Review – Star Wars: Forces of Destiny #2 (IDW Publishing)

Publisher: IDW Publishing
Writer: Jody Houser
Artists: Arianna Florean, Adele Matera, Tom B Long
Release Date: 10^th January 2018

I’m not one to get too political when I’m writing comic reviews, unless it’s something to do with Alan Moore, but there’s no denying that in today’s society, it’s pretty hard out there for girls in pop culture.

It’s hard for a young lady to find any semblance of a decent role model, with a huge amount of female characters either overly sexualised or reduced to some form of stereotypical ‘damsel in distress’. Even in comics and superhero films, most girls are squeezed into tight leather and Photoshopped to ridiculous proportions on movie posters (for an example, look at any poster with Black Widow on it.)

This is one of the reasons that the new Star Wars films, while controversial in many ways, have been widely praised, not just for featuring strong female characters, but for treating them as equal – and in many cases better – than their male counterparts. Case in point, the character of Rey, an unsuspecting heroine who finds herself wrapped up in a galaxy-spanning adventure against the First Order simply by helping a lost droid find its owner.

And that’s what this and the other issues of Star Wars: Forces of Destiny are doing – providing stories for kids to latch onto and become inspired by. It’s a simple little addition to the story of Rey on Jakku, as she finds and rescues BB-8 and attempts to take him back to his owner to continue his so-called secret mission.

It reads and acts just like a bedtime story for children. A quaint little story told from the perspective of Rey as she and BB-8 dodge alien monsters and scavengers. Its Disney-influenced cartoony style is warm and colourful and really gave me feel that nice tingly feeling I got when I first watched The Force Awakens two years ago.

Houser, Florean, Matera and Long use this issue to remind us all just what the new Trilogy is all about – passing the torch from one generation to the next. Sharing that love of a galaxy far, far away with new generation of kids in desperate need of strong role models in a classic tale of good versus evil. I can see this as something a die-hard Star Wars loving parent would buy their child to read and within a day they’d already be doing her hair like Rey and pestering the folks for the rest of the costume.

This is clearly not aimed at adults, but does provide a lovely little reminder of why we all got into this fantastic universe in the first place. It’s also an absolute must buy to help convert younger siblings or children to the nerdy side of the Force.

Rating: 4/5.

PREVIEW ARTWORK
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