Last week saw the release of the eight issue in Phase III of Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures from Dark Horse Comics, and below are my brief recap and thoughts on this installment.
The High Republic Adventures (2023) #8 begins with a battle between the Nihil and Jedi Knights aboard a Republic transport having erupted over the planet Eriadu’s city of Bri Phrang. On the Republic ship, Lula Talisola, Zeen Mrala Qort, and Farzala Tarabal struggle to retain control as the vessel hurtles toward the planet’s surface, but their priority is to get the youngling Zint into an escape pod without the Nihil blowing it out of the sky. Then writer Daniel José Older and artist Harvey Tolibao cut to the Nihil flagship the Gaze Electric, where rogue ex-Nihil Krix Kameral has arrived to execute Marchion Ro, the leader of the band of cutthroat marauders. Krix’s inside-man contact is a Dug named Crank Flat, and together they work to incapacitate Ro’s assistant Thaya Ferr and her hulking Tarnab bodyguard Arathab Fal. Then back over Eiradu, Farzala and Qort work to commandeer a Nihil starfighter to help in the Republic ship’s perilous evacuation.
On the Gaze Electric, Arathab warns Kamerat that he “should have killed me,” vowing revenge for gassing him and tying him up, and then we’re back at Eriadu again, with a big multi-page action sequence that culminates with the Republic transport exploding and Zeen and Lula jumping to their safety aboard the stolen Nihil fighter. The conclusion to this issue sees Krix and Crank vowing to “mess with [Marchion Ro’s] favorite toy” and Lula and Zeen finally proposing marriage to each other on the surface of Eriadu. But the real twist ending here is that the Nihil Stormwall does ultimately expand to include the planet, stranding our Jedi heroes within the Occlusion Zone.
This was a very action-heavy installment of The High Republic Adventures, but I’d say both Older and Tolibao succeeded in what they were going for. It’s exciting and tense, and the back-and-forth intercutting between the Jedi and Krix works to keep the reader in suspense over what will happen next for both groups. Tolibao especially excels at drawing big, hyperkinetic splash pages, and he puts that skill to great use here multiple times over. Consequently this issue feels like a breathtaking climax of sorts for this title, although my understanding is that there are still four chapters left to go before it wraps up entirely. The creative team has delivered some substantially memorable moments this month– both in the larger ongoing narrative and character-wise– and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing where things go from here.
Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures #8 is available now wherever comic books are sold.