Reviews: Strong Second Issues from Princess Leia and Silk

A few weeks ago I reviewed the first issues of Darth Vader and Spider-Gwen. Both were really strong debuts, leaving me excited for what was to come, and both have since released second issues that were, well, not as good. That's not to say they were bad – certainly there were superb moments in both – but it felt like both series hit a lull in their second parts. Everything that was great about Darth Vader was present in issue two, but it felt like a detour rather than the continuation of the story set in motion in the first issue. The same can be said about Spider-Gwen. That book seems like its still trying to decide what it's about. It hasn't found a distinct trajectory to carry it forward, or, at least, it hasn't gotten to it yet.

Again, neither of these were bad books, and in the case of Spider-Gwen, Letour and company have a whole alternate universe to set up, so I can understand if it's taking their story a little longer to get moving. It was just interesting to see that two books whose intro issues I really enjoyed seemed to lag on their second outings.

This week sees two more second issues from titles I really enjoyed upon their respective releases, Princess Leia and Silk. Unlike the titles mentioned above, though, these books managed to avoid the second issue slump.

Read more after the jump.

First up, Princess Leia.

The first book set up a really great premise: After destroying Alderaan, the Empire is targeting all the surviving Alderaanians in the galaxy. Princess Leia, with a significant bounty on her head and against the wishes of the Rebel Alliance, takes a ship and decides to rescue her fellow countrymen (planetmen?). She does this with the help of Rogue Squadron pilot and surviving Alderaanian, Evaan. Evaan studied under Leia's mother, is a self-described "confirmed royalist", and doesn't like that Leia is so... un-princess-like.

It's a female odd couple rescue saga in space. Star Wars space.

Issue two picks up right were the last one left off, with Leia and Evaan arriving at Naboo to rescue some Alderaanian musicians. Like the Darth Vader series, this book cannot ignore the events of the prequel series, and Leia's presence on Naboo here achieves a similar reconciliation between the trilogies. There's a touching moment where she encounters a particular monument on the planet that underscores how much has been taken from Leia by the Empire, much of which she isn't even aware of at this point. Little moments of pathos like this are what make Mark Waid such a perfect choice for this book, just as Kieron Gillen's ability to write complex and subversive characters make him ideal for Darth Vader.

But I do have a small problem with this series.

Put bluntly, Leia doesn't seem to know what she's doing. At the end of the first issue, Evaan questions Leia's motives. And she's right to question her. We've seen in the movies that Leia is more than capable of taking charge and handling tough situations, but there's a different between thinking quickly on your feet when your plan goes to hell and running off half-cocked with no plan at all, which is what she's doing here. It's a question that Waid raises, but has yet to answer.

Personally, I think this is the manifestation that Leia's grief is taking. She's not one to sit and weep in self-pity. She's one to pick up a blaster and fight back. But this is pretty reckless, and that recklessness continues in issue two, [SPOILER ALERT] where Leia trusts a guy who might as well have been wearing a sign that read: back-stabbing traitor who's going to sell you out. This wouldn't bother me so much, except that Leia not only lets him get away with it at the end, but makes a deal with him. What is that about?

All that said, the positives certainly outweigh the negatives, and I'll definitely be back for issue three.

Also out today is issue two of Silk.

Admittedly, I was a bit flummoxed when Cindy Moon was introduced in Amazing Spider-Man. Suddenly, there was a new spider-character who was bitten by the same spider as Peter Parker, only no one's ever heard of her, because she's been locked in a bunker for 10 years. Okay. Crazier things have happened in comics, to be sure, but this seemed a like a pretty lazy origin story.

But then I read the first issue of Silk and discovered that this is actually a pretty fascinating character. She's been locked away since she was 17 with only news clips of Spider-Man to keep her company. But now she's out in the world, ready to make a difference, and trying to recall how to be a person. A decade in seclusion has understandably wreaked havoc on her social skills. She's got a job as an intern at a cable news station and a mission – it seems that in the 10 years she's been gone, her entire family has disappeared without a trace.

Essentially, Silk is Oldboy meets Kimmy Schmidt. Meets Spider-Man. Uh, hell yes.

The book is written by Robbie Thompson, whose other job is writing for Supernatural on The CW. This is a guy who knows how to balance hand-wringing melodrama with action. Stacey Lee provides the pencils, and brings a light, slightly cartoony style to the book that feels just right. And then there's Ian Herring's colors. Herring also does the coloring on Ms. Marvel, which is a title I adore, and his work here is just fantastic. Cindy Moon is a character who has had something really traumatic happen to her – much like Leia, now that I think of it – but is trying to reclaim her life in a positive way as she deals with it. She's not always successful. Herring's colors seem to perfectly find that balance between colorful and moody. It adds a great deal to the book.

Princess Leia and Silk both had impressive debuts that set up interesting directions for their characters. In their second issues, they've taken that ball and run with it. I'm excited to see where they take it next.