The Expanse: Origins

The Expanse graphic novels

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

The official graphic novel tie-in to the hit SyFy television series revealing the untold origin stories of the main characters .

Based on the bestselling books and tying into the hit television series, The Expanse: Origins reveals the untold genesis of the crew members of The Rocinante. As interplanetary tensions reach an all-time high, The Rocinante crew 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 define them and bring them one step closer to the ship they now call home. 

Featuring stories by author James S.A. Corey, written by Hallie Lambert and Georgia Lee and illustrated by Huang Danlan, this graphic novel explores the history of each character and what led them to The Canterbury, making it a must-read for fans.

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

144 pages, Paperback

First published February 7, 2018

Reviews

[jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

“we’re all a little broken inside… but we can help fix each other.”

this is a graphic novel showcasing what the main cast of season one of the expanse was up to before the show properly kicked off. we’ve got five origin stories for james holden, naomi nagata, alex kamal, amos burton, and joe miller.



it’s entertaining, but ultimately adds very little new content.

most of these backstories can be cobbled together from the show. some are even thoroughly explored in the show; amos’, alex’s, and naomi’s histories instantly come to mind. and honestly, none of the stories really add surprising insights into the characters that can’t be gleaned from other sources.

i bought it because i was starved for content (alas, the delivery of leviathan wakes was delayed), and it barely scratched that itch for me. it’s short and minimal, and it feels flat in ways the show absolutely does not.

the same goes for the art: there is minimal shading, barely-there backgrounds, and a sketchiness to the lines that i felt was very at odds with the almost clinical approach to coloring. characters are very stylized and difficult to recognize except by hairstyle and clothing. preferences in art style may vary wildly, though, so i’d recommend previewing a couple of pages to see if it’s your cup of tea.

i don’t feel i wasted any time reading it, but i do think this is one of those books that’s probably only really interesting to big fans of the show. i’ll also be the first to shallowly admit that the cover looks gorgeous on my shelves, so it almost functions as a cool piece of merch :)

the absolute highlight in this collection was naomi’s origin chapter, and i felt that alex’s and miller’s were also well done. as always, holden kind of gets the short end of the stick.

individual reviews for every story are down below beneath the spoiler tag to keep everything scroll-friendly. again, recommended for fans of the show only.

✎ 3.0 stars for the whole collection.


CHAPTER_001: JAMES HOLDEN

✎ 2.0 stars.

eight years before the start of season one, we see james holden as a young lieutenant in the UN navy. this entry in the series showcases holden’s problems with authority due to his rigid moral compass, and how that turns out to make him a bad fit in pretty much any military setting.

no doubt the weakest of the five stories. it rehashes holden’s character and arc as we already know him from the show, and adds nothing new except a slight glimpse into his life as a navy lieutenant. at this point, i almost feel bad for the guy, as he often ends up being the least interesting person out of everyone on the rocinante’s crew.

CHAPTER_002: NAOMI NAGATA

✎ 4.0 stars.

we also meet naomi eight years before the start of the show, just after she’s left everything behind to start a new life as part of the canterbury’s crew. most importantly, we see how her close and unique bond with amos develops, and how the two meet for the first time.

this one delivers the kind of detail you want when picking up an origin story. you see a bit more of naomi’s personal trauma here, which is only explored in later seasons on the show. another great aspect is immediately putting two characters together that we know and love, and who have an intriguing dynamic on the show already; naomi and amos.

CHAPTER_003: ALEX KAMAL

✎ 3.5 stars.

alex’s origin story takes place five years before the first season, and it focuses on his domestic life on mars after he’s been honorably discharged from the MCRN. his family takes centerstage, and we finally get to see a bit more of talissa, his wife, and melas, his son.

i think this was a very necessary addition to alex’s story! you really see his struggle in trying to be a good father to melas and a supportive husband to talissa, while also resenting no longer being able to be a pilot. the glimpse into why alex married at all was insightful, too.

CHAPTER_004: AMOS BURTON

✎ 3.0 stars.

it’s a little unclear when amos’ story takes place, but it definitely has the most interesting format out of all five origins.

we see tidbits of his traumatic childhood in baltimore (as well as what i think might be his first murder, but you’re never sure of that with amos) presented as a game show called turn back time. amos is forced to answer uncomfortable questions about his childhood or he’ll die. we are then shown bits and pieces through flashbacks and various mental representations.

like i said, it’s got a great format that’s somehow weirdly fitting for a stoic character like amos, but i don’t think it necessarily adds anything new or insightful into how he dealt with his younger years.

CHAPTER_005: JOSEPHUS MILLER

✎ 3.5 stars.

we meet miller five years before season one-- and, of course, it’s on ceres. we see him try to tackle a case with heartbreaking and unintended consequences, and we get a tad more page-time for detective olivia muss as well as some insight in her and miller’s relationship.

i want to say this one was good, but it definitely edges into the tropey / cliché territory that seems so prevalent when it comes to miller as a character. it focuses on him fucking up and losing even more hope due to the fuck-up, while completely externalizing his faith in the goodness of humanity.

sound familiar? yeah, kind of like how he idealizes julie mao later on. i’d also expected him to be way more cynical and hollow five years before the show starts, but i did very much like the line about why he became a cop.

[Lata · Rating 3 out of 5]

The background stories of Naomi, Holden, Alex, Amos and Miller felt lightweight.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 Stars
This is a short graphic novel that explores some of backstories behind the beloved crew of the Roci. 

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the title suggests, these are backstories of our favourite crew, set several years before the plot of the main storyline of the books.

Definitely a companion piece for fans of The Expanse. The characters are done in the image of the TV series. The artwork is pretty basic and not good. Why do media-tie ins always have such bad artwork? Is that an unwritten rule somewhere?

Jim Holden, Naomi Nagata, Alex Kamal, Amos Burton and Miller each get a chapter.

Holden‘s chapter was the weakest for me. It shows the end of his military career and is the least believable. ★★½☆☆
I really liked Naomi‘s chapter — strong story, I connected emotionally and it had Amos in it.... I love Amos! ★★★★★
Alex Kamal‘s chapter was surprisingly good, considering that he is my least favourite member of the Roci‘s crew. ★★★★☆
Amos‘s chapter was a little too wacky, sad and a little upsetting. ★★★½☆
And Miller‘s chapter didn‘t do much for me. This is a media tie-in to the TV series and his likeness to TV Miller was the least well done. ★★☆☆☆

You don‘t miss much, if you don‘t read this. If you don‘t know the series, don‘t bother with this. Watch the series first or, even better, read the books. They are a lot of fun!

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a general rule I don't read graphic novels since they are just glorified comic books, but browsing for James S.A. Corey books on Amazon, I came across this one. There are a bunch of spin-off novellas from the Expanse series but so far none of them seem to be available in print editions. I have previously read all eight of the Expanse novels that have come out as of this date (September 2021) but have not watched the TV series. I enjoyed learning some of the background on five of the main characters that this book presents and would recommend it to anyone who likes to follow the series, for that reason.

[Ronie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty cool to get the origin stories on several of crew of the Roci and Miller.

[k · Rating 3 out of 5]

not as garbage as most tie in graphics!! points for you.

[Dunja MacAlister · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this little glimpse into all their back stories... It makes you appreciate the characters so much more.

[Stephen Richter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Backstory of our heroes created by the writing Duo of James S.A. Corey. Part of the Unlimited ComiXology if you have that service.

[Colleen Villasenor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel explores some of the backstories of each of the main characters in The Expanse series. It was touching to see the broken lives they had come from and how it shaped them. It also showed a little of what brought Holden, Alex, Amos, and Naomi together on the Canterbury

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good writing adds to the backstory of each character. The graphics weren't overly impressive.

[Joe Davoust · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick little background stories of our favorite Expanse characters. They attempt to, and succeed for the most part, explain why they act and think they way they do in the current TV series. I say series and not books because they are artfully drawn to match the actors that play them, but the stories could hold true either way I guess.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some reason, the writing felt better than the art in most of these stories. In fact, the facial expressions were so similar that I actually had to look back and see if I'd lost track of where I was reading. You can tell the male characters apart by their hair color, which is better than nothing, I suppose.
That said, the writing was choppy, but generally very good. There were few real surprises, but the backgrounds fleshed out things we already knew, or sort of knew, about the characters and their personalities. The one I came away feeling sorry for was the pilot, Alex Kamal. That was a gut-kicker of a back story.
This is a book worth reading if you're a fan of the series or its TV adaptation, but isn't absolutely necessary. Good, but not great.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book collects the four issues of The Expanse: Origins featuring the crew of the Rocinante released as digital comics and adds a new story featuring Josephus Miller written by Hallie Lambert and illustrated by Huang Danlan. Set on Ceres, Miller's backstory feels as gritty as the character we get to know in the books and television series. It's only a brief look at his past, but it's compelling. The art is stark, which is fine for this story, but doesn't really align with the scenery in my head when I read the dialogue. Still, this collection is a nice addition to the Expanse saga.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection provides a fair amount of backstory for The Expanse series proper without significant overlap with the print novellas and includes Detective Miller's story (remember him from the early books?) which doesn't appear to be available as a standalone. Nice art and good (short) stories.

[M. Scott Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really nice to see some backstory for these characters. I’m a little disappointed that the way they are drawn does not more closely match their descriptions in print. For example, I was expecting the Belters to have longer limbs than the Earthers. And I thought that I remembered Alex being bald. Maybe these renderings are meant to match the actors in the TV series. I haven’t seen that yet.

[WyrmbergSabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five tales for each of the main characters of The Expanse. Set before the books Leviathan Wakes and the series, this tells some of the starting points of each character. Linked more to the show than the books due to the art work, these are all a little bittersweet, like each character is still trying to find home, someone to love, something important. A meaning. The Expanse crew are certainly a mixed bag of individuals, all damaged, all searching and that's very clear in these strips.
I think my favourite is Naomi's tale, which is how she meet Amos, and Amos' story which is really bonkers!

[Brandon Forsyth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yikes. These aren't actually written by the dynamic duo, the art is workmanlike and uninspired, and most of the stories feel like they're trying too hard. Totally skippable, even for completists.

[CAP · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into this thinking the worst.
Comic adaptations don't do it for me. But I liked the art in this one, and I thought the stories showed little glimpses of the characters that I didn't know from the books. Not a lot of meat there, and a little mediocre, but it exceeded expectations.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute backstories for everyone. Amos and Miller's were the weakest even though they are probably my 2 faves out of the 5 in this collection of origin stories. Still fun to see more of the world. Although this was clearly more based on the show then on the novels because Alex has a kid before the Roci and that's only cannon in the show.

[Randy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as great set of stories. Not nearly as satisfying as the books.

[angelofmine1974 · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review of this book can be found on my Youtube Vlog at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mXOE...

Enjoy!

[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.

[Dai Kitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved rereading this!

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're invested in the Expanse series, these origin stories for the main characters are sure to please. They've got the heart and charm of the 600 page novels condensed into a series of (admittedly not super action-packed) short stories. The only real drawback is the unimaginative art, but the solid story-telling more than makes up for it.

[Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now I know a bit of the background stories of four of our fav characters: Holden, Alex and Amos and Naomi. Naomi's and Alex's moved me the most. However, 'The 'Churn' gives a much better account of Amos's previous life on Earth.

[Jennifer Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning more about the back stories of these characters. Alex Kamal's story is heartbreaking, the others were about what I would have expected. I recommend this for Expanse fans.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I found this to hold my interest, I was hoping for something with a bit more meat. In any case this is an enjoyable addition for the expanding universe of Corey's novels.

[Elyse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great backstory on the crew of the Rocinante and even Detective Miller! Think I love Naomi's the most. I can't get enough of The Expanse universe!

[Nyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting collection of stories.


1. James Holden - We pretty much know his story from the first two novels of the Leviathan Wakes series. No surprises, but nice to have the visuals.

2. Naomi Nagata - There is apparently a lot more to Naomi than meets the eye, and while the origin story hints at this mystery, it gives nothing away. It produced more questions than answers. Why did she delete the picture of that child? Who is that child? Who did Naomi kill? On the plus side, we see the being of her friendship with Amos.

3. Alex Kamal - I was surprised to learn that he and his family walked away from each other! While I felt his SO was selfish, I also understood the request. But I don't think Alex should have been expected to leave his world behind.

4. Amos Burton - Oh Amos. We get a peak behind the curtain during an intense interaction in Caliban's War, an incomplete, vague picture of his past. It was worse than he let on and has left permanent mental scars. Just keep smiling, Amos.

5. Josephus Miller - Miller is who Miller is; we're reminded of that fact in this "not quite an origin" story. We're also reminded that Miller is inherently good, even though he doesn't believe that about himself.

This collection was an entertaining read. I'm prepared to delve back into the fray with Abaddon's Gate.