Review – ‘Thrawn: Alliances’ #1 Offers a Compelling Adaptation for Timothy Zahn’s Novel
Star Wars comic adaptations have not had a good track record lately. The Mandalorian took the safe route and tried nothing new, delivering pedestrian art to coincide with a shot-by-shot take. I’ve done no widespread research on the matter, but there’s a chance we are the lone positive voice on the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, with most detractors citing, once again, the art. Salvador Larroca’s upsettingly lazy art pulls you out before Jody Houser can even pull you in. Enter Thrawn: Alliances.
The first issue of Thrawn: Alliances establishes that this miniseries is another animal. Timothy Zahn and Houser return to bring Zahn’s 2018 novel to another medium, offering an entirely different experience to its story. Houser’s 2018 Thrawn comic streamlined the first of Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy, making it digestible in a casual setting. She stayed true to Zahn’s signature complexities, resulting in a great way to dive into Thrawn’s world. Thankfully, the same can now be said for this version of Thrawn: Alliances.
This is my first time with Thrawn: Alliances since the novel’s release. Admittedly, I am not a massive fan of the book. I felt the dueling narratives of Thrawn and Anakin/Vader’s escapades were too disconnected for me to really connect with. Through one issue, the comic already feels like the better version for my personal tastes. Of course, you’re not going to get every nuance a Zahn novel offers, but Zahn and Houser nail this adaptation as a condensed venture that has to weave an intricate book together seamlessly.
For the uninitiated, Thrawn: Alliances follows a past and present storytelling method. In the present, Thrawn and Darth Vader are sent to Batuu after the Emperor senses a disturbance in the Force. The past storyline takes us back to the Clone Wars, where we finally see the long-awaited meeting between Thrawn and Anakin Skywalker. The duo also ends up on Batuu, investigating the disappearance of Padmé and Separatist activity in the region.
Zahn’s novel waited for chapter breaks to jump back and forth between these two storylines, a luxury the comic does not have. When I was at Twin Cities Con in November, Zahn was there, and I had a chance to ask him how he and Houser worked as a team. He said he outlined the essential beats of the story, and Houser made it into a comic since she had the experience. Immense credit then has to go to Houser, as the flow of this issue felt effortlessly natural. The two plot lines immediately felt intertwined, and I felt at ease knowing both were going somewhere in tandem with each other.
The unsung heroes of the issue are Pat Olliffe and Andrea Di Vito’s art. My favorite element of it is how it frames Vader and Thrawn. The Sith is a mountain of a man, and several panels aren’t afraid to showcase that, placing us in Thrawn’s point of view as he gazes upon the tower of darkness. But the duo ensures not to undermine Thrawn, aided by the dialogue to frame Thrawn as the most intelligent guy in the room who can combat the galaxy’s scariest figure.
Thrawn: Alliances #1 is a great start, setting up a promising adaptation that builds off of its writers’ previous work with Thrawn. While there are some changes here and there (sorry, Mitth’raw’nuruodo pronunciation debate truthers, that scene isn’t here), Zahn’s novel translates beautifully to the drawn page. Hopefully, the standard remains high, and Marvel can learn a lesson or two the next time they tackle a Star Wars adaptation.
RATING: 8/10
Nate uses his love for Star Wars and movies in general as a way to cope with the pain of being a Minnesota sports fan. When he's not at the theater, you can usually find Nate reading a comic, listening to an audiobook, or playing a Mario video game for the 1,000th time.
