Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures #9
BACK TOGETHER AND AWAY AGAIN II
The Padawans are off on another adventure!
This time to Takodana, to assist the lone Jedi defending the local Jedi temple against the ever-growing threat of the Nihil.
But Qort has trouble focusing when he comes face to face with his own past amidst new dangers and old allies….
Writer: Daniel José Older
Penciller: Toni Bruno
Letterer: Johanna Nattalie
Colorist: Rebecca Nalty
Cover artist: Harvey Tolibao
Editor: Heather Antos
Publication date: October 6, 2021
The Castle of Maz Kanata on Takodana. It’s a Star Wars location that put an indelible stamp on the saga in The Force Awakens…and then got blasted to rubble by the First Order. A shame, as that venerable location had stood for centuries, and here we dip back 300 years from that cataclysmic afternoon to our Jedi heroes Farzala, Zeen, Ram, Lula and Qort flying over the crystal waters of the lake. Qort once lived here, and we step even further back into the past as Maz Kanata opens a box on her doorstep where inside she finds an infant Qort. In classic THR Adventures style we’re hopscotching from the past to the present and ‘now’ Qort is reunited with Maz, impressing his friends in the process as they marvel at the legendary pirate queen.
Back in the past and a familiar ‘face’ – big red, HURID-327 who we learn can speak but not cope with the whirling dervish that is Qort who has quickly managed to removed HURID’s arm. In the present, Zeen and Lula agree to take on the help of two former Nihil in Bareen and Sabata, but swear to keep a close eye on them before preparing for further Nihil attacks. Back in the past we see more HURID havoc as Qort leaves the droid limbless and finds his now familiar skull mask in the basement while in the ‘now’, preparations continue as the Nihil approach. ‘Then’ we learn that the skull Qort is wearing belongs to a giant crab from his home world, and fused to his head calms him down from his tearaway state. As this is explained to Maz, infant Qort uses the Force for the first time. In the present and perhaps not surprisingly, Sav uncovers the Nihil ‘friends’ as spies, and as the issue ends the Nihil Sabata thumbs a switch and the castle begins to explode.
Once again Daniel Jose Older – our guest on Episode 126 of Making Tracks – delivers a fun, snappy issue and with regular artist Harvey Tolibao on cover duties only this issue, artist Toni Bruno does a superb job standing in, a style completely different to Tolibao but no less effective. Now we know these characters, there’s a comfortable familarity to the stories as we move further into the era and as the Star Wars / IDW partnership nears its end there’s little doubt the classy presentation done by IDW will be much-missed.
Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures #10 (Cover B Baldari) @ ForbiddenPlanet.com
