Review: ‘Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures’ #3 Kicks the Story Up a Notch
The High Republic Adventures has been on its own little island thus far in Phase 2 of Lucasfilm’s publishing initiative. Writer Daniel José Older has been able to tell this little side story with Sav Malagán, Maz, and Dex without worrying about feeding it into the broader narrative. While I’ve been enjoying it for that reason as a palette cleanser, the other shoe has to drop at some point.
This week’s issue #3 picks the story up with Sav and her newfound friends on the hunt for the Dank Graks and Maz’s ship. While readers might feel slighted again by the slow rollout of what’s at stake for Dark Horse’s flagship High Republic series, this issue takes another step in the right direction. Older weaves in further worthwhile character plotting while ramping up the action with even more zany twists and turns, which are becoming commonplace in this off-kilter but charming series.
Spoilers ahead…
Sav has decided to stick around with Maz, leaving her Jedi brethren behind while she explores herself. Sav’s master, Kaktorf, doesn’t take the news very well that she is roaming the galaxy with the pirate queen, Maz Kanata herself. As we’ve seen in several stubborn Padawans throughout Star Wars, they think their actions are justified because, at the very least, they are stopping the bad guys. Obi-Wan Kenobi rarely agreed with Anakin’s actions, but it always turned out good, right…?
We don’t get a lot of Kaktorf, as Sav plays the whole “sorry, can’t hear you. Poor reception, gotta run” trick the moment he reams into her. She definitely has a lesson or two to learn by the end of this. Even with her new crew, she struggles with respecting her elders, as you’ll learn later in the issue. She does what she wants at the expense of others, and it’s becoming a case of when, not if, it will come back to bite her in the butt. Oh, to be a carefree youth again.
Once the call is through with Kaktorf, the mood in the room shifts as Alak now has to talk with Raf. They all have to be there to monitor Alak for reasons to be revealed. Maz explains Alak’s past with the Scarlet Skulls (first mention in Older’s Midnight Horizon) and how he freed an initiate from their clutches. For a quick refresher, the Skulls are a death cult of child murderers who tattoo skulls on their faces and chop off their tongues to take their vow of silence to the next level. Their legend was reduced to myth by the time Midnight Horizon came around, and it’s all thanks to Alak. Because of that nasty background, Maz feels it safer to have everyone around while Alak and Raf discuss things.
Besides the fun connections to other High Republic material Older always weasels in, I like how he is taking the time to introduce these characters and explore their dynamics before we get into the meat of the series. It’s a disciplined approach for a comic with only eight issues, but it shows Older’s confidence in what he has. The only character left that needs a firmer backstory is Therm Scissorpunch. Give the people what they want.
After learning where Arkik Von and the Dank Graks are hiding out and plotting their next move, Sav goes to stop them. I won’t pretend the following sequence enthralled me too much, but I remain curious about the various Force connections that tease this series. The Dank Graks have ties to the dark side, and hopefully, the time is nigh to reveal exactly what threat they pose because of it.
The issue closes with Sav making a bold choice that pushes the series into the unknown. Maz is captured, and Sav chooses to join the Dank Graks to save her. My one big gripe with this series is that despite clear forward progress in each issue, it doesn’t feel like progress. For two issues now, I’ve ended reviews with something like “now the adventure can finally begin,” only for the adventure to stay relatively grounded. Now there is no choice but to get things moving, and with the legwork to create intrigue surrounding these characters already done, the rest of The High Republic Adventures could become something special.
RATING: 7/10
Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures #3 is available now wherever comics are sold. Special thanks to Dark Horse Comics for the ARC used in this review.
Nate uses his love for Star Wars and movies in general as a way to cope with the pain of being a Minnesota sports fan. When he's not at the theater, you can usually find Nate reading a comic, listening to an audiobook, or playing a Mario video game for the 1,000th time.
