Character Concepts by Olivier Vatine. “Star Wars: L'Héritier de L’Empire” Volume #1. February, 2002.
The first volume of Delcourt’s french “Star Wars: Heir to the Empire” anthology includes character concept art by Olivier Vatine. The (loosely) translated text from the “New Characters” behind the scenes feature reads:
Olivier Vatine reflects that the most interesting part of the project concerned the creation of new characters. Unfortunately, some of the work had already been done for the Star Wars roleplaying games. Despite this, he tried to inject his vision, hoping that Lucasfilm would not reject everything altogether. In the end, apart from a few hair tweaks (like adding hair to Mara, removing some from Thrawn, and redoing Joruus’s goatee), the other suggestions were accepted.
Talon Karrde is a smuggler, and that’s the only thing he has in common with Han Solo. Unlike Han, Talon is a very organized, methodical person who surrounds himself with a crowd of associates. He is determined to remain neutral in the conflict between the New Republic and the Empire. He remembers the unfortunate events of Jabba the Hutt too well to attempt any association with the Rebels or Imperials. In the comic, he appears as a sort of adventurer, cigar in the corner of his mouth (an object that no character, even secondary character, smokes in the Star Wars universe! So exotic…)
We know very little about Mara Jade’s past, and that’s what she wants. She has allied herself with Talon Karrde and quickly becomes his right-hand woman. She hides her secret identity, despite her loyalty to him. There’s something feline about Mara’s appearance. Everything about her evokes dynamism and strength of character. She gives the impression of being constantly on her guard. Mara appears in many other books after Zahn’s trilogy. She is presumably destined to play a very important role in future Star Wars series.
In this saga, it would have been a shame not to find a few new villains worthy of succeeding Vader. In “Heir to the Empire,” there are two that share the limelight for this role: Grand Admiral Thrawn, supreme leader of the Imperial forces, and Joruus C’boath, a Jedi master dedicated to the Dark Side.
Grand Admiral Thrawn has one peculiarity for an Imperial: he is not human. It’s amazing that he achieved such a rank, considering the physical and racial characteristics required of the Empire’s top leaders. It is probably because of his ruthlessness, his very particular sense of obedience, and his genius for strategy. Through intrigue, Thrawn ensures his succession to the Emperor and obtains new weapons to destroy the Rebellion: cloaking technology, Spaarti cloning cylinders, and above all, he seals an alliance with the Dark Jedi C'baoth. Ultimately, he represents the last hope for reviving the Imperial Order. On the advice of Lucasfilm, Thrawn was given a handsome uniform and a regulation haircut.
