Tag Archives: Star Wars series

Review: Princess Leia #5

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pl05Going into this series, even the creative team must have known that Princess Leia would be a hard sell.  She is a beloved character by most fans of Star Wars, but also in very few fan’s lists of favorite characters.  Instead the relatively dour character is one that has fulfilled the role as the main heroine in a functional way, but not in a way that most people would ever really consider to be fun.  Her role of main character has still often mostly been that of sidekick, and so a series about her own adventures might have seemed a bit out of place.  That she was given a chance to shine on her own is a risk which has paid off for Marvel, the more so that these stories are considered to be official canon of the Star Wars universe.

As the previous issue left off, Leia has promised to group together all Alderaanians who have survived the destruction of their home planet, and this has taken Leia to the extreme of exchanging herself for the traitor in their midst,  Tula, the former agent for the Imperials.  While the reader will know than Star Wars canon set between episodes IV and V featuring Leia means that the character has to live, her fate still feels very much in the danger as she steps into the hands of the Imperial officers, eager to rush her off to the fate which they think that she deserves.  Things do not exactly transpire like this, but the end result is that Leia is able to somewhat fulfill her goal, even to a degree which she had not thought possible, moving beyond prejudice to find a commonality for all.

Though it has been less talked about than the main Star Wars series, this series likely should have been.  It got off to a slow start, but it picked up steam quite quickly, and the entire five issues story reads better together than monthly.  With this final issue, it would also be nice to see the return of Evaan, the rare female character in the universe that is written like what most modern comic readers expect from a female character.  With this fifth and final issue, Leia proved two things as a character, first of all that she can carry a series, and secondly that she should probably given the opportunity to carry one or two more.

Story: Mark Waid Art: Terry Dodson
Story: 9.5 Art: 9.5 Overall: 9.5 Recommendation: Buy

Review: Princess Leia #2

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princessleia002Fans of Star Wars have gone through a few ups and downs as of late.  First they were told that there would be new Star Wars films, but then they were told that the Expanded Universe was no longer canon.  Then they were told that there would be new Star Wars comics from Marvel which would be in continuity, but then they discovered that the comics would be set between episodes IV and V.  This followed with mostly acceptance of the decision to set the stories there, as it was apparently a fertile time for stories to be told, as the first issue of the ongoing Star Wars series was well received.  This carried forward into the Princess Leia series, but for the first time fans met it with neither a high nor a low.  It was neither amazing nor disappointing, and while it was of a high enough quality, it seemed as though fans expected more.

In terms of the character though, she is perhaps the blankest slate of all of them.  She has a rich background thanks to her parents as revealed in episodes I-III, but while she had a prominent role in an action/adventure movie by the standards of the 1970s, by this point in popular culture, she fits a lot more into the princess stereotype than action star.  The first issue of the series sought to break down some of these perceptions of the character, notably that there was always a lot going on in the background of the character that the viewers did not know about.  The problem with the first issue was that it was first necessary to break these perceptions before moving into a place where she could shine on her own.  As in the movies she mostly either tagged along with Han or with Luke on the various plots to overthrow the empire, it was uncommon to see her venture off on her own without reason, but after having been established the action and the fun starts, as Leia tracks down a group of Alderaanians on Naboo and ventures into her back story first to explain more of her own inspirations.

After the relatively flat introduction, this series might have seemed to be heading into the direction of mediocrity, but this second issue evidently does what it needs to do to establish something more for the character.  It may not be exactly the character that the fans are used to, but it doesn’t matter as the character is taken out of the grey zone between those two episodes and thrown into the modern day by doing so.  There are some fun action sequences here but there are also some deeper moments.  It may not be a masterpiece, but the way that this is heading, it will at least serve as an effective modern update for a beloved character.

Story: Mark Waid Art: Terry Dodson
Story: 8.6 Art: 8.6 Overall: 8.6 Recommendation: Buy