Tales of Villainy, which serves as a prequel to his The High Republic Adventures series. Dr. Uttersound watches over Mari San Tekka, her role as the Nihil’s Path finder first revealed in Light of the Jedi, and when she alerts him to an upcoming Emergence, the moment when debris from the Great Hyperspace Disaster will rip out of hyperspace and back into real-space, Uttersound knows it has great importance to Nihil ‘leader’ Marchion Ro. Turns out the potential system is the Trymant system, specifically Trymant IV, which is where The High Republic Adventures series begins, Yoda and a group of Padawans coming to the aide of the planet and are interrupted by the Nihil’s appearance. As we saw in the series, Marchion Ro needed information from an Elder from the Elders of the Path cult, which the first arc culminating in him finding a vital artifact that plays into some devastating plans in The Rising Storm. I wish this had released when it was originally scheduled back in February alongside the start of THRA, as this would’ve been a fun way to tease Ro’s plans and why he’d want to come to Trymant IV, so now it functions as a reminder of how long he’s been planning things and also shows how competitive and cutthroat the Nihil are to one another.
Welcome back, Nick Brokenshire!! He started off these Tales of Villainy originally and I’ve really come to like his art style and have missed it for a bit. Bringing him back to cover the darker, villainous Nihil was an inspired choice, as his grittier style fits their look overall and feel. In particular, his Marchion Ro hues closely to what Harvey Tolibao brings in THRA proper, with the grand fur cape and very fit appearance, and I’m sure those who thirst for Ro (look, I understand why) will find this quite quenchable. I loved the page of the bogaranth, which appear in the series proper in issue #3, and the two Nihil astride it, the others scream to get out of its way, while the following panel of the tricky Gamorrean Nihil’s death straddled the line of dark humor thanks to Brokenshire’s lettering for the chomping noises. I also liked how colorful the ship looked inside, as well as the bridge’s vine-like look, raising even more questions about the origins of Ro’s Gaze Electric, which I believe we see for the first time in full, like an exterior shot, here.
Bonus Thoughts:
- Why there wasn’t any mention of The High Republic Adventures or any show of hyping it up, like a little text bubble saying find out what happens next in THRA, is beyond me, as wouldn’t you want to take this opportunity to grab some new readers if they weren’t sure what this was all tied to/what the High Republic even is?
- Older’s Race to Crashpoint Tower also just released, taking place concurrently with The Rising Storm, and I highly suggest checking it out as it’s the novel form of a roller coaster!
- And we have a page dedicated to all things The High Republic, so check it out for our reviews, the latest news, and current release schedule.
Here are a few other things:
- Looks like IDW might finally have their printing kinks figured out considering how quickly they managed to get this issue out after the previous Life Day miracle return of it last month.
Star Wars Adventures #6 (Vol. 2) wraps up a good Anakin/Padmé and offers a fun little glimpse in the High Republic era.
+ Art showing the different sides of Anakin/Padmé
+ Setting the stage for Marchion Ro’s big plans
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.
IDW’S STAR WARS ADVENTURES (Vol. 2) REVIEWS:
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