Timothy Zahn, author of arguably the most important Star Wars Expanded Universe arc of all time, would turn heads if he were to write a new title featuring his iconic villain. The novel was released in 2018 and received mostly positive reviews from fans and critics, so its adaptation into comic book format boded well. Like most of these reworkings, the Star Wars: Thrawn Alliance graphic novel captures the main thrust of the storyline well enough, accompanied by some very beautiful artwork, but it feels like an abbreviated summary of the book with a questionable ending.
The story takes place under Imperial rule and follows Grand Admiral Thrawn as he embarks on missions alongside the Dark Lord of the Sith in both the past and Imperial era. The story moves back and forth between their past encounter with Grand Admiral Thrawn and Anakin Skywalker, when they teamed up to search for Padmé Amidala, and then the Imperial era, when the pair face off against a powerful new foe that tests their strength and forces them to confront their past partnership. This is an interesting way to position Grand Admiral Thrawn as a key character in both the prequel and original film eras of the Star Wars mythos.
Marvel Comics
While it would normally be a concern to see a four-issue miniseries with two authors, one of whom is the original author of the novel (Timothy Zahn), this isn’t seen as a drawback. Jody Houser does an admirable job translating the novel into visual form and capturing the emotional highs and lows of the plot. The team-up between Grand Admiral Thrawn and Grand Admiral Vader is given purpose and personal conflict, making it a worthy addition to the canon.
Marvel Comics
Unfortunately, the main problem with this trade is the ending. We usually expect a self-contained story in a trade, or at least a satisfying point wrapped up that concludes a story arc, but this book ends on a questionable cliffhanger that makes you wonder if Marvel intends to conclude this saga in comic book form. It’s a shame, because the writing and art by Pat O’Riffee and Andrea Di Vito is very good.
As is common with smaller TPBs, not much supplemental material is provided. However, the alternate cover by Leinil Francis Yu and Rahzzah is quite nice. Judging by the content on the page, Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances gets high marks for its strong writing and artistic design. The downside is that the ending feels too rushed. Hopefully Marvel will improve on this by wrapping up the story in a future miniseries.
Star Wars: Thrawn Alliance TPB Review
Star Wars: Thrawn Alliance TPB
As is common with smaller TPBs, not much supplemental material is provided. However, the alternate cover by Leinil Francis Yu and Rahzzah is quite nice. Judging by the content on the page, Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances gets high marks for its strong writing and artistic design. The downside is that the ending feels too rushed. Hopefully Marvel will improve on this by wrapping up the story in a future miniseries.
Artwork by Pat O’Liffe and Andrea Di Vito; screenplay by Jody Houser and Timothy Zahn.
The team-up between Grand Admiral Thrawn and Grand Admiral Vader feels purposeful, connecting different eras of the Star Wars mythology, and more than just fan service.
The book ends in a questionable place, leaving the story feeling unfinished.
