"High Republic Adventures: Attack on the Republic Fair" (Free Comic Book Day 2021) by Daniel Jose Older

"High Republic Adventures: Attack on the Republic Fair" (Free Comic Book Day 2021) written by Daniel Jose Older, illustrated by Nick Brokenshire and Rebecca Nalty

This issue was a short, cute glimpse into Ram Jomaram, a Padawan stationed on Valo (a planet he considers his home) as he gets a chance to shine with his talent for tinkering. He can be seen briefly in the adult novel Rising Storm and can be seen in depth in the middle grade novel Race to Crashpoint Tower. Both books take place during the attack on the Republic fair (located on Valo), as does this comic issue. 

The story starts off with an introduction to Ram Jomaram's crew (the Bonbraks Tip and Breebak, his droid V-18) as well as the two series regulars of Lula Talisola and Zeen Mrala (see below). Our heroes determine that they will head toward the Jedi outpost and save as many people as they possibly can along the way...and the Nihil are still actively attacking (see below) so this is a dangerous choice, but an honorable one! They do run into a group of Nihil on the ground but manage to drive them off. Turns out V-18 is an armory! He shoots 6 missiles at the Nihil group (see below--he's in the bottom left corner). Reminds me of Aphra's BT-1!! Also check out the panel below of Zeen, Lula, and Ram looking rather bada** in the face of the criminal gang!

In the midst of everything, Ty Yorrick appears on the back of a Sanval, lightsaber ablaze (see below). Unfortunately, she's being attacked by Nihil scav droids...and thus begins the zoom in on Ram. The young Padawan boards his droid (which he modified to be able to fly in Race to Crashpoint Tower) and heads up to the scav droid swarm. He then gets a chance to do what he's best at (tinkering) and makes some adjustments on one of the scav droids such that it reads as Ty Yorrick instead of a droid. Needless to say, he's good at this stuff and the scav droid rushes away with all the others in hot pursuit. I always love seeing characters who seem like underdogs shine. *heart*

Inner dialogue from Ram frames the story, with his ending thoughts being, "Maybe I don't know how I'm going to change the world yet...but whatever it is, it begins with what we're doing right now...helping one person at a time, and learning more about ourselves along the way." I love this so much! It's a wonderful view of life to have, and not just for a Jedi!

While short and singular, that's to be expected from a Free Comic Book Day issue, and it was done very well. I loved getting further insight into Ram and seeing the Sanval in action was wondrous! Next week, it's back to "War of the Bounty Hunters" as we begin to close on what has turned out to be a truly enjoyable crossover event!

-Marie E. Wilson a.k.a. @AliaMorgaine