The Princess Tapes

The Princess Tapes is a gen Star Wars anthology with an emphasis on Princess Leia. There were two issues. 
This zine inspired Snowfire. See that zine's first editorial. 
==The Princess Tapes Quoted==
* "Princess Leia and the Warrior Woman" by lazypadawan 
==Summary==
==An Example of Its Cover Preceding Its Content==
In 1991, a fan writes of the cover art and how one shouldn't judge a zine by its cover:
==Issue 1==
The first issue was titled The Princess Tapes: the Prologue. It was published in May 1981 and contains 46 pages. The art is mostly by J.A. Low, one piece is by J.A. Slayton.
From the "Editor's Prerogative": 
* Title Page (1)
* Dedication (2)
* Table of Contents (3)
* Editor's Prerogative by J.A. Low (4)
* Kivarine Speaks, as told to J.A. Low (6)
* Fragments, poetics by J.A. Slayton, visuals by J.A. Low (9)
* Trust Your Feelings, vignette by J.A. Low ("This story was on paper practically word for word as it is now for 2-3 years. Any similarities between parts of it and scenes in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK are purely coincidental.") (13)
* Faces, poem by J.A. Low (22)
* A Family Portfolio, visualizations by J.A. Low (26)
* The Hunt, part one, fiction by J.A. Slayton (34)
* Classified (fictional, multifandom) by Joyce Allen and David Allen (45)
* A Dance for Mother, drawing by J.A. Slayton (46)
 
 
Image:princessprolog-1.jpg|J.A. Low
Image:princessprolog-8.jpg|J.A. Slayton: "A Dance for Mother"
Image:princessprolog-2.jpg|family tree
Image:princessprolog-3.jpg|J.A. Low
Image:princessprolog-4.jpg|J.A. Low
Image:princessprolog-5.jpg|J.A. Low
Image:princessprolog-6.jpg|J.A. Low
Image:princessprolog-7.jpg|J.A. Low
==Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1==
==Issue 2==
The second issue was published in May 1982 (another edition in 1984), printed by offset, stapled, and contains 134 pages. 
It was edited by Judith A. Low and Janice Raye Stuart.
The art is by J. A. Low, Rebecca Walker, Pat O'Neill, Wanda Lybarger, Cathye Faraci, Karen River, Teanna Byerts, Amy Falkowitz, Leah Rosenthal, Carrie Rowles, Signe Landon, Angela-Marie Varesano, Connie Faddis, and Gordon Carleton. 
Five hundred copies were printed in the first run.
This issue has an EXTENSIVE art portfolio which contains artists autobiographies as well as their interpretations (both written and drawn) of who is The Other.
From the editorial by Low: 
From the editorial by Stuart: 
* Dedication (2)
* Table of Contents (3)
* Editor's Prerogative (4)
* Letters of Comment ("We have received a few letters about THE PRINCESS TAPES: THE PROLOGUE, and of course duly thanked the authors thereof for their kind remarks. However, this pretty much was it other than a stray comment here and there in other correspondence. Honest, this is all there were. We have held nothing back. I hope everyone who reads this zine will forgive us for indulging in a few pages of blatant ego-boo. It sure makes the long hours of cross-eyed typing, myopic sketching, and grammatical agonizing worth while. I do want to thank again the people who took the time to express these sentiments. It is greatly appreciated.") (6)
* In Search of a Princess, article by Rebecca M. Meluch (8)
* The Outing by J.A. Low (12) 
* Soliloquy, poem by Juleia (35)
* Family Album: The Organa's Informal Scenes by J.A. Low (36)
* The Hunt, Part Two by J.A. Stayton and J.A. Low (42)
* The Phoenix, the Tiger and the Dragon by Mao An-lo (49)
* The Princess's Old Clothes by Maid from Scratch (extensive how-to article about creating a Leia costume, includes many visuals) (50)
* Triptych: Part One - The Audience by J.A. Low (64)
* "There is Another" -- Art Portfolio (includes many extensive fan artist autobiographies) (73)
* A Tainted Memory by Janice R. Stuart (102)
* The Song of the Light Saber by Juleia (112)
* Strong in the Broken Places by J.A. Low (114) 
* Appendix to the Alliance Manual on Ground Force Operations by Mark Walton (127)
* Classifieds (128)
* Unclassifieds (131)
* Cartoon by J.A. Low (134)
 
Image:princesstapes2-1.jpg|J.A. Low: Leia and her mother Sara
Image:princesstapes2-2.jpg|Pat O'Neill
Image:princesstapes2-3.jpg|from "Family Album: The Organa's Informal Scenes" -- "Sara at the Steam Pool" (Leia's mother) by J.A. Low
Image:princesstapes2-4.jpg|from "Family Album: The Organa's Informal Scenes" -- "Leia's first "tazzie ride" with her grandmother on Sesi"
Image:princesstapes2-5.jpg|from "Family Album: The Organa's Informal Scenes" -- "Leia at the Midspring Fair"
Image:princesstapes2-6.jpg|from "Family Album: The Organa's Informal Scenes" -- "Bail Organa at the Palace Office" (Leia's father)
Image:princesstapes2-7.jpg|from the costuming article, artist is J.A. Low
Image:princesstapes2-8.jpg|from the costuming article, artist is J.A. Low
Image:princesstapes2-9.jpg|from the costuming article, artist is J.A. Low
Image:princesstapes2-10.jpg|from the art portfolio, Karen River envisions The Other 
Image:princesstapes2-11.jpg|from the art portfolio, Wanda Lybarger envisions The Other: "I just.had fun exploring the possibilities. In one illustration, I tossed Han to Yoda (and Yoda thought Luke was stuhhorn...heh, heh.) In the other, Leia gets equal time in a reverse Sleeping Beauty treatment with the torn cables of Fett's (perhaps) crashed ship substituting for the tangled rose briars. Either could be the "Other". I like the idea of Han as the "Other", but I'm not fanatic about it—bring on Boba Fett!"
Image:princesstapes2-12.jpg|from the art portfolio, Teanna Byerts envisions The Other: "This is Rescue II or Somebody Has To Save Our Skins, or "Hey Joe, Did You Hear The Latest Bigfoot Sighting..." I think more in terms of illustration (as telling, or enlarging upon a story) rather than Fine Art... This might be How To Do Leia"Without Really Doing Leia (since we only see a back view). It's also Let's Have The Female Hero Doing Something Heroic, rather than hanging around looking ornamental. The only reason Luke is playing damsel in distress here is because otherwise he'd be using the lightsaber,and brandishing a blaster at the "monster" is just too easy. The dimensional door, held in place by the fallen logs, exists (at least the logs do) about five miles north of where I live. Hopefully, for Luke and Leia, and Chewie, there is some way of closing it... by the looks of the Coke can this may yet be farther from the bright center of the Universe than Tatooine."
 
Image:princesstapes2-14.jpg|from the art portfolio, Amy Falkowitz envisions The Other: "Luke's mother, Jaylahna Skywalker, has been in hiding for many loing years. After the triumph and horrendous revelation of Darth Vader to Luke, Yoda summons her out of hiding, to bring about the beginnings of the revival of the Jedi. She is the the unknown Other: Darth had believed her dead, and is not ready for her return. She is the Phoenix Arisen, summoned out of flame and ash and darkness; she comes with other Jedi of many species to challenge the Dark Lord and redeem herself (for she had indeed yielded to Darth cunning seduction: Luke is the son of the Phoenix and the Black Dragon.) The Phoenix Rises, Returns, and the Light is Reborn."
Image:princesstapes2-15.jpg|from the art portfolio, Leah Rosenthal envisions The Other: "The Mouse Droid is the most obvious choice for The Other. Deeply impressed by the traumatic sight of the two "stormtroopers" escorting the oppressed and chained Chewbacca in Star Wars, he resolved to single-circuitedly bring down the Empire and it's evil leader. When the Deathstar exploded, the gallant Mouse Droid floated in space for six years, and finally, on the day of the final duel between Skywalker and Vader, as the Emperor Palpatine skulked in a doorway, waiting to throw a Force bolt and disable the gallent Jedi from behind, out of the sky plunged THE MOUSE DROID!!! He clobbered the Emperor, saving the galaxy and sacrificing his noble life for the Rebellion. All of which shows that Yoda wasn't whistling up his sleeve when he gave that broad clue, "Judge me by my size, do you? And well you should NOT!"
Image:princesstapes2-16.jpg|from the art portfolio, Gordon Carleton envisions The Other
Image:princesstapes2-17.jpg|from the art portfolio, Leah Rosenthal envisions The Other: "Snorty Bakker appeared into the Wars Universe from our own in a story from FURBALL EXPRESS. He is a generic Terran, despite his mutated appearance, and left Earth in the year 1952, so his speech and mannerisms are those of Americans of the era. When stranded in the Wars Universe by a Warping accident, he joins the Rebellion. His one major asset is an immunity to the Force in this Universe...a slight variation between the Force in the Milky Way and the Wars Galaxy makes any Force manifestations thrown at him go wrong. Thus, if Darth Vader were to try and strangle him, his cape would probably burst into flame, or a dent would appear in the wall instead. The only way Vader could deal with Bakker is on a physical level...and with two master Bounty Hunters as parents, considerable strength and a powerful dislike for anybody who sounds like a Hoover upright in overdrive, Bakker bests him in an ultimate confrontation while Skywalker mops up with Palpatine. 
Image:princesstapes2-13.jpg|from the art portfolio, Signe Landon envisions The Other: "There has been another confrontation between Luke and Vader, and this time Luke is killed; his inexperience and his lack of completed training betrayed him. Leia is with him, also menaced by Vader, and takes Luke's light sabre for defense. To both her and Vader's surprise, she can wield it surprisingly well, perhaps aided by the spirit of Obi-Wan, and she escapes with her life. Her time has come—she is led to or contacted by Yoda, and undergoes the full training of a Jedi, a process requiring several years. She realizes that Luke died, in part, because he had not. The Rebellion struggles on without her suffering loss after loss. She is truly the last hope to defeat Vader and so remove the single most powerful force in the Empire. Finally, her training complete, she faces Vader once again. Older, wiser, a full-fledged Jedi Knight and confident of her power, she is also driven by a very personal hatred for Vader, who destroyed her home, family...and Luke.
Image:princesstapes2-18.jpg|artist is J.A. Lowe
==Reactions and Reviews: Issue 2==
==References==
Category:Star Wars Zines
Category:1981 Zines
Category:1982 Zines
Category:Gen Zines
Category:Shared Universes