Writers: Timothy Zahn & Jody Houser
Artists: Pat Olliffe & Andrea Di Vito
Color Artist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Cover Artist: Rod Reis
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $4.99
Reviewer: StoryBabbler
Grand Admiral Thrawn and Darth Vader are on the task of locating a disturbance in the Force in the galaxy. In doing so, they’ve alerted their enemies to their presence and their intent. Now, the two pursue their attackers as the mystery continues to deepen in the past and present. Read Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances #3 to see the action unfold as Thrawn and Vader face the Grysks.
Review:
The story picks up where it left off with Darth Vader and Grand Admiral Thrawn pursuing their attackers’ ships only to find they’re already gone but not out of range for their ships in space to catch one of them at least. We get to shift to the Stormroopers’ perspective and see them engage the mysterious alien enemy. During this confrontation, the story shifts at various points between the past mission with Anakin Skywalker and Thrawn and their present time as both storylines continue to converge in many ways with each other.
By the end, Vader and Thrawn learn the identity of their enigmatic attackers, the alien species called the Grysks who are almost mythical in the Unknown Regions. They also discover that source of the disturbance in the Force comes from living beings under the grasps of the Grysks. But who they are and why they are captive remains unknown, but Thrawn already has a plan forming to take the fight to the Grysks as the duo’s advances in the main story mirrors that of their past selves.
Obviously, the art team continue to do a solid job with the art, characters, closeups, and the action. It’s also nice to see the Stormtroopers fighting the Grysk soldiers they encounter and prove to actually be formidable instead of useless fodder compared to most other Star Wars media these days. And that extends to the dynamic between Vader and Thrawn as they continue to push each other’s buttons while also complimenting each other’s strengths.
What’s also proving to be a great strength for this series is seeing the past and present storylines of Thrawn and Vader unfold in real time and parallel each other’s progress. When one side makes developments the other storyline does as well. Admittedly, the appearance of the Grysks is nice and it adds up that Thrawn would know about them since he and his people the Chiss are also from the Unknown Regions. But there’s not much in their appearance or fighting ability that stands out, at least not here, until you get closeups of their faces and masks.
Final Thoughts:
Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances #3 delivers the next phase of the story as Thrawn and Darth Vader confront their mysterious attackers, the alien Grysks. The comic does a solid job in handling the past and present storylines so that they parallel each other’s progress and converge well. It’s also great to see the Stormtroopers actually be useful and formidable for once in Star Wars.