Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy

Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy Graphic Novels #1-3

by Timothy Zahn, Olivier Vatine (Illustrator), Fred Blanchard (Illustrator)

Five years after the fall of the Empire, Luke Skywalker is the first in a new line of Jedi Knights. Han Solo and Princess Leia have married, together assuming many burdens of the New Republic's government. But across the galaxy lies a dying part of the Empire — all the more dangerous near death — and it has just discovered something that could bring it back to life! The last of the Emperor's warlords, Admiral Thrawn, is ready to destroy the New Republic — and the odds are stacked heavily against Luke, Leia, and Han!

Genres: Star Wars, Comics, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

440 pages, Hardcover

First published December 29, 2009

About the author

Timothy Zahn attended Michigan State University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in physics in 1973. He then moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and achieved an M.S. degree in physics in 1975. While he was pursuing a doctorate in physics, his adviser became ill and died. Zahn never completed the doctorate. In 1975 he had begun writing science fiction as a hobby, and he became a professional writer. He and his wife Anna live in Bandon, Oregon. They have a son, Corwin Zahn.

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forget the garbage that Disney handed us; the Thrawn trilogy is the true followup to Lucas' original space operas. Why the House of Mouse didn't just adapt these stories into celluloid form, I'll never know; after The Last Jedi, the franchise is in desperate need of a reboot.

While the original novels were wonders to behold, these comics weren't as good as they could have been. Too much wasted space was a big problem, and, in the first set of comics, Leia didn't even look pregnant at all, let alone with twins. The art wasn't as good as it could have been; some of the characters barely resembled their film counterparts in some scenes.

Still, when it comes to Star Wars, you could do much worse, especially if you've seen it at a cinema in the last several years.

[Nicolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not happy with the way The Last Jedi ended for a few of your cherished icons? This collection of a trio of miniseries from the Dark Horse years could be the story for you!

In this adaptation of Timothy Zahn's novels, read of the tales of the original triumvirate of Luke, Han, and Leia at the height of their powers after the decisive Battle of Endor. Read of how the newly restored new Republic was almost lost, when the most capable of the Empire's Grand Admirals returned from the unknown regions and single highhandedly made the remnants of a fallen empire relevant again. Thrawn was Snoke before The Force Awakens was a disclosure in Disney's accounting records, and a way better villain. This is the good stuff, and the older fans know it.

These stories and their ilk are no longer canon, as Disney deemed it, but probably because the House of the Mouse couldn't trust itself to create good Star Wars stories in the vein of the originals.

[Josh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe I should have read the books before this adaptation?

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

You remember the books fondly, and since they'll never be filmed a graphic adaptation is the next best thing, right? And the adapter says all the right things in the introduction - including what I thought at the time to be a wonderful line about all the lines being pure Zahn. But when you read it, all the lines are Timothy Zahn, and only Timothy Zahn. No boxed captions, no exposition, no summaries or transitions. What seemed like benevolence and care on the part of a thoughtful adapter was actually veiled laziness - cutting and pasting dialog being the extent of his effort - making this more of a cheated up term paper than original work. The result is flat characters, an empty story, and precious little emotional involvement on the part of the reader.

[Diz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel adapts the Thrawn Trilogy of novels. I've never read those, so my review will be based solely on these comics. As I was reading this, I felt that it would have been nice to get Star Wars sequel movies that focused on the relationships of the three main characters from the original movies. That's basically what we get here. Luke, Leia, and Han get lots to do and they have plenty of opportunities to interact with each other.

Strangely, Thrawn himself doesn't have much of a presence. He never really feels that threatening. Rogue smugglers and Master C'Baoth actually seem much more threatening.

Finally, I really enjoyed the art style use here. It's much better than the weird photorealistic art style used in the current Marvel Star Wars series.

[Trekscribbler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit of a history lesson here is necessary for the uninitiated. Odds are that there will be few (uninitiated) here, given that most drawn to this review will have working familiarity with the subject matter, but I'll supply a few details from memory anyhow. Call it posterity. Once the lights in the theatre went out on STAR WARS: EPISODE 6: RETURN OF THE JEDI, serious Star Wars enthusiasts had no idea when (or even if) they'd be treated to another adventure in their most favorite cinematic universe. The original trilogy had come to its close with mild controversy (Ewoks? Really, George? Were they necessary?) with some fanfare -- after seriously amping up the stakes in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK -- and 1983 seemed to bring an end to the continuing adventures of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and the rest of the gang.

Then, in 1992, science fiction novelist Timothy Zahn's new trilogy of Star Wars tales began, and it reminded Star Wars fans everywhere of the latent potential still lingering like a welcome disturbance in the Force in that galaxy far, far away. Over the course of the next few years, Zahn did as Lucas had done with the original trilogy, amping up the stakes just a little bit at each crazy turn, whetting fandom's appetite for even more visits to these distant worlds ... and the good folks at Dark Horse Comics were all too happy to oblige. Eventually, Dark Horse stumbled onto the brilliant idea to adapt Zahn's books; these novels had, after all, earned a special place in the hearts of most Star Wars fans, so much so that most consider these outings as unofficial Episodes 7, 8, and 9, picking up the events of Luke & company nearly a decade after JEDI ended.

Dark Horse completed three miniseries adaptations -- each with six issues, each miniseries focusing on one of Zahn's novels -- ultimately and inevitably re-releasing each of these three miniseries in trade paperback forms, and now Dark Horse Books has finally put them all together in one grand spanking adventure. At over 400 pages, STAR WARS: THE THRAWN TRILOGY is the ultimate fan package, returning Star Wars fans to the excitement they felt with each passing chapter of Zahn's massive adventure. It's not a light undertaking in the slightest: these comics go to great lengths to capture the details of the books, bringing many new characters, worlds, ships, and situations that, honestly, fit like a glove in Lucas's fantastic universe.

In a nutshell, the New Republic has grown to encompass many worlds, but elements of the Empire -- namely, several surviving ships, bases, and one nasty Grand Admiral Thrawn -- have come across data that indicates the Emperor held a few tricks up his sleeve even in death. A hidden Dark Jedi Master ... ship cloaking technology ... and a mountain fortress complete with cloning cylinders mean that the return of the Empire has always remained a virtually galactic heartbeat away, leaving Adm. Thrawn to hatch his plan to return the forces of evil to reign in the galaxy. Standing in his way? The usual suspects of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, and they each have special roles to play, alongside a growing legion of smugglers and Rebel fighter pilots ...

Read closely, and you'll find it hard to believe that the theatres were dark with new cinematic Star Wars adventures for two decades!

Zahn weaves his tale with several new faces and even some new twists on the ol' ones, and he brings an adult, dramatic, treacherous sensibility to bare on every development. THE THRAWN TRILOGY is a massive undertaking -- wouldn't it be great to get three more Star Wars stories up on the silver screen -- and, while it might not be to everyone's liking, it certainly tickled mosts fancies when so little else was happening in this universe. While some of the events feel a bit rushed toward the end of the collection, this is one story worth visiting again and again, not only for nostalgia but also because it's great to have Star Wars making all of us feel like a kid again.

May the Force be with you. Always.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

9 ABY

This graphic novel trilogy follows the same story as the three novels, but with a few things switched around a bit for the sake of visual flow. In short, Heir to the Empire introduces us to Grand Admiral Thrawn, who has seemingly taken the Emperor’s place, and some members of the New Republic have a hard time believing that there could possibly even be another Grand admiral that they did not know about. We are also introduced to Mara Jade, former Hand to the Emperor and a current second to Talon Karrde, a renowned smuggler. Thrawn has a plan to take the Emperor’s old cloning facility on Wayland, steal some fabled dreadnaughts, and create a whole new army, but cloned Jedi Master C’baoth stops him. With his wit, Thrawn aims to use the Jedi Master to his needs, but he will need some ysalmiri (creatures who naturally reject the Force) to help him keep control over the Jedi Master. Meanwhile, Leia is pregnant with Jedi twins, and Luke is being hunted by both Thrawn and Mara! The main feature of Dark Force Rising is basically a race to see who can find the fabled Katana Fleet with its 200 Dreadnaught class ships first, the Empire or the New Republic. With Thrawn having his own secret Intel within the palace on Coruscant, nothing is safe to speak of. And of course, it all wraps up in The Last Command, where Luke must face himself, and Mara must come to terms with whether she can kill Luke Skywalker as the Emperor’s last command. To see more full summaries of the actual novel check them out on my website where I have a full page review of each book in the series: https://teresacrider.wordpress.com/20...


Some things about the graphic novel: it is very text-heavy with an annoying font. The amount of text per page is nearly overwhelming, since I red graphic novels for the art as well. The font is confusing, because the H’s look like U’s and I had to reread a few different things. The art is older too, the images not representing the characters in a very attractive light, but the space ships and battles (and basically everything except people) are finely detailed, which is nice. The flow is also confusing at many times, because the way the speech bubbles are drawn and the way the dialogue is supposed to go is not clear at all, and I reread many of those parts as well. Overall, a cool collectible to have, but possibly not worth the time it takes to read because of the text-heavy convolutedness of the graphic novel. Try the novels, though; I greatly enjoyed those!

[Scott Terbush · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think the Star Wars Universe would be what it is today without this book. Not only was it one of the first books in the Universe, it was really good. It opened the door to dozens and dozens of books and trilogies (not all good). It was rare that any universe book was as good as these were. So if you are thinking about joining the universe, start here.

[Graham Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Timothy Zahn’s “The Thrawn Trilogy” is one of the most beloved and influential works in the Star Wars universe outside of the films themselves. Even after the 3 books were deemed no longer Canon by Disney, fans continue to read them and Lucasfilm is drawing on them more and more in Canon projects (see The Mandalorian and Ahsoka shows). I did make a point of *not* rereading them last year when I was working my way through Zahn’s Star Wars books to give priority to his books I hadn’t previously read. To make up for that and to see how various comic artists interpreted Zahn’s work, I’ve checked out The Thrawn Trilogy’s graphic novel adaptation.



While not exactly the same as a reread, checking out the Trilogy’s comic version did feel like one. I’ve reread “Heir to the Empire” the most recently so I remember that well enough and was able to compare and contrast what the comic did in comparison to the source material. An example of this was the execution of tractor beam operator Cris Pieterson, a good example of how it was fun to see these moments visually play out (especially in graphic detail). It was weird and frustrating though having some of Zahn’s details and dialogue cut out in the transition to a new medium. It’s been well over 15 years since I read books 2 and 3 cover to cover so I can’t speak to how much they deviate from the source material but I could still tell some things were changed (even for pragmatic reasons). Some parts I think are important like the original C’Baoth’s fate, Leia’s realization that Noghri’s homeworld was devastated during the Clone Wars, the truth of “Delta Source”, etc. are skipped/not gone into significant detail and I do think that hurts the story a bit. Still, there’s a number of scenes that, while shortened, still convey why I loved them in the original novels like Thrawn’s subversion of his previous execution of Cris Pierterson by giving another tractor beam operator a chance to explain an unorthodox technique and promoting him/encouraging him to keep looking for solutions.



As a whole, the comics did capture the spirit of the Trilogy’s story, presenting a fascinating new foe for the classic Star Wars heroes to fight, fascinating new worlds/aliens to encounter, and Luke’s struggles to figure out what type of Jedi he wants to be as he rebuilds the order. On top of these themes, the set pieces are fun and Zahn introduces a whole host of great characters (Thrawn, Mara Jade, Captain Pellaeon, etc.) that captured fans hearts. So even if some details of The Thrawn Trilogy are lost, the comic did the book trilogy justice.

As a compilation of three different mini-series with different artists, the artwork of the adaptation could vary. Some of the creative decisions for the comic I didn’t agree with (i.e., Captain Pellaeon tragically doesn’t have his iconic mustache), others like I mentioned I appreciated for bringing the books’ events/characters to life in a more visual-based medium. In general my thoughts on each entry’s art is as follows:

- Heir to the Empire’s is interesting, more stylized. Some of the speech bubbles didn’t match up (i.e., Chewie saying Leia’s lines). Still, the vistas and landscapes of these alien worlds can be absolutely stunning and “feel” like Star Wars.
- Dark Force Rising’s artwork was less stylized and the film characters’ resembled their actors (some even looked like tracings), while Zahn-created characters looked like their standard EU depictions (sans Pellaeon). This might be the one entry I think did the best in capturing some of my visual pictures of the book.
- The Last Command finally felt like an interesting blend of the two. One problem I had was the pacing and weird cuts in the action that made it hard to know what was going on until a page or two later. There were some creative choices I liked though like the lighting when C’Baoth took over the Chimera’s bridge crew.

Some issues aside with it being an abridged version of books I love, the graphic novel version of “The Thrawn Trilogy” does justice to Timothy Zahn’s books. While I will continue to tell interested people to read the books, the comics are sufficient enough to check out if you really can’t read the original novels.

[Andrew Sorrentino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adaptations of three novels into graphic novels all in one volume! I remember reading the books and enjoying them. The comics are great. The narrative is easy to follow, but the art is really spectacular. I feel that Star Wars really benefits from visual storytelling.
Perhaps at some points the story feels abridged. Maybe I'd get more reading the novel than the graphic novel edition.

[Marcus Hutchens · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's better as a complete story than as 3 separate chapters, but overall doesn't live up to the Star Wars name. Decent artwork to support the story, but it changes drastically between parts. Worthwhile for Star Wars fans. 3.5/5

[Alex Diaz-Granados · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 420-page hardcover volume is a collection of the 17 separate issues writer Mike Baron adapted from Zahn's best-selling trilogy. The dust jacket features artwork by Matthieu Lauffray, whose style is reminiscent of legendar illustrator Drew Struzan.

The book contains, for the first time in one volume, Baron's adaptations of:

Heir to the Empire: Five years after the destruction of the second Death Star and the deaths of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader, all's not going idyllically for the struggling New Republic. The Jedi Order has yet to be re-established, and political intrigue within the new government is as big a threat to stability and democracy as the remnants of the once-mighty Empire.

Though the New Republic is in control of three-quarters of the Empire's former territory, the former Rebel Alliance is stretched thin as it fights a seemingly-endless war against Imperial forces still refusing to admit defeat.

And though many of the galaxy's inhabitants believe it is a matter of time until the Empire is vanquished, one of the Emperor's warlords, Grand Admiral Thrawn, has emerged from the backwaters of the Unknown Regions.

With his sharp intellect and finely-honed tactical acumen, Thrawn has united what remains of the Imperial armed forces and is beginning a campaign that, if successful, will bring the New Republic to its knees.

Assisted by a race of warriors known as the Noghri and reluctantly allied with an unstable Jedi Master named Joru'us C'baoth, Thrawn has discovered some of Emperor Palpatine's treasures on a remote world...treasures that willl be the key to the Empire's ultimate victory....

Dark Force Rising: Even though Thrawn suffered a partial reversal of fortunes at the Battle of Sluis Van, his campaign against the New Republic continues. With the intensifying political infighting in the New Republic's Provisional Council and the scheming of Bothan leader Borsk Fey'lya against Admiral Ackbar, the central government is shakier than ever.

Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker is trying to discover the whereabouts of Jorus C'baoth, a Jedi Master who disappeared several years before the Clone Wars and is now rumored to be alive and well on the planet Jomark. As the Republic's only Jedi Knight, Luke needs any help he can get if he is to re-establish the new Jedi Order, starting with his sister Leia and her soon-to-be-born twins Jacen and Jaina.

At the same time, Luke is trying to establish an alliance of sorts with Mara Jade, the smuggler Talon Karrde's ablest aide and, before Endor, one of the Emperor's most trusted operatives. Mara blames Luke for the loss of her former life and wanted to kill him, but recent events have forced her to team up with the Jedi Knight on several occasions. And now that the Empire seems to be rising again, Mara has to wrestle with her allegiances: Will she remain loyal to Karrde and his "non-aligned" smugglers? Will she eventually become friends with Luke and the New Republic? Or will she return to the Empire, now a shadow of the regime she once served?

Meanwhile, C'baoth continues to aid Thrawn in his campaign against the New Republic, but his thirst for power and his insistence that Skywalker and his Force-sensitive family members be brought to him are putting the insane Jedi Master at odds with the Grand Admiral.

In the second act of the Thrawn Trilogy, a race against time develops as Leia Organa Solo attempts to gain the trust of an alien species now totally devoted to the Empire, while her brother, husband and friends try to figure out who is leading the Empire....and what his ultimate plans are.

The Last Command: Using the various items he has found on the Emperor's "treasure world" of Wayland, Thrawn continues his brilliant campaign against the still-unstable New Republic.

With a newly-increased Imperial starfleet and a growing army of stormtroopers, Thrawn has begun to regain some of the Empire's lost territories, either by direct invasion or as a result of planetary governments switching sides to avoid the ravages of war on their worlds.

Now, the New Republic's seat of government, located on the city-planet Coruscant, is itself vulnerable to Thrawn's seemingly unstoppable onslaught.

But even as the galaxy begins to wonder if Thrawn is the true heir to the Empire, there are signs that the Grand Admiral's plans might be yet undone.

C'baoth, that mysterious Jedi Master who has emerged from seemingly nowhere, is now on a dark side-fueled power trip and becoming more a hindrance to Thrawn's plans than an asset. Already unstable and mercurial, C'baoth has a disturbing appetite for controlling others and bending their minds to match his ideas of how the galaxy should be run.

On another front, Leia Organa Solo has been able to use her influence over the Noghri to get the warrior race from under the control of the Empire and to help the New Republic.

Meanwhile, Mara Jade has finally decided where her true loyalties lie, even though she's stilll tormented by Emperor Palpatine's last command: You will kill Luke Skywalker!

My Viewpoint: As any reader of Dark Horse Comics' Star Wars graphic novels will tell you, the omnibus edition contains the full content of the 17 issues of Mike Baron's once-separate adaptations, with perhaps a few cosmetic changes done for the hardcover version.

Because I have Tom Veitch's Dark Empire and Dark Empire II collections, I suspected that each of the three parts would not have the cover art reproduced to provide "chapter breaks" but would be included in "cover art galleries" at the end of the book.

To my surprise, I was wrong; each of the adaptations is accompanied by a "title page" with a reproduction of one cover. I recognized Matthieu Lauffray's artwork for Issue 1 of Heir to the Empire, and the same artist's cover for Dark Force Rising serves as the book's dust jacket illustration. Lauffray's cover art for The Last Command is the most perplexing; it's nice but it includes Ben Kenobi, who only made one cameo appearance in Heir.

Baron did a terrific job at adapting Zahn's novels; he was careful not to stray too far from the source books' cadence and themes, though of course he had to trim the fat and condense some of the various storylines. The dialogue is pretty consistent with Zahn's writing style, so if you've read the novels you are not likely to be disappointed.

The graphic novels' artwork is visually striking and quite nice to behold, especially on the glossy paper used for this hardcover edition.

However, if you are one of those readers who likes a certain unity in artistic style, you might be somewhat thrown for a loop because the three teams of artists (Fred Blanchard and Olivier Vatine for Heir, Terry Dodson and Kevin Nowlan for Dark Force and Edvin Biukovic and Eric Shanower for Last Command) all have very different styles.

A case in point: Where Heir to the Empire tends to be somewhat more stylized and a bit abstract (think of the way Star Wars: The Clone Wars looks in comparison to the live-action Prequels), Dark Force Rising tends to look a bit more traditional and true to life. Dodson and Nowlan make Luke look like Mark Hamill, Han and Leia resemble Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, and the characters from the books look "normal" and not distorted or exaggerated.

Once you get used to the distinct styles, however, you get sucked into the story in the same way Lucas' first trilogy or Zahn's novels did when they first came out. Baron and the artists clearly loved the original Trilogy and Zahn's stories and characters, and this shows through the pacing of the adaptation and the detailing of the artwork.

[Dawn Livingston · Rating 2 out of 5]

I recommend this for those that don't want to read the trilogy but would rather see it in a comic or for fans of the series that would like to see it in comic form.

The artwork was good i.e. the characters looked more or less like who they were supposed to and everyone was in proportion.

I gave it a 2 star rating because I read the trilogy and gave them all two stars too. It was interesting to see it in comic form but it didn't make me like the story, characters any better.

[Stephen Theaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have loved this back in 1983. It was interesting to learn which elements of the sequel trilogy had previously appeared in the novels these were based on. The ending was a bit inconclusive for such a long book.

[Amalia Dillin]

I remember reading these three novels ~1996-97, so these adaptations felt like a refresher course, and while the art was fun, definitely it was missing some of the depth the novels provided (and that I found myself remembering while I read.)

Overall, it was a more satisfying experience than the novelization of The Force Awakens I read just before it -- but I'm not sure if that's just nostalgia and familiarity or what. I mean, definitely it has weird pieces, like the obsession everyone has with stealing Leia and her unborn twin children to turn them to the dark side mwahahaha (despite the fact that there aren't really a lot of people with the skills required to turn anyone?); and the way that Thrawn seems to know everything all the time and consistently be 5 steps ahead of the New Republic by what amounts to just... magic, it feels like at times. Buuuuuuuuuuuuuut. I can't help but still feel like Thrawn is a stronger villain than Snoke, ultimately, and his Empire is more interesting than the First Order.

but again, that could just be because it's what I was raised on.

[Michael Kikle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whether it be the actual novels or this, I'm just not impressed, whatsoever.

There's even times from Heir to the Empire to Dark Force Rising that they change Luke's lightsaber blade color, simply because no one knew what Zahn had chosen, in that regard.

A lot of it, I think, is to be blamed on Zahn.

These adaptations are not great, but are at least shorter than the novels, praise Jesus.

Thrawn is an underwhelming villain; I'll always stand by that.

Even Luke is wasted, here! He's such a good character, and yet this trilogy always seems to make him the last resort in any problem they come across, when I feel like Star Wars should have always been Luke's real, owned story. Freakin' LEIA has more screen time than Luke. Like, are you kidding?!

[Rune Bach · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great revisit

I enjoyed the books and this was a stroll down Star Wars memory lane. The art work is fantastic and love the different choices the artists made from book to book. The storytelling is enjoyable and fast paced, maybe people a little to fast paced for fans who have not read the books.

[Tibbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the tenth comic series on my read-through of all the Star Wars legends books and comics.

In advance of reading the Hand of Thrawn duology, I decided to brush up on the events of the original Thrawn Trilogy by reading the comic adaptations. Secretly, I was hoping that, after slogging through so many sub-par bantam era books, this would be my chance to finally reappraise the Thrawn Trilogy as the 10/10 masterpiece that everyone else seems to think it is. But no, reading this comic only served to solidify my opinion on the trilogy as highly entertaining, but equally flawed as it is brilliant.

I still absolutely despise the ending of the Last Command, not only because it reads like middle school fan-fiction, but because it retroactively makes the rest of the trilogy feel worse, knowing where it all ends up. I still hate the noghiri plotline in Dark Force Rising and the smuggler plotline in The Last Command, both of which take up way too much time. I still think the Delta Source reveal is lame. I still think the plots of all three books rely way too much on contrivance and coincidence. I still hate how much of these books simply involve characters traveling from point A to point B, with Zahn going out of his way to specify how many days or weeks it takes to travel between places. I still think Mara Jade's character arc is underbaked, neither letting her be villainous enough or heroic enough for a proper villain-to-hero arc, and instead letting her skate out of character development via a technicality. I still think the plots of these books are a little too convoluted and dialogue-heavy for their own good, never quite embracing the level of "cinematic-ness" it feels like these stories deserve.

BUT I also still think the good aspects of the trilogy definitively outweigh the bad. Thrawn and Mara Jade are absolutely brilliant characters. The original trilogy cast are perfectly characterized. The tone of the series is perfect, striking the perfect balance between serious and light-hearted. It's been said a million times, but the Thrawn Trilogy FEELS like Star Wars. The high points of this trilogy, of which there are many, are incredible: Thrawn's introduction, Luke's tractor beam escape, the assault under the arch, the star destroyer infiltration, the battle for the Katana Fleet at the end of the second book, Jacen and Jaina's birth, not to mention basically everything with Thrawn and Mara Jade.

As for this adaptation, it's...pretty good. It's obvious the writers struggled to fit each book's story into 6 issues, but they did the best they could with it. The plot whizzes by, jumping from place to place at breakneck speed, often with important scenes shoved into a page or two. If I hadn't read the books already, I can imagine finding this more than a little confusing. The action scenes, especially the space battles, look awesome. I really loved the depictions of the alien worlds, capturing them in grandiose ways that were hard to picture in the books. Unfortunately, though, this comic does draw attention to how much of the books is made up of people simply dumping exposition on each other.

As for the art, Heir to the Empire's art is BY FAR my favorite. The character designs in it are fantastic -- exaggerated but still recognizable -- and the poses and framing, especially in many of the action scenes, are really great. The artist also carried over this exaggeration and dynamic-ness to the landscapes and ships and buildings and tech, as well, which I loved. Unfortunately, they decided to use different artists for the adaptations of the other two books, which were a serious downgrade, in my opinion. Dark Force Rising's art was my least favorite, going for a more "realistic" look that often felt awkward and scratchy. The Last Command's art was an improvement, bringing back a little exaggeration and dynamism, but still not coming close to Heir to the Empire. I also thought the coloring for all three comics felt way too washed out. I would have appreciated it if they had embraced some brighter colors and deeper blacks. That said, none of the art is outright terrible.

Overall, a 7/10, I guess?

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The collected comic book adaptations of Timothy Zahn's trilogy of novels 'Heir to the Empire', 'Dark Force Rising' and 'The Last Command', set five years after the Battle of Endor (or 9 ABY, if you prefer).
Still working on asserting its control of the galaxy, the New Republic finds itself facing a dire new threat; the mysterious genius Grand Admiral Thrawn. Luke, Han, Leia, Chewie, Lando and allies old and new have to thwart Thrawn's plans and also confront the insane Dark Jedi Joruus C'baoth.

In terms of the Star Wars universe and its fandom, the only thing more foundational than Zahn's original Thrawn Trilogy is the Original Trilogy of movies themselves.
Elements that have gone on to be huge parts of the story of Star Wars got their start with these stories, including Mara Jade and Grand Admiral Thrawn (the latter now embraced by the once Expanded Universe-averse Disney Canon).
If I've not made it clear enough, these stories are essential for any fan looking to explore the Expanded Universe (or Legends, as they now call it) and would be important reading even for fans of the new Canon.

But, I'll be honest, this isn't the best way to read them. Zahn's novels are intricate and nuanced in a way that simply doesn't work as well when adapted (I shudder to think what Dave Filoni's going to do with the story going forward). So reading the novels is absolutely the best way to read these stories.
However, these are very good adaptations. They can't hope to contain everything the novels do, but they do go further in the details than many comic adaptations I've read.

So, whilst there are plot holes from incomplete adaptation (not to mention various errors in the speech bubbles about who should be talking), this book does a great job of conveying the sense of danger posed by Thrawn's resurgent Empire, the action of the battles that served as the climaxes of each book and the potential of the resurgent Jedi Order, as represented by Luke, Leia and Mara Jade.

Ultimately, this is a very good book but just isn't as good as reading the original source material.

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

[Thimón Sahuleka · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review deliberately contains NO SPOILERS for Star Wars The Thrawn Trilogy.

"The Thrawn Trilogy" paints a believable picture of the characters' lives after the fall of the Empire. The story may not be the most epic tale within the Star Wars universe, but it doesn't aim to be. What truly excels in this story is its faithful portrayal of the characters, making them feel believable and true to what we saw in the first three Star Wars movies.

Did it satisfy my craving for a story with the same magnitude as the original movies? Not quite. The challenges faced by the characters aren't as formidable, and their development isn't nearly as profound as in the original trilogy, which makes the story feel less essential to their greater character arcs. While the sequels were an undoubtedbly unfaithful and inaccurate to their predecessors and Lucas' overall vision (i'm not saying that they are bad movies per se, but thats a whole other discussion), they do succeed in placing the characters in an environment with a similar relevance and weight to their overall development.

Despite lacking the gravitas of the original trilogy, "Dark Empire," and even the sequels, it represents the characters in a completely believable way that feels faithful to their original portrayals. It truly feels like witnessing the lives of the Skywalkers, Solo, Lando, and the rest. Their dialogue and actions feel authentic and true to their characters. In this regard, the trilogy is tremendously satisfying. The characters are original and memorable, with Thrawn being a perfectly written antagonist and Mara Jade becoming a staple of the Expanded Universe for good reason.

In conclusion, while "The Thrawn Trilogy" may not present the grandest challenge the Skywalkers have ever faced, it is a deeply satisfying and believable portrayal of the characters we all grew up with. For that reason alone, it is worth any Star Wars fan's time.

[Quinlan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow so this is really an epic undertaking and an important piece of Star Wars history. I think your enjoyment will revolve around what your expectations are going in. Unfortunately I can't say that The Thrawn Trilogy really works as an adaptation. I haven't read the novels but a lot of these comics feel like they're trying to rush through way too much plot in too short of time span. Grand Admiral Thrawn is an excellent villain and expert tactician but his strategies are largely undermined by his constant losses against the Rebellion. Some of the sideplots involving new roguish characters don't really seem to go anywhere. The introduction of Luke's romantic interest Mara Jade is neat and she is intriguing character but their relationship barely gets even started after 400 pages. Still, there is some great characterization of Original Trilogy characters in here and a lot of good to be had in the aftermath of Return of the Jedi. All this being said, I felt like the entire story did come to a satisfying conclusion and I think would have really exciting to read back before we had so much other Star Wars content to choose from.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was feeling nostalgic for some "non-canon" and certainly non-Lucas, non-Disney Star Wars.

Good story with the original characters and interesting villains. Nice to experience some Star Wars that isn't catering to children, the sale of action figures & video game sales, or trying to be like the original Star Wars rebooted.

Two things bothered me though.
1) Weird writing style quirk that happens throughout. When one character is thinking about another character, the author often writes "the other" instead of "he" or "she". Like "Luke knew he and Leia both liked Tombstone pizza, but the other wouldn't admit it".
2) Too many references to something that happened in the original movies. Every character seems to have recollections about something. "[This situation] reminded [character] of that time [when we did that thing in the movie you saw]". Yeah, we get it. Also on the fence as to whether characters saying things they said in the movies felt like catchphrases and forced, or if it would be natural for them.

[Jason Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot has changed in 30 years

I remember being enthralled by Timothy Zahn’s trilogy…back in middle school. Before the prequel trilogy and the “enhanced editions” Star Wars fans had precious little to do other than watch the original movies on VHS. When the Thrawn trilogy came along, suddenly the Expanded Universe exploded.
Now that Star Wars is at peak overexposure with movies, tv series, comics, and novels dropping at a relentless rate, it is jarring to read these books again. Now the references to the original films feel circular. The introduction of the Ysalamari and this version of the clone wars feels jarringly out of sync with the canon that came after. There is too much plot armor distributed about, and too much convenient coincidences that drive forward the plot. I suppose that it really falls into the category of genre fiction, that was later “betrayed” by corporate greed that established an alternate timeline for this world. In the end, it was a blast from the past, but nothing to write home about.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first volume (Heir to the Empire) is unsteady, an awkward adaptation, but the latter two volumes (Dark Force Rising and The Last Command) find their footing. Being almost word-for-word adaptations, this collected trilogy truly makes you realize simply how much goes on in these books. It's breakneck pacing, and that's with most battle scenes being cut short.

Simply put: The Thrawn Trilogy adaptation isn't as good as the original material, but the art (variable as it is between volumes) shockingly holds up. The Star Wars settings are well rendered and the heroes are mostly recognizable. Even when it feels disjointed, it's still appropriately Star Wars-ian and engaging in a goofy Saturday morning cartoon sorta way.

Certainly better than some of the more recent Star Wars comics, I'll tell ya that much.

[Leo McBride · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've heard a lot of good things about the Thrawn books. I can only recommend going and reading those instead, as this is clearly no way to experience the story for the first time. Everything is rushed and compressed, presumably for the comic format, and there's no real sense to anything. I gamely carried on but it got no better. Things popped up with no warning that presumably have a bit more build-up in the novels, and it's all just a bit nonsensical.

I've enjoyed a bunch of Star Wars comics - but not these. Seriously, go read the books instead, which is the advice I wished I'd had before starting this. If you have a hankering after that to see it in a different format, come back - but not with high hopes.

[Casey Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't mistake my three-star rating for this graphic novel collection as an evaluation for Timothy Zahn's original trilogy. I don't think his trilogy was the five-star perfection some old fans do, but it was pretty creative and a solid story. Honestly, if you just read these graphic novels without having ever read the print books, you'd probably be fairly confused. This was not a great adaptation from the storytelling point of view, but I loved the art in volumes one and two and tolerated it in volume three. There's a lot of nostalgia wrapped up in these graphic novels for me. Not perfect but still fun.

[Gadi Zaig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great adaptation of Timothy Zahn’s masterpiece of a book trilogy. It provides great visual context for those who find it difficult to visualize the different settings and characters of the books.

I will say I found it a little distracting that the art styles between parts of the graphic novel to be a bit distracting. I would say that the art style for the “Dark Force Rising” adaptation part was the best. I also noticed the graphic novel skipping a few scenes that are present in the books.

But overall, thoroughly enjoyed. I would read the original books first before starting the graphic novel. Score: 4/5 stars

[Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Thrawn trilogy is the quintessential expanded universe story for Star Wars, and remains a fun and exciting story to read three decades later. However, the story is a bit too much to condense each book into a six issue comic mini-series. I think the writers adapted it as well as they could have to the comic medium, but it still diluted the story in a detrimental way. The artwork was a bit of a miss for me as well. Only Dark Force Rising had an artstyle that I liked. I would only recommend reading these adaptations if you have already read the novels and want to see the story in a more visual medium.

[Scot Eaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm reviewing this specifically as a graphic novel. The actual Thrawn Trilogy gets 5 stars. This one gets 3. It is excellent to see visuals connected to everything in the Thrawn Trilogy. There are some truly stunning landmarks. However, the abridgement of the story removes most of the gravitas, and the changing of artists for each of the 3 books was distracting. Heir to the Empire had amazing art. The Last Command had serviceable art. Dark Force Rising felt like their 3rd string artist. If they had slowed down, taken their time, and stuck with the 1st artist, this would have been a must-have. As it is, it's merely a companion piece to the better novel trilogy.

[Tres Herndon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been 25+ years since I read the trilogy and, quite frankly, I didn't remember much. Therefore most of this book was new to me. I liked how each third of the book had a different art style, which kept things interesting. The story is fairly complex so it was sometimes hard to follow in comic form, which is why I dinged it a star. Still, it's justified that the Thrawn trilogy is beloved even now that it's no longer canon. After all, Thrawn is such a great character he showed up in Star Wars: Rebels (canon). Maybe he'll finally make it to the big screen one day.