Star Wars is on its longest hiatus from feature films since Disney purchased Lucasfilm, with only two announced film projects and the first’s release not scheduled for nearly three years from now. Due to that break, Lucasfilm has been pouring its energies into both television and publishing. ‘The High Republic’ is an initiative that will, eventually, bridge both books and television, but has started out in publishing. “Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures” is the second comic series under its umbrella, and continues IDW’s role as the more all-ages friendly publisher of Disney properties. Keep reading for our spoiler-free review of the first issue.
Written by Daniel José OlderCover by Harvey Tolibao
Illustrated by Harvey Tolibao
Colored by Rebecca Nalty
Lettered by Jake M. WoodAn all-new ongoing series! In the glory days of the Republic, two hundred years before the adventures of Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewbacca, the Jedi stand as guardians of galactic peace—until a powerful new adversary called the Nihil arrives. Now a group of young Padawans, training under Master Yoda, must protect the Republic while learning the lessons that will one day lead them to become powerful Jedi in their own right. Writer Daniel José Older, bestselling author of Star Wars: Last Shot, and artist Harvey Tolibao bring IDW into The High Republic, a massive publishing crossover spanning comics and prose!
While the ‘High Republic’ takes place 200 years before the events of The Phantom Menace, due to the long lifespans of various characters, there are still some familiar faces in the series. Yoda has been present in a few of the stories so far, and “Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures” #1 is one of them. Here, we see Yoda as a leader of padawans, which is not something we’ve really seen before. The best scene in Attack of the Clones features him with younglings, but that is in the Temple, and he’s very much Professor Yoda. Here, he is field leader, and writer Daniel José Older attempts to give us a different view of Yoda than we’ve seen before. While not exactly cocky or headstrong, this is one of the moments where we’ve seen Yoda most proactive, due mostly to the circumstances he finds himself in.
Harvey Tolibao draws a younger Yoda, but remember, 200 years to Yoda is the same as approximately 20 years to humans, so while Yoda appears younger, he’s not exactly a kid. Tolibao removes the white from the wisps on Yoda’s head, and we don’t see his signature cane, either. While Yoda is a relatively small part in this story, his presence helps anchor the story with a familiar face, and let’s the reader know that, while the names and faces may be unfamiliar, this is, in fact, Star Wars.
The padawans are the primary focus on the story, with Lula Talisola in the lead role. While a few of the different ‘High Republic’ stories feature young padawans, this is the first story focused on Lula. It is clear from her character design that Lucasfilm is doing its best to populate the ‘High Republic’ with a more diverse cast than we saw in any of the films. A young woman of color, Lula is instantly identified by her doubts in the face of battle. This is not cowardice or a fault, but rather reads as someone still mastering their craft and afraid to disappoint her master or cause an unnecessary loss of life.
Tolibao, unfortunately, has to deal with the silly decision that George Lucas made in the prequels to make all Jedi dress like the desert dweller Obi-Wan did in A New Hope, and so a lot of his character design is encumbered by drab robes in sandy hues. Luckily, Tolibao gets to draw a variety of Star Wars races, with tusks, lekku, and odd numbers of eyes to create a vibrant cast. The denizens of Trymant IV are allowed a little more diversity in terms of clothing, too, and have one of the more interesting spacecrafts in all of Star Wars, with its spider transport. The ship, quite literally a metallic arachnid, cuts a striking image and offers hope for some similarly wild designs down the road.
Continued belowTolibao’s artwork is more detailed than other “Star Wars Adventures” artists, without sacrificing the fluidity of the storytelling. While some of the action sequences feature characters in slightly posed panels, there is enough fun detail and implied motion that the pages don’t appear staid. As the series progresses, there will hopefully be more familiarity with the characters, and less need to make it a faux pin-up when Yoda does something cool.
Of particular note to this story is Zeen Mrala, a Force sensitive character that has been forced to repress her abilities due to societal pressure. This is a new type of story for Star Wars, although it asks a lot of questions for her future. Is she, like Anakin, too old to be properly trained? Will we explore why her culture was so against the Force? Zeen, and her connection to Lula, is an interesting character to focus on.
It’s worth noting that the events of this story are a result of the fallout from Light of the Jedi, the first novel in the ‘High Republic’ series, written by Charles Soule. There’s nothing in this comic that will confuse someone who hasn’t read Light of the Jedi, though there is likely a greater understanding of the central conflict/events of the issue if you’re aware of that book. Side note: the book is excellent, and well worth a read.
While Marvel’s “Star Wars: The High Republic” is focused on slightly older Jedi, it seems like this title will continue the “Star Wars Adventures” path of being more all-ages focused stories, and having padawan protagonists, as well as the familiar, and zeitgeist adjacent due to Grogu, Yoda in a supporting role, allows the book to be one of the more accessible titles in the Star Wars offerings. While this doesn’t pack the same punch as Light of the Jedi, Older does an admirable job of incorporating familiar elements into a new story, and expands the ‘High Republic’ story in an non-intimidating way for new readers of all ages.
We know that Lula’s story will be continued on in a novel by Older later this year, and so this is likely the first of many stories with this character at its focus. While she doesn’t do anything particularly fascinating in this issue, she is the rarest of things in Star Wars: a relatable Jedi.
Final Verdict: 7.2 – A solid debut in the ‘High Republic’ line.
