REVIEW: Star Wars The High Republic Adventures

RECAP

Even in the shining light of the High Republic, there are shadows lurking in the galaxy. A Jedi mission to the planet Dalna suddenly comes under attack by unknown assailants. As the knights retreat to an ancient structure, it quickly becomes clear that they are far from safe. Something evil stalks the ruins, a ruthless predator, an unknown terror, a Nameless Fear!

CREATIVE TEAM

Author: George Mann
Artist: Eduardo Mello
Colorist: Ornella Savarese
Letterer: Studio Ram
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Space, Sword, and Sorcery
Published Date: 02/22/2023

Review

I was in 8th grade going into high school when Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was first released in theaters. Since then, that world has expanded beyond the original films and books, which included stories and games about The Republic. I was always interested in learning more about this world but never really had a chance to get into it. So this is my first, actual introduction to the Star Wars universe that isn’t centered around the Skywalker Jedis.

At first reading this comic issue, I really enjoyed it. I love its use of a framing narrative where a Jedi, Ty, is telling her droid, Klo, a story about her Jedi master’s master regarding the Nameless, to set up the story. I love that I’m reading new characters and worlds (at least ones I’m not familiar with) and it jumps right into the action. If you are a fan of Star Wars and you love to explore more of the universe than the central world of the Skywalkers, this is a fun one to start with.

This is a great first issue of a series. After establishing the story in the first two pages with the framing narrative, we get quickly into the story by starting off within the ship of Pathfinders – Jedi and Republic explorers – trying to avoid an attack from unidentified vessels. Throughout the story, we get to see a little more about the characters, some hints about people’s pasts that will come into play later on, and a mysterious, ominous presence that will play a crucial part in the story. The first issue really lives up to the Adventures part of the title!

As much as I enjoyed this issue, there are a couple of criticisms I did have about the issue. First, it was hard for me to keep track of who was a Jedi, a Republic explorer, and just who these characters were in general. They did a decent job of using natural dialogue to introduce each other, but it took a long time to figure it out and keep track of people’s names and associations. I think having just a little label box next to the character when they first appear would have been helpful to follow along.

The second is the lettering. There were moments when the lettering was really well done and other moments when I felt like an opportunity was missed. The biggest one of these was the droid dialogue. With the exception of the bubble tail being made differently than the others, their dialogue boxes looked exactly like the other character’s speech bubbles. Because they are machines, I felt like this could have been a chance to stylize their dialogue boxes to make it look a lot more like a droid speaking. Changing the font style to look more electronic or digital, giving it a different color, etc. The first few times I read the droids’ dialogue boxes, I genuinely thought someone else was talking and not the droids.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This is a fantastic start for a first issue of an adventure series. The pacing is great, the story is exciting, and you get to join for the ride as you watch the Pathfinders try to survive their latest mission. If you're looking for a series to get into a new part of the Star Wars universe, this would be it!