There already some great novels coming in 2019, like Master & Apprentice and Queen’s Shadow, but add another to the must-read list as Timothy Zahn returns with Thrawn – Treason, the third book in his Thrawn series. Also announced is a new comic miniseries, Vader – Dark Visions, an intriguing sounding series but it’s announcement raises some questions and concerns, especially if it’s a replacement for the now cancelled Vader mini, Shadow of Vader.
So far, each Thrawn novel has been better than the last, though not without their problems, but this third entry sounds the most intriguing yet as it includes a character I dearly missed in 2018’s Thrawn – Alliances: Eli Vanto. Thrawn – Treason takes place towards the tail end of Star Wars Rebels’ final season, where Thrawn’s TIE Defender program has been scrapped in favor of Director Orson Krennic’s Death Star, leaving the Chiss without the same pull he had before in the Empire’s hierarchy. But Thrawn’s previous aide, Eli Vanto, whom he groomed for a mission to his homeworld, returns with grave news about the Chiss Ascendancy, leaving Thrawn to choose between the Empire or the Chiss, despite his promise to the Emperor. Alliances spent a lot of time in its Rebels’ era story, the weakest of the two era stories I felt, dealing with Vader trying to figure out if Thrawn really would be loyal to the Empire as he promised, with Vader coming away satisfied with Thrawn’s actions…for now. Treason looks to pick up that thread, but push it to its limits, even though we know Thrawn was still helping the Empire just before Ezra Bridger jumped them away to parts unknown through hyperspace. As for the threat to Thrawn’s homeworld, Alliances might hold the key, as the Rebels-era story also dealt with Thrawn fighting an enemy of the Chiss which had been infiltrating the Ascendancy and using its secrets against them, so I imagine Vanto’s warning is about this enemy only getting worse. Vanto was sorely missed from Alliances, as his trip through Thrawn held the most promising storyline, so I’m extremely excited we’re finally revisiting the character. While I’ll be eagerly reading Treason when it arrives Summer 2019, I hope Zahn is willing to give Thrawn some flaws for once to make him a more compelling character, like Rebels managed to do despite these novels overlapping with the show. Also, my second biggest hope for the novel is we get our first tease of what happened to Thrawn and Ezra, though I fear both my hopes won’t be answered.
Best joke about the title of Thrawn – Treason goes to Matt:
"I wonder what the title of Zahn's next Thrawn book is?"
Does a quick Google search
"So, it's Treason then…"
— SmarterChild (@beeskmode) December 6, 2018
UPDATE: As Treason is now up for pre-order, we have a more concrete release date: July 23!
The next new announcement is another comic about Darth Vader, called Vader – Dark Visions, a five-issue limited series which, “will take readers to the darkest parts of the galaxy — places where the mysterious anti-hero known as Darth Vader can be someone’s greatest fear and even…someone’s greatest hope!” The covers for issue #1 and #2, by Greg Smallwood, are alluring, spooky, and enticing, but I have some reservations about the series, which has nothing to do with the creators involved. Dark Visions sounds like a fun concept, but the now cancelled Shadow of Vader miniseries was far more interesting to me, and not because of what happened with its cancellation, as rather it would deal with the repercussions of Vader’s presence in the galaxy, with stories about Willrow Hood (yes, the guy holding the ice-cream maker in Empire Strikes Back) and the Acolytes of the Beyond. Dark Visions keeps the focus on Vader and sounds like it wants to make Vader an “anti-hero” or “someone’s greatest hope,” though if it’s not done in such a way as what happened with the Noghri of Legends, whom Vader tricked into making them think he was their savior, then I’d be concerned about how this series could be misconstrued to seem like it helps support space-facism/trying to make it look appealing. That’s not something I’d normally even be worried about, but after the cowardly move by Marvel Star Wars Editor Mark Paniccia to fire Wendig in a very public manner from SoV due to Wendig speaking out against fascists/Nazis, one can never be too careful, though I’m not as worried because it still comes down to Lucasfilm’s Story Group approval and in them I trust at least. The two Vader on-goings have been able to give Anakin Skywalker’s time under the mask of Vader a lot more nuance, though they’ve ensured you realize he’s still the villain, so I hope Dark Visions doesn’t forget to do that as well. But also, another Vader series, really? If this hadn’t been a replacement for SoV, then we would’ve had TWO minis about Vader, because as out there and different as this idea sounds, do we really need to keep going back to Vader? Why not a Sana Starros series? Or a series full of original characters made just for a comic on-going? Or well…anything else? It’s hard to get excited for more Vader-centric stories at this point when we’ve had some greats years already for the Dark Lord in the comics, and it makes it sound even crazier when anyone wonders why they’re not making Vader: A Star Wars Story, as one only needs to watch the 6 original films or enjoy the two Vader on-goings to get their fill of that already. All that aside, the talent sounds good, with writer Dennis Hopeless (LoveSTRUCK, Jean Grey) for the series, and artists Paolo Villanelli (Lando – Double or Nothing, Rogue One adaptation) and Brian Level (Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows) for issues #1 and #2 respectively. But the talent highlights another point of contention…another comic series announcement for Marvel, another female-less creative team. Consider me lukewarm overall when this drops in March, and I’ll be really pissed if this turns out to be a reskinning of Shadow of Vader. Expect more details incoming later this month when the March comic solicitations drop.
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
THRAWN SERIES: Thrawn (novel) | Thrawn (comic adaptation) | Thrawn – Alliances
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CURRENT SERIES COMIC REVIEWS:
Doctor Aphra
Aphra (#1-6) | And the Enormous Profit (#9-13) | Remastered (#14-19) | The Catastrophe Con (#20-25) | Worst Among Equals (#26-31) | Annual: #2
Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith
The Chosen One (#1-6) | The Dying Light (#7-10) | The Rule of Five (#11-12) | Burning Seas (#13-18) | Fortress Vader (#19-25) | Annual: #2
Star Wars
Ashes of Jedha (#38-43) | Mutiny at Mon Cala (#44-49) | Hope Dies (#50-55) | The Escape (#56-61) | Annual: #4
Han Solo – Imperial Cadet (miniseries)