Preview: With ‘The High Republic Adventures’ Last Three Issues Finally About to Release, Writer Daniel José Older Reflects on the Journey
After many delays, the last three issues of The High Republic Adventures are set to release on June 28. A preview was published on StarWars.com on June 26 with new art and story pages. Writer Daniel José Older also provided some thoughts about the series as it comes to its long-awaited conclusion.
While the publications of The High Republic Adventures have been nothing but sporadic, fans of the miniseries have been rewarded with an Amblin-inspired coming-of-age story centered on the young Jedi Padawan Sav Malagán. Sav meets with a ragtag band of pirates including Maz Kanata and Dexter Jettster as they run in with many other unsavory characters. These last three issues mark the end of Phase II of The High Republic, making them highly-anticipated by fans.
The preview unveiled online shows the covers and five pages from each of the three issues. In issue #6, Sav looks to be searching around a ruined district on Jedha, looking for Maz Kanata.
Then in issue #7, Maz appears to be captured on Takodana with Sav and the rest of the crew staging a rescue.
Then finally, issue #8 looks to feature Sav captured in Maz’s compound, and Sav attempting to break free. For the full preview, check out the full interview on StarWars.com.
Daniel José Older spoke about the character Sav Malagán in his interview. He was asked about Sav’s connection to many young readers and whether that was intentional. Older then responded affirmatively and also pointed to the risks and dangers that come with finding oneself:
“Oh, definitely! She’s both wide-eyed and very savvy (no pun intended) all at the same time, and that particular coming-of-age crossroads can be very fun and very dangerous at the same time. She finds a wild bunch to fall in with — good-hearted outlaws who know how to let her be exactly who she is, and that’s the saving grace of this whole adventure. But it comes with a hundred more problems, of course.
Older was also asked about what he hopes fans will take away from the series. In his response, Older pointed to the “found family” themes of the series and how that informs a person’s identity:
“The thing that surprised me most about Sav’s journey during this run was how emotional and personal it ended up being. I set out to write a swashbuckling tale of pirate mayhem, and I definitely did that. But it turned out I was also writing the story of a young person fighting against the current to be exactly who she is and discovering allies and villains in the most unexpected places along the way. Sav knows she’s not able to fully spread her wings at the beginning of this story, and that’s what propels her forward into Maz’s crew and ultimately back to the source of her problems. Ultimately, this is a story about finding your family and, in doing so, finding yourself.
In our review of The High Republic Adventures issue #5, the last previously released issue, our own Nate Manning scored it an 8/10. Nate said about that issue, “The High Republic Adventures #5 is Daniel José Older and his team firing on all cylinders.” Dark Horse has also announced a trade paperback collection of The High Republic Adventures featuring issues 5-8, set to release on December 5. Issues 1-4 are now available for purchase at comic book stores, with a trade paperback version also on the way on September 6.
Born and raised in Hawaii, Jay Goodearl runs the YouTube Gaming channel “Good Games, Dude” His channel aims to open up video games to beginners and immediate players and help them understand what makes games the art form that it is.
