Review: Star Wars The High Republic Adventures #1

It’s hard to mentally reset to this prequel era of The High Republic. We leave behind so many great characters and concepts and have to start from scratch. That being said, Star Wars The High Republic Adventures #1 is a fun adventure ride with a new crew of ragtag rogues, one very excited Jedi and an old friend. The book dials back the art of the prior run greatly to a much simpler, but still very well executed, style.

Writer Daniel Jose Older is one of the chief architects of The High Republic expanded universe and brings a focus on action, adventure and classic conflict alongside strong character work. This book reminds us of the bygone days of Han and Lando. Maz Kanata’s presence heightens this feeling and one almost expects Chewbacca to make an appearance.

This story introduces a young Padawan who is extremely adept and extremely bored. Sav Malagan sneaks out of the Jedi Temple on planet Takodana as she does every night for the company of the ruffians populating the Castle of Maz Kanata. Dexter Jettster entertains the crowd there with swashbuckling stories of legendary feats. Sav uses her Force powers to trick two patrons into fighting. One is Inspector Raf who storms off when Maz chides him for fighting.

Dexter chases after the inspector to see what daring he’s up to and Sav quietly tags along. They use a ferry droid who adds a bit of commentary to the proceedings. The trio along with Raf’s strange looking pet come upon the nefarious Dank Graks who wish to drive Maz and the Jedi off world. They discover our heroes and Sav must reveal her Jedi powers to Dexter in order to drive the Graks back.

The action scenes are simple but the art by Toni Bruno is filled with detailed background work of the jungle which gives the entire proceeding added depth. The team defeat the Grak’s droid mercenaries before returning to Maz’s castle. Dexter regals the crowd with the story of their adventure. Maz knows the Dank Graks and their leader Arkik Von well from her prior adventures and gathers a crew including Dexter and Sav to stop them.

This is a story we have seen before but it is well executed and a nice entry point into this era of the High Republic. This is a fun setup with classic alien rogues as our heroes and a great young Jedi character at the center of it all. Sav feels very much like Jubillee or Kitty Pryde in the X-men as an entry level character we can use to introduce us to a complex group of strangers who seem rough around the edges but are now fundamentally interested in saving their world.

Writing: 3.7 of 5 stars

Art: 3.5 of 5 stars

Colors: 4.9 of 5 stars

Overall: 3.7 of 5 stars

Writer: Daniel Jose Older

Art: Toni Bruno

Colors: Michael Atiyeh

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Author Profile

M.R. Jafri

M.R. Jafri was born and raised in Niagara Falls New York and now lives with his family in Detroit Michigan. He's a talkative introvert and argumentative geek. His loves include Star Wars, Star Trek, Superheroes, Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Transformers, GI Joe, Films, Comics, TV Shows, Action Figures and Twizzlers.