Women of the Galaxy, authored by Amy Ratcliffe, showcases 75 women from the galaxy far, far way, and while her prose is important, the over 100 new illustrations from 18 different female and non-binary artists is a stunning collection, making this a must own for anyone and any fan across the gender spectrum.
Had Women of the Galaxy solely been an art book, it would be worth a purchase alone, but writer Amy Ratcliffe’s prose both ties it all together and offers meaning and context to the beautiful artwork. Ratcliffe isn’t out to rival Wookieepedia in breath of detail and encompassing of scope, instead she’s succinct and she always manages to distill the most important aspect for each heroine, villainess, or scoundrel despite the brevity. Of course some characters get bigger sections than most, like Ahsoka Tano, Princess Leia, Rey, and even Maz Kanata, but the longer profiles find and expound the heart of each character in much shorter ways than a detailed bio could. Because of that, Ratcliffe makes learning about these characters much less daunting than scouring a Wookieepedia page, opening up more fans, especially female ones, to characters who don’t get as much exposure due to hailing mainly from the books and comics, not the movies and animated series. I was extremely excited to see plenty of novel and comic characters, and even a video game character, on display, starting with my favorite character, Doctor Aphra (of course), but also heroes and villains like Norra Wexley and Rae Sloane from the Aftermath Trilogy, Vi Moradi from Phasma, or Evaan Verlaine and Queen Trios from the comics. Of course I would’ve loved a few more characters, even if this does cover 75, but I felt like the novels (and comics) still got a bit of the short end, as characters like Lady Carise from Bloodline, Brand from Battlefront: Twilight Company, or ISB Commander Alecia Beck from Smuggler’s Run deserve such a spotlight too. This is more of a personal nitpick, as the fact they have to narrow down the list in the first place means we thankfully aren’t hurting for female characters much any more, and those left out could also be subjects of a second volume. I’d love for a second volume, as Ratcliffe’s writing was the perfect complement to the beautiful artwork, especially when she found ways to cover a character’s real-world impact or include comments from creators/actors, rounding out already insightful pieces about these warriors, mothers, bounty hunters, Jedi, Sith, and so much more.
There’s no need to sugarcoat this: the artwork here, from 18 different female and non-binary artists, is stunning. I can’t honestly say there was a single piece that I didn’t find enchanting in some way, and I really appreciated how some characters received multiple pieces of artwork from different artists, painting them in different lights. The artists are: Alice X. Zhang, Amy Beth Christenson, Annie Stoll, Annie Wu, Christina Chung, Cryssy Cheung, Eli Baumgartner, Elsa Charretier, Geneva Bowers, Jen Bartel, Jennifer Aberin Johnson, Jenny Parks, Karen Hallion, Little Corvus, Sara Alfageeh, Sara Kipin, Sarah Wilkinson, and Viv Tanner. Some of the artists I’ve had the pleasure of seeing their work before, while others I have now been introduced to and am very hopeful to see again in some capacity with Star Wars, though this also makes me want to dive into their other works. Whereas the prose will get readers to learn more about the talented women in Star Wars, the artwork should help open up fans to a whole new bunch of artists to keep their eyes on, be it their original work or other licensed work as well. This the true strength of the Women of the Galaxy, as it provides all types of fans, i.e. which don’t have to be exclusively female, more worthy characters and more spectacular artists to invest in.
I adore both Elsa Charretier and Annie Wu’s Doctor Aphra artwork, as it’s fantastic to see my favorite character in different styles, much like she’s been through several different artists in the comics, but each one always manages to retain what makes her fun and surprising. Another big bonus of the artwork, and highlighting characters from the novels, is we have some of the first images of book characters who sometimes go far too long without any illustration of them whatsoever, meaning it was great to see Norra Wexley, Jas Emari, and especially Kyrsta Agate in the “flesh,” as it were, which ties into why I’d wished there’d been more characters from the books. But not everyone who picks up WotG will have read the other materials, so while I’d have appreciated more faces being revealed, the book gives more time to more recognizable names, and understandably so, something more fans might enjoy than those who consume more material.
While never easy, especially in the case of the Women of the Galaxy‘s excellent, stunning, artwork showcase, I’m going to pick my top five pieces of work (with the two Aphra pieces the ultimate top), so these are what I’d have to pick if we take my bias towards Aphra out of the occasion. Actually…let’s make it top ten, because this is honestly way to hard to only pick five. These are seriously all that good. Okay, here’s my top ten (in order of appearance via page number)!
- Sara Kipin’s Ahsoka Tano versus Vader, a unique take on an iconic duel (22)
- Viv Tanner’s Amilyn Holdo, as it’s how I pretty much pictured her in Leia – Princess of Alderaan (28-29)
- Eli Baumgartner’s Daughter, which captures the ancient mural-like quality of the Mortis trilogy, similar to its appearance in Star Wars Rebels‘ final season (56)
- Sara Kipin’s Enfys Nest, unmasked, but holding fast against the next storm coming her way, embodying the character I’m dying to see more of since Solo: A Star Wars Story came out (67)
- Alice X. Zhang’s Jocasta Nu, painting her into a better light, much like her time in the Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith comic series (86)
- Jennifer Aberin Johnson’s Mira Bridger, the haunting portrait portends the character’s end, but also her staunch belief in spreading the word about the injustices of the Empire (132)
- Geneva Bower’s Rey, lifting rocks, one of the better subtle jokes of The Last Jedi (180)
- Sara Alfageeh’s Sabine Wren, for how it made me laugh, as it so perfectly fits something the colorful Mandalorian would get herself into, and enjoy every second of it (188)
- Viv Tanner’s Satine Kryze, which breaks my heart all over again (196)
- Karen Hallion’s Queen Trios, showing her as true royalty…though how the specter of Vader always hovers over her shoulder (219)
Here are a few other things:
- Want a sneak peek on several pieces of artwork? Then check out these great articles about the book: First, Amy Ratcliffe herself shared five works of art about a month before release; Second, Bria LaVorgna was on had at NYCC 2018 at a Women of the Galaxy panel, which Ahsoka Tano moderated!; the official site’s Kristin Baver interviews artists covering unsung heroes.
- Want to know just how many more women Women of the Galaxy could be covering, just look at the 365 Days of Star Wars Women project!
- Some of the details for characters seem to borrow from Legends material, making one wonder if a handy disclaimer would’ve been nice considering how canon could override certain things, unless letting them be included here is akin to okay-ing certain details to be carried over. Nothing significant for the average reader, but something to ponder nonetheless.
Women of the Galaxy is for any fan of Star Wars, old, young, new, male, female, you name it, as the prose highlights some of the unforgettable and important women in the saga, while the art brings them gorgeously to life before reader’s very eyes.
+ Ratcliffe’s succinct, distilled prose
+ ART IS EYE MELTING GOOD…THANK YOU ALL
+ Great to see some faces for the first time
+ Ready for another volume!
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
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