The writhing tentacles of the nightmarish Sarlacc? No. The gnashing, gaping jaws of the rancor? As if. The menacing Dark Lord of the Sith himself, Darth Vader? Please.
What frightened Peach Momoko the most was… R2-D2 and C-3PO.
All right, she was little.
Peach Momoko grew up to become a world-renowned comic book and cover artist with a special talent for making the grisly gorgeous. In Star Wars Visions – Peach Momoko #1, Peach weaves a wordless tale of a mysterious cult that worships a long-dead Sith lord. In “Inescapable,” her story in Darth Vader: Black, White, and Red #1, a girl is haunted by a ghastly apparition of Darth Vader like you’ve never seen him before. Peach has also painted over 20 covers for Star Wars comics over the last few years, and each one is a stunning masterpiece in itself.
The visionary artist recently chatted with StarWars.com about her life as an artist and the role Star Wars has played in it.
Peach has been drawing and painting pictures her entire life. “I’ve always enjoyed drawing girls and characters like Princess Peach,” she says. It’s a theme that’s carried over into her professional work for Marvel Comics, which included an entire Star Wars variant cover collection in celebration of Women’s History Month in 2023.
Star Wars was also part of her childhood and a memorable experience for the young artist. “I remember seeing R2-D2 and C-3PO [somewhere] and feeling very scared of them,” Peach says. “But Episode I was the first episode that I remember watching on my own. I really enjoyed watching the podrace and the drama between Padmé and Anakin when they were children.”
Peach has always been drawn to characters that speak to her personally — her favorite is Grogu, who reminds her of her dog Momo — but the lived-in feel of the galaxy far, far away also captures her imagination.
“The worldbuilding of Star Wars really appeals to me,” she says. “When I think of sci-fi, I usually see lots of machines and robots [with a] cold image, which is great, too. But Star Wars adds a very organic aesthetic, and I love that.”
There’s an organic feel in much of Peach’s paintings as well, like the viscera scattered throughout her standalone Star Wars stories and her transformation of Darth Vader’s familiar mask into a nightmarish visage of decaying bone and sinew. (It’s exquisite.) Horror pervades much of her work, but there’s a gracefulness to the gore that’s made the artist a fan favorite for her Star Wars stories and beyond.
“I actually don’t think about how to make horror into something beautiful,” she says. “Because I try to paint the creepy subject very carefully, I believe the readers feel [that] approach, and that creates a sense of beauty in the horror aspects.”
But there’s still one Star Wars character who’s all beauty and elegance that Peach would like to paint. “A character I have not painted that I would like to for a cover is Queen Amidala,” says Peach. “I think because she was the character that really spoke to me in Star Wars.”
We think the Queen would approve.
Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025 will be held April 18-20, 2025, at the Makuhari Messe in Japan.
