I continue to love the new Marvel Princess Leia comic book run. Like I mentioned in my first review, it really hits the spot in terms of strong, complicated female characters dealing with real issues.

True, none of us have probably ever experienced the genocide of our entire home planet, but the beauty of this storyline is in watching Leia deal with the expectations placed on her after this happens. We’ve all experienced the weight of expectations that have nothing to do with our true selves. Us women in particular.

In issue #2 Leia continues to thwart the mourning process expected of her. She chooses risk over safety and time with the Alliance in order to go search out her fellow surviving Alderaanians. It’s clear she wouldn’t be able to heal properly knowing her people are still being hunted and executed by the Empire. Her actions feel reckless, heroic, and inevitable at the same time – as if this course of action is the only way forward (through insurmountable pain) for her despite and numerous other options.

So, Leia and Evaan (still dissenting but doggedly following the Princess) track down leads in order to find and rescue Alderaanians galaxy wide. This issue finds them in a club working to free a group of Alderaanian singers.

While overall issue #2 isn’t quite the stunner that #1 is, it moves the story forward successfully and keeps the character development on a steady track. It also opens the story up a bit with more flashbacks to Leia’s childhood and the further breakdown of Evaan’s dislike of the Princess. I love that both characters stand firmly on flawed beliefs in this issue. This is the beginning in what I assume will be a long journey towards trusting and needing one another even across their party lines.

This is the friendship I’m excited to see explored throughout the rest of the series. The prospect of women working together toward an ultimate goal, while stubbornly disagreeing on almost every major decision along the way, is powerful, unique, and needed.

In a culture that seems to laud snap judgments and moral high ground, this storyline takes its time in discovering two characters inextricably linked, yet undeniably different. This clash of worldviews is handled in a way that I wish was more prevalent in real life, with kindness and context.

I can’t wait for issue #3. (Hopefully, we will learn more about Evaan next time).

Stay tuned – I’ll have more recaps and musings next month!