The Expanse Origins: James Holden

The Expanse Origins #1

by James S.A. Corey, Hallie Lambert, Georgia Lee

Based on the bestselling books and tying into the hit television series, THE EXPANSE ORIGINS reveals the untold origins of the crew members of The Rocinante. As interplanetary tensions reach an all-time high, the crew of The Rocinante finds themselves at the center of a conflict that threatens to destroy all of human civilization. But before they were heroes, each member of the crew faced moments that would come to define them and brought them one step closer to the ship they now call home. Featuring a story by author James S.A. Corey that explores the past of each character and what set them off on the winding roads that led to The Rocinante, this series is a must read for fans of the books and show alike. Before James Holden was a member of the crew of The Rocinante, he was a lieutenant in Earth's navy on board the UNN Zheng Fei. When their ship met an unidentified belter cargo vessel suspected of OPA ties, Holden faced a choice that would come to define his time in the navy.

Genres: Science Fiction, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Space Opera, Graphic Novels Comics, Short Stories

29 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2017

Reviews

[Tudor Vlad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I might have not enjoyed this as much as I did had I not known what to expect. This caters more to the show-watchers but it can obviously be enjoyed by the book readers too, since I enjoyed it quite a lot. So if you’re a book reader you don’t get anything new from this comic, it’s just a visual adaptation of Holden’s discharge from the UNN Navy and how that happened. Nothing ground breaking but if you are a fan looking for every scrap of The Expanse, this might be something that you would enjoy, as long as you don’t expect a lot from it. Oh, and the illustrations are amazing, they follow the visual of the show so well.

[William · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's a crappy comic book. UGH *** DO NOT BUY ***

[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Um ...

This did not translate well into a comic. Maybe in someone else's hands.

Incredibly mediocre and lifeless art with terribly cliched and generic dialogue.

[Sami · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lovely...this the second graphic-novel i read, its reminds me to stories when i was kid. Funny and remarkable kind of comic book.

[Dregus Ilies · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh, this was fine...

[Remo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Para los adictos que estamos esperando la octava entrega de la saga este tebeo se aparece como una especie de metadona en nuestra adicción. No es lo mismo que los libros, me digo, pero algo tendrá. Pues no. No sirve como sustituto. Son cinco historias, una para cada personaje (Holden, Nagata, Kamal, Amos y el detective Miller), que pretenden dar un vistrazo sobre sus vidas antes de Ceres y el Rocinante. Pero la verdad es que aportan poco. La de Kamal, la de Miller, pueden ser interesantes. Las de Holden y Nagata y, sobre todo, la de Amos, son aburridas y no me dicen nada. En resumen, uyna lectura innecesaria, incluso para fans de la saga.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am been meaning to read these *forever.*

I love that there's so much background in this collection. Seeing where Alex choices came about with his family, leading to the Roci. Seeing how Holden's moral made for a thorny path in the military. Seeing Amos's past even more than his novella, and FINALLY my dreams were answered with getting to see how Naomi and Amos first met/worked into the relationship they are in now.

[Matt Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a few short pages of backstory, but guess what! It's costs nearly nothing and it is better by far than nothing. I thought it was worth the ten minutes of my time to read it.

I'd love to see full length graphic novel adaptations of the books.

[Silvana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short visualization on the time when Holden's still serving the UN Navy and why he was discharged. Only for people who can't get enough of The Expanse and want to have everything canon.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

James Holden is a short story, made shorter by it's graphic novel medium. The story covers an incident from the titular character's past and what led him toward his place in The Expanse series of novels.

Straightforward and in line with character the story is good. The voice-over in summary resonates as opposed to feeling forced. However, the artwork is not quite good at describing the action of the attack, which ship is which and the voice-overs are difficult to determine who the speaker is at times.

That said, a quick story, making a solid point for the character.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a short prequel to The Expanse TV series (I haven't read the books that the TV series is based on so cannot comment how well this work matches that narrative), this works well. A very quick but entertaining read (it was a first time for me trying out the comiXology app in my browser and the first time in a very long time - we're talking decades here - that I've read anything on a comic book format. As someone who watched all 4 seasons of The Expanse in lockdown, it was an enjoyable diversion.

[John Sinclair · Rating 1 out of 5]

Buy to confirm your cosmic stupidity..... like me.

There is nothing, you are actually buying nothing for money. These 'things' suck all the brilliance from The Expanse and must not be bought. They devalue everything and are a disgrace, tarnishing by association. At least you can see the names associated with this utter scam. The end of Game of Thrones was brilliant when compared to these. Amazon should be utterly ashamed of this.

[Cathal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Five minutes of meh

As a huge fan of the Expanse, I've read all the books and short stories so far, and this one didn't do much to further the story of James Holden besides offer a visual for stuff already discussed. I guess it's good stuff if you haven't read any of the books and haven't paid close attention to the show.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok yeah, I jumped into the book not knowing what it was about and I’m very confused, I just learnt it was based on a novel so I’m guessing this is giving the PoVs of certain characters in situations that happened on the ship. I had not hear of the book before, o honestly thought it was a regular sci-fi comic.

[Anne-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick and interesting little glimpse into Holden's pre-Expanse life in the Navy (aka the events that get him out of the Navy and into ice hauling).

Not 100% if the comics are canon to the books and/or the tv show, given the character art seems to closely resemble the tv show actors. But a fun read nonetheless.

[Nana Ogg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not up to the quality of the original stories.

I expected much more, this is nothing more than the few lines already in the book but with illustrations. Disappointing, to say the least.

[Gianni Costanzi · Rating 2 out of 5]

In questa breve storia a fumetti si getta luce sul passato di James Holden. Do due stelle perché è veramente brevissimo e non lo consiglierei se non agli appassionati della serie come me, per leggere tutto quel che c'è sul fantastico universo di The Expanse.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m definitely reading these out of order, but this was a good one. I should have started with this one; it may have made me like these books more. But you do not need to read them in order, thankfully.

[Lee Pfahler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Say what?

Rather disappointing! I've read comic books when I was a kid that had more meat to them then this. This was very amateurish so I don't see the point of it being written. A novelette would have been better than this.

[Vivianne TM · Rating 3 out of 5]

This comic tells the story of how Holden got court martially. I think it was way too short to give any decent backstory but I did enjoy having the visuals of the characters, since I haven't watched the tv series. The art was nice, the backstory cool but superficial.

[Paweł Dembowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little more backstory for The Expanse's Jim Holden, but otherwise nothing special.

[Amy Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty short, but an interesting look at Holden's brief stint in the military.

[Gingerelvis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Far too short - about 10 mins maximum, and doesn't add anything much to the canon.
Feels like a blatant cash-in for fans of the novels.

[Jeff Lucak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uninspired and not necessary.

Lacks any of the charm of the actual series and doesn't provide that much additional info. Ok for a completist.

[Stu · Rating 5 out of 5]

More background into Holden's history.

Not read a graphic novel for a while and this was an interesting return. I'm looking forward to the next in the series!

[Bill Mattingly · Rating 3 out of 5]

False advertising

Did not know this was a comic book. Did not live up to billing. Goodreads/amazon should more clearly identify the product

[Luv · Rating 2 out of 5]

This caters to movie watchers rather than readers. ok story, just not a lot of it

[Randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok. Any Expanse story is a good one.

[Társis · Rating 3 out of 5]

É uma história curta, arte mediana, mas interessante para entender um pouco a origem do personagem James Holden na série de TV (canal SyFy - agora - Amazon Prime - The Expanse).

[Ipsos Malafaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm... very basic... not sure what it was supposed to be but I feel like I just read a bit of thin air...