Book Review: 'Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy' Hardcover Omnibus Edition

Cover art by Mathieu Laffray. (C) 2009 Dark Horse Comics and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)

On December 16, 2009,  Dark Horse Comics published Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, a 420-page hardcover collection of the comics adaptations of the 1991-1993 three-book cycle of novels by Timothy Zahn. Written by Mike Baron and featuring the art of three different artistic teams, The Thrawn Trilogy collects issues 1-6 of Heir to the Empire, issues 1-6 of Dark Force Rising, and issues 1-6 of The Last Command in one volume for the first time.

In 1991, after a five-year "dry spell" in which no new Star Wars fiction saw print, Bantam Spectra published Timothy Zahn's novel Heir to the Empire, which raised interest in that galaxy far, far away to a level that had not been seen since the release of the "last" of the films, Return of the Jedi. Later that same year, Dark Horse Comics obtained the Star Wars comic-book license, and a merging of interests seemed inevitable.

Now, nearly twenty years after the publication of the initial chapters of the Thrawn Trilogy, the comics adaptations of the three novels - Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command are collected here in one volume. Though in the intervening years, novels and comics have carried on with the adventures of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo and the other stalwarts from the Star Wars saga, for those who are only familiar with the events in the films and who have always wondered what happened next, this is the place to begin. – Inside flap blurb, Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy

Dark Horse Comics, which held the licensing rights to Star Wars and Indiana Jones from 1991 to 2014, first published the adaptations of Zahn's best-selling novels in the mid-1990s. The first novel, Heir to the Empire, made its comics debut in October of 1995 with Issue 1. Five more issues followed at a rate of one per month. The script was written by Baron, and the art was done by French comics artists Oliver Vatine and Fred Blanchard (pencillers and inkers) Ellie Deville (letterer), and Isabelle Labarot (colorist).


According to series writer Baron, Vatine and Blanchard use a style that is reminiscent of the sensibilities seen in Milton Caniff's Steve Canyon and Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon comic strips. The art is somewhat impressionistic, but they "possess that most valued of all illustrating commodities: the ability to delineate action and emotion with a maximum of expressivity and a minimum of ink."

A sequence of panels from Issue # 1 of Heir to the Empire. (C) 1995, 2009 Dark Horse Comics and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)

In his introduction, Baron briefly explains that after he read Zahn's trilogy, he was able to adapt the novels easily "because Zahn writes so visually. Knowing there would be six comic books for each novel, I simply divided the text into sixths, making allowances for natural breaks and cliffhangers. I didn't invent any language. All the language is Zahn's."

On May 1, 1997, Dark Horse Comics published Issue #1 of Dark Force Rising, with a script by Baron and art by Terry Dodson and Kevin Nowlan. Their style was "more traditional, realistic....Han Solo looks like Harrison Ford, Princess Leia looks like Carrie Fisher. For the first time Princess Leia looks pregnant (although she remained surprisingly svelte for someone expecting twins)."

Here you can see the more traditional vibe of Dodson and Nowlan's art for Dark Force Rising. (C) 1997 Dark Horse Comics and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)

Six months later, the trilogy was complete with the publication of Star Wars: The Last Command, which "was illustrated by Edvin Blukovic and Eric Shanower, and has a style similar to that of Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. This was the pulpiest of the three books, Edvin juggling panel-heavy pages with ingenious panoramas."

Art from Star Wars: The Last Command by Edvin Blukovic and Eric Shanower. (C) 1997 Dark Horse Comics and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)

 

Five years after the events in Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker has become the first in a long-awaited line of Jedi Knights. But the galaxy is not yet safe. The defeated Imperial Fleet has found a new commander in the last of the Emperor's warlords, Grand Admiral Thrawn, who has made two vital discoveries that could destroy Luke's - and the Galactic Alliance's New Republic.

For the first time, the comic-book adaptations of Timothy Zahn's renowned novels of the Thrawn Trilogy are collected in one collector's-quality volume.- Back cover blurb, The Thrawn Trilogy

My Take

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! - Dark Horse Comics' publisher's summary



Of all the writers who contributed to the Expanded Universe/Legends literary universe of Star Wars, Timothy Zahn is my all-time favorite. Sure, there are other authors whose works I love, including Alexander Freed, Brian Daley, Alan Dean Foster, and James Luceno, but Zahn is the dean of Star Wars University. And even though they are not part of the official canon - for now - my favorite Zahn works are Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command.

So when I saw this hardcover omnibus available in January of 2010 for the publisher's retail price of $34.99 on Amazon.com, I jumped at the chance to get it. I had long wanted to get the trade paperback editions of the separate adaptations, but the nearest bookstore to my house (Waldenbooks) was always "out of stock."  Eventually, I gave up hope of ever seeing the entire Dark Horse Comics adaptation...until that fateful day in January almost 10 years ago.

Now, I like the fact that Mike Baron wrote an adaptation that faithfully follows the plot, the character arcs, and the pacing of Timothy Zahn's novels. It's always a challenge to adapt someone else's work from one medium to another without something essential getting lost in the process. And although a few minor changes are noticeable from Zahn's original novels to the Dark Horse adaptations, the heart and soul of the Thrawn Trilogy is present in the three graphic novels contained in the omnibus edition. 

Obviously, the difference in graphic styles between the three sets of artists can be disorienting at first, especially if you prefer the more traditional, lifelike style that most of the Marvel Comics film adaptations used in the Original Trilogy days and that Dark Horse utilized when it adapted George Lucas's Prequels between 1999 and 2005. The visual disparity in Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command takes some getting used to. However, once you accept these stylistic choices and get into Baron's retelling of Timothy Zahn's classic novels, you get over it and fall in love with the Dark Horse version, too.

My only complaint is that this book is extremely hard to find at an affordable price. It was available at Amazon and other booksellers at its retail price for only a short time; in 2011 I wanted to get a second copy in case something happened to the one I have now, but it was no longer offered from Amazon itself. Third-party sellers with Amazon "stores" had it, but they were asking $80 or more for a copy in "New" condition.  Now, unless you want the Marvel/Comixology Kindle e-book for $12.95 (if you have the membership to the latter), a copy of the hardcover can cost you anywhere between $138.99 (used) to $349.99 (for a first edition exemplar in "very good" condition). 

Sources:

Mike Baron, Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy; Milwaukie, Oregon, 2009

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1595824170/ref=tmm_hrd_collectible_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=collectible&qid=1524506515&sr=8-1-fkmr0