I’VE BEEN SO EXCITED FOR THIS SINCE IT WAS ANNOUNCED! Princess Leia is one of my favorite characters in anything, ever, and was a wonderful woman to look up to as a young girl.

“When Princess Leia Organa was captured by the Empire as a Rebel spy, she never betrayed her convictions, even in the face of the complete destruction of her home world, Alderaan. When her rescue came, she grabbed a blaster and joined the fight, escaping back to the Rebel Alliance and helping strike the biggest blow against the Empire, the destruction of the Death Star. But in the aftermath of that victory, the question remains; what is a princess without a world?”

The comic begins during the award ceremony in A New Hope, and we get to see Leia’s speech there – she wants everyone to be grateful for the victory, but also to remember Alderaan. A lot of public opinion of Leia seems to be that she’s an “ice princess.” We can’t linger here though, because the Empire knows that the base is on Yavin and is going to retaliate. Time to break everything down and move shop. After the ceremony, Luke flirts with Leia which is super awkward for the reader, but makes sense in context.

Admiral Ackbar shows up and is quite funny – I didn’t know he was a part of the rebels before Return of the Jedi. Leia asks General Dodonna (who is busy looking at planetary maps to find a new base) if she can assist with scouting, or leave the area at all, but Dodonna shows her the bounty on her head and refuses to let her out of his sight without a “full military escort.” Leia meets up with a lady Rebel pilot, Evaan, who was a fellow citizen of Alderaan. They clash a bit, because Evaan doesn’t think Leia is offering proper respect to the planet and its citizens (the ice princess thing again), but Leia enlists her to help her escape Yavin IV. There’s a real sense of adventure here that captures Leia’s spirit as well as Evaan’s.

Sometimes the characters are not quite on model, but overall the art is colorful and tends just a bit toward the cartoony side – I enjoyed it. The space art is pretty great too. I’m thrilled that this comic exists. Get it from Comixology, Marvel, or your local comic book store for $3.99. This is going to be a five-issue mini-series. The next issue is out on March 18th!

Written by: Mark Waid
Art and Cover by: Terry Dodson
23 Pages