Star Wars: Princess Leia #001 Review

Sometimes my brother and I go to local comic book shops just to look around and satisfy our not-so-inner geeks. Mostly we get an idea of things we would like to read, to add to our Goodreads or library reserve lists. While looking at the Marvel new releases, something completely awesome caught my eye – a Princess Leia comic! Now, I remembered my brother rambling on about how Marvel would be doing the Star Wars comics now rather than Dark Horse due to Disney’s acquisition of much of the Marvel rights, but I had not heard about the Princess Leia comic. It’s set to be a 5 issue mini-series. They’re offering at least 4 or 5 different covers for the first issue of the comic, but as per my usual preference, I picked up the regular cover.

First, I want to compliment the art style for Princess Leia. The art is beautiful, but not in a cutesy way. Terry Dodson, in comparison to the main Star Wars comic which goes for making the characters look exactly like the actors, makes them look like comic book characters. I like both art choices, but I really love getting to see Dodson’s approach and the way that he makes this look like an artfully styled comic. I love seeing Leia, Luke, Han Solo, R2D2, C3PO, etc, in comic book character form. It’s not that it is something that hasn’t been done before, but the artist’s style really appeals to me and is worth the price of the comic alone, in my opinion.

Second, the story by Mark Waid is great. So great! We start where Episode IV: A New Hope left off with Leia presenting Luke and Han with their medals. People in the crowd keep referring to her as the “Ice Princess,” as she doesn’t seem to be mourning her people and her family in the way that they feel she should. It isn’t that she doesn’t care, only that she is on a mission to keep protecting people. General Dodonna, however, wants to protect her from people who have a bounty out on her. Princess Leia is not one to give up or to stop standing up for what she believes in. Princess Leia joins up with a fellow resident of Alderaan named Evaan to “find, gather and protect every last surviving son and daughter of Alderaan.”

This comic is definitely the kind of thing I’m glad to be seeing more of from Marvel. We have two strong women going out on a mission on their own, with determination, strength, and intelligence. From only looking at the first issue, while it is rated T for teen, I feel it may be a comic that younger girls could enjoy as well. Princess Leia is drawn and portrayed in a way that women and girls can relate to in an age where women are speaking out, and finally beginning to be heard on a larger scale, to see themselves included in relatable ways in comics. This can only be a good thing. Women are heroes, too, and not just eye-candy heroes to be gawked at. My only complaint is that this is a mini-series. Princess Leia is something I’d love to see as a long-term comic series. If you were debating picking up this series, I highly recommend it. The combination of great story and amazing art makes Princess Leia more than worth it to add to your comic book collection.

Author: Jessica Rae

Jessica has a BA in music with an emphasis in voice and spends her day typesetting, editing, writing, and moderating webinars. Jessica primarily reviews anime and comic book series. She also offers insights on various movies, books, games, and other geeky topics.

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