Comic Review – The Battle of Eriadu Against the Nihil Begins in “Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures” #14
Last week saw the release of issue #14 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) #14 picks up right after the events of The Wedding Spectacular from December, with former Jedi Lula Talisola having just gotten hitched to the Force-sensitive non-Jedi Mikkian Zeen Mrala. But first we get a flashback to the training of a young Farzala Tarabal under Master Obratuk and a dancing lesson that will have implications for future events. Writer Daniel Jose Older and artist Harvey Tolibao then cut back to the “present" of this story, where war has broken out on the planet of Eriadu. After fending off the initial attacks and making their way to the waterfront where the bulk of the fighting is taking place, Lula and Zeen are enlisted by Sevran Tarkin to be her personal honor guard. This makes a lot more sense than Lula continuing to fight alongside the Jedi after having left the Order, so I’m glad it happened.
We also get another flashback providing some backstory (and an actual name!) for the villain previously known only as The Warden– now we know he started out life as Herwint Tiks and served under General Viess– similarly providing context for his approach to Eriadu as the lynchpin of the Nihil’s control over the Occlusion Zone. The Warden commands the troops attacking the planet now, and consults with Val Delvardus, the leader of the only clan of locals who sided with the Nihil. We’re witness to more plotting and strategizing on both sides, with Qort sending a few volunteer Jedi off on a secret mission to “you-know-where" (I suppose we’ll learn more about that plan in later issues) and then the full-fledged battle breaks out in earnest. There are some well-choreographed action scenes and a cool new destroyer droid named X-10 sent by Marchion Ro to assist the Warden during the conflict, and then Qort is injured during the chaos, leaving Farzala in charge of the Jedi assault on his own.
Farzala fantasizes about all of his allies getting to send off Lula and Zeen after the battle– I have a feeling this means that isn’t going to happen– and then the Jedi ride jetskis into the breach. It’s a good issue and a fitting way to kick off the ultimate climax of The High Republic Adventures as a series, but it also clued me in to something else that bothers me just a little bit me about Older’s writing partnered with Tolibao’s art– the Jedi in these pages seem to be enjoying this war. Every time there’s a group shot or a big splash page that sees a contingent of these Force users rushing headlong into combat, they all have big wide grins on their faces, which feels inappropriate at the very least. I’m not absolutely sure if that’s a decision made under instruction from the writer or what, but it’s in line with some of the other issues I’ve had with Older’s take on the Jedi in the past, and in my opinion members of the Order should probably come across as fairly stoic about the idea of killing, even if it happens to be against very evil people and in service of a commendable cause. That nitpick aside, I’d say this is a solid start to the Battle of Eriadu and I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays out over the next few issues.
Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures #14 is available now wherever comic books are sold.