Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures Phase III Volume 2

Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures Phase III (2023) (Collected Editions)

by Daniel José Older, Harvey Tolibao (illustrator), Toni Bruno (Illustrator)

The forces of light and life get ready for their climactic battle against the villainous Nihil! Experience an untold chapter of the galaxy’s history in this groundbreaking saga!

Zeen Mrala has rescued the love of her life and saved her Jedi friends from the clutches of the Warden. But their reunion is bittersweet. As the Stormwall threatens to engulf Eriadu, Zeen, Lula Talisola, and their allies must prepare for another, much larger fight with the Nihil. The fate of the entire Republic is on the line!

Join New York Times bestselling author Daniel José Older and renowned artist Harvey Tolibao as they continue Phase III of the High Republic saga!

Collects issues 6-10 of Star Wars: High Republic Adventures Phase III.

Genres: Star Wars, Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Space Opera, Young Adult

120 pages, Paperback

First published January 21, 2025

About the author

Daniel José Older is the New York Times bestselling author of the Young Adult series the Shadowshaper Cypher (Scholastic), the Bone Street Rumba urban fantasy series (Penguin), and the upcoming Middle Grade sci-fi adventure Flood City (Scholastic). He won the International Latino Book Award and has been nominated for the Kirkus Prize, the Mythopoeic Award, the Locus Award, the Andre Norton Award, and yes, the World Fantasy Award. Shadowshaper was named one of Esquire’s 80 Books Every Person Should Read. You can find his thoughts on writing, read dispatches from his decade-long career as an NYC paramedic and hear his music at http://danieljoseolder.net/, on youtube and @djolder on twitter.

Reviews

[Jesús De la Jara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Después de haber recuperado a Farzala Tarabal, Buckets of Blood, todos regresan a los cuarteles en Eriadu. Talisola ya decidió dejar la orden por Zeen. Algunos la felicitan, otros lo toman más seriamente. Aún así ella está decidida a seguir combatiendo a lo Nihil. La acción empieza cuando Marchion Ro ha expandido el Muro Tormenta. Todos van a evacuar a Malastare.
De pronto, debido a la reciente cercanía al Muro llega la nave Star Hopper requisada por los Nihil, a bordo van Warden y Driggit Parse. Mientras en Corelia están Alys "Crash" Ongwa, Krix Kamerat y sus demás amigos. Mientras Kamerat va al Eléctrica mirada donde es recibido por Crank Flat. Se encuentran con Thaya Ferr. Luego de un encuentro con los Nihil visitan al jedi Emerick.
La parte final es mucho de política con la familia Tarkin y poca acción. A pesar de todo, se siente un poco extraño lo bien que se toma todo mundo que Lula abandone la orden.

[Audrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps I took too long between Volume 1 and Volume 2, but ultimately, I have yet to have an issue with taking my time in my High Republic read through in the sense that I have yet to lose my attention and care for characters. Until now.

While I will applaud the last 20 pages of this comic for being more visually intriguing and plot-driven, I continuously ask myself why does it take this author so long to reach a cohesive plot line point? Does he think of the ending first and write the rest of it around that? To quote my last review for this author (on the book: Escape From Valo); "... it lacks the nuance to balance these elements effectively." There is hardly any balance to this story.

After reading this, I was left with similar feelings of disappointment that weaker episodes of The Clone Wars or Rebels leaves me. (Sound familiar?) I am very glad to move on from this comic run.

[em sky-walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let’s go lesbians!

[Neil · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've never really understood Qort.

[Cody Missbach · Rating 1 out of 5]

More meh high republic

Continuation of a boring stable of characters, with too much continued pushing of "strong female characters" without much femininity with the new Tarkin character. The resolution of the nature scene feels a bit silly since dangerous animals are a star wars staple

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

229 BBY.
On Eriadu Zeen Mrala, Lula Talisola and their friends prepare to fight the Nihil as the marauders increase their attacks and the Stormwall edges closer to the planet. When Eriadu is finally pulled into the Occlusion Zone, Sevran Tarkin and her allies have to rally the planet's ruling houses to oppose their new occupiers.

I really wasn't enjoying the first half of this book, despite it continuing to explore the relationship between Zeen and Lula, which I've really been onboard for up to this point. Eventually I realised that I was finding the artwork so distracting that it was actively working against the story being told.
I've never been overly keen on Harvey Tolibao's style, but here it becomes so messy and overdone that each panel is a chaotic scrawl that makes engaging with the actual characters, who should be the focus, extremely hard.

The latter half of the book, delving into the politics of Eriadu and the dynamics of the Tarkin family, is illustrated by Toni Bruno, whose artwork is more simplistic but infinitely better at telling the story.
Combining the more in-depth exploration of Eriadu as a culture with the more engaging artwork meant that this back half of the book went a long way to redeeming the quality of the volume overall.

* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *

[Jazmin Castro · Rating 4 out of 5]

my daughters of no world <3

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

228 BBY

This graphic novel collects issues 6-10 of The High Republic Adventures Phase III. After the fall of Starlight Beacon, the Nihil have created a stormwall where no one can pass through, in or out, except them, and now the Occlusion Zone has expanded, and the closest Jedi base of opperations is right on the threshold, or even within! Lula, Zeen, and Qotrt must work together to fight for peace, and part of that involves entering the political game with the Tarkins. Getting Sevran Tarkin back into her leading place with the family proves more challenging than anticipated, but will ultimately benefit the Jedi and the New Republic.

The art is fun and I really enjoy the character design in this story arc. I also love the growing relationship between Lula and Zeen; it is fun to watch, especially with their aims to propose without each other's knowledge. Super cute and I can't wait to read the wedding special issue. Some of the events within are more detailed to what some of the side compilations ("Crazh Zone" and "Dispatches from the Occlusion Zone") overlap. This volume offers more detail with some of the characters, though their fates are revealed in the aformentioned tales. With the events of this novel and their conclusion, it will be intersting to see how the power-players and events continue to play out in the next graphic novel installation.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot going on in this volume, and it is portrayed somewhat chaotically, as Lula and Zeen's relationship evolves while they also deal with family politics and galactic issues related to the Nihil. The art for the first half is very impressive, which makes the transition halfway through all the more jarring in its change of style and level of detail. But I guess the new artist's approach works better for the more political aspects of that side of the storyline. It doesn't feel like a particularly important bit of the High Republic story, but it's fun and has some good humor and character moments, so it's definitely still worth a read.

[Zettifar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Volume 2 continues the epic saga as the forces of light and life gear up for their final confrontation with the Nihil. Zeen Mrala reunites with her loved ones but must face a larger challenge as the Stormwall threatens Eriadu. With the fate of the Republic hanging in the balance, Zeen, Lula Talisola, and their allies prepare for a critical battle.

I really dig the inclusion of the Tarkin family and their importance for the government of eriadu but as always when it comes to the Tarkin family its always messy and full of lies and secrets.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a fan of this one. I know this writer isn’t my favorite, but the annoying thing is that essential HR content is sometimes in comics, so I read it anyways. No essential content in this one, not a story I especially felt interested in, and the art ranged from kinda ugly to very simplistic, depending on which issue, so I didn’t really enjoy it.

The one thing I did like is when the last issue had name labels on all the characters in the first panel. There are too many to keep straight, so I appreciated that.

[Nunya · Rating 4 out of 5]

The history of the Republic remembers Lula Talisola and Zeen Mrala as pretty good friends during the time of the Nihil conflict. They worked together, fought together, slept together, and even wore matching bracelets.

Editor's Note:
Coincidentally in some cultures these bracelets would be worn by spouses to commemorate their union, although this was likely unknown to the two women, in hindsight it further symbolises just how great of friends they were.

[Ahdom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Volume 2 continues the epic saga as the forces of light and life gear up for their final confrontation with the Nihil. Zeen Mrala reunites with her loved ones but must face a larger challenge as the Stormwall threatens Eriadu. With the fate of the Republic hanging in the balance, Zeen, Lula Talisola, and their allies prepare for a critical battle. Daniel José Older and artist Harvey Tolibao deliver another exciting chapter in this high-stakes adventure.

[Gabriele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like everything Daniel José Older has written for the High Republic so far. He manages to bring the characters to life and show their inner conflicts, while never neglecting the entertainment value of Star Wars.
So we see and read a lot about the characters here, and even though the story remains sparse, I didn't feel cheated.

One thing: the cover art of my issue is cringe. I don't know what to make of it.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read that shows us more adventures of the gang, though I am less interested now that Zeen and Lula are reunited... but hey, I love an engagement scene. This will probably be my last Dark Horse purchase for a long while, since I'm transitioning to digital and for some reason they don't offer digital editions in my country. Bloody annoying. And I just can't justify the paperback prices anymore.

[Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool to see the Tarkin's show up and to see more of Eriadu. I liked the references to the Tarkin novel as well. The twist was a bit predictable, but that is to be expected in a middle grade series. I'm glad we get to see more of Qort's species.

[Tyler Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

New challenge unlocked… find a good and honest Tarkin. Challenge level actually fucking impossible because they all suck.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ehh. I am just not a fan of the artwork, and I don't care that much about the storyline.

[Brendan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not like the art in the first half but the art in the second half was pretty good. The story was just okay.

[Stronglysalty · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit too connected to current politics. The Nihil seem to be just a chaos gang with no clear direction but with some serious technology on their side. The proud Tarkins.

[John Robertson · Rating 2 out of 5]

The artwork by Harvey Tolibao is detailed, but action can be difficult to discern and follow. Toni Bruno's art in the last two issues is much more concise. As for the story, it's fine.

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a pretty dull collection, where pretty much nothing happens. And the vast difference between the art styles of Harvey Tolibao and Toni Bruno doesn't do the book any favors.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tarkin family business 💅🏼

[U. (Maps) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

[Bane Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5/5

[Declan O'Keeffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things are slowly picking up speed heading towards the end, but this volume definitely felt like a lull, the quiet before the storm. There were some cute moments for my favourite lovers, but other than that, this volume was a bit slow.

Edit: quick reread before the wedding issue. Feeling are still the same. Good but slow before the end.