Today, in all your childhood media conglomerated into one source, Disney’s relationship with Marvel is finally producing Star Wars comics, and Princess Leia is getting her own title!
Way back in the day Marvel was actually the original home of Star Wars comics adaptations, but for many years those licenses belonged to Dark Horse Comics, who most recently brought us the interesting experiment of The Star Wars, a series based on George Lucas’ original drafts for Star Wars rather than the finished product. But with Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm, it was expected that Dark Horse’s licenses would be allowed to lapse and eventually be transferred to Marvel. Well, it’s been almost two years since the Disney/Lucasfilm merger, and at San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel was ready to announce its new Star Wars series.
The initiative will begin with three titles, all picking up right where the Battle of Yavin left off. That’s the destruction of the first Death Star, the end of Star Wars: A New Hope, just so everybody’s on the same page. Jason Aaron and John Cassaday’s Star Wars will cover the adventures of the main character cast. Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larocca’s Star Wars: Darth Vader will showcase the Sith Lord’s struggle to regain the Emperor’s confidence after Yavin. And, finally, Mark Waid and Terry Dodson’s Star Wars: Princess Leia will explore Leia’s elevation to the position of leader of the rebellion, as well as the personal impact of the destruction of her homeworld Alderaan. The good news is, Waid is a great choice for the series. A master of weaving complex themes into a story without defaulting to the grim and gritty, he told Comic Vine that even if he hadn’t been approached by Marvel for the series, Leia would have been his first choice to work with.
She’s such a layered character… Once the Death Star is destroyed and the adrenaline dies down, how does she deal with the loss of her entire world? What are her responsibilities as the Princess of a planet that’s no longer there? Will she choose to rebuild her heritage—and if so, how and with what resources?
He also promises plenty of flashbacks to her life before the Rebellion, and answers to the question of how Leia became the superlatively competent resistance leader she is in the Star Wars movies.
The bad news is that Leia’s comic is the only one of the three that is not planned as an ongoing series. Instead, Star Wars: Princess Leia will last a mere five issues, which is getting all the side-eye from this blogger’s desk. But who knows? Maybe if the mini is shown enough reader-love, Marvel will recognize the audience for an ongoing series. You heard it here first folks: pre-order Star Wars: Princess Leia, coming in March of 2015.
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Published: Jul 29, 2014 12:31 pm