Barbarella #3 // Review
She’s made it off Planet V. She’s enjoying a bit of weightlessness in her ship as she finds herself between major crises. The ship’s AI is confused. If the artificial gravity is in perfect working order, why would she want it off? She doesn’t have a whole lot of time to explain in Barbarella #3. Writer Blake Northcott continues a fun run with the beloved character. The visuals come to the page courtesy of Anna Morozova of Magnus Arts. Color illuminates the visuals under the power of colorist Werner Sanchez.
And then Barbarella lands on her head. Jury Quire is contacting her via video call. Evidently she’s on Planet Metrafusion. Security droids on that planet had arrested her and an associate and she needs Barbarella’s help in order to clear-up the situation. There may be a political uprising involved and things may be looking pretty grim for everyone involved. Quire is in a particularly rough spot and it appears as though Metrafusion may be directly involved in the mess. If Barbarella can’t prove this, it’s going to be a very short trial for Quire with only two possible outcomes: release or “deletion.” Things are bound to get complicated when Barabarella goes to investigate the situation.
Northcott is taking a pretty standard international espionage type of spy story and lovingly grafting it onto the time-honored tradition of western-inspired space fantasy. Barbarella is fun in that she has a very sharp eye towards balance between business and please in her life and actually comes across as a very assertive hero who exists on multiple levels. All too often heroes are cast in simplicity. Barbarella is allowed to have carnal desires and she’s allowed to spend time with them without it being a question of power or darkness or anything like that. It’s actually kind of refreshing.
Morozova has a very firm approach to the action that feels beautiful from cover to cover. There isn’t as much room for fluid action, so it’s mostly thoughtful drama that hits the page in the course of the issue. Morozova brings the drama to the page with gorgeously contemplative moments and movements that feel quite comfortable on the page. Barbarella is given a firmly grounded look of competence and compassion throughout the isse that serves as a solid emotional center for the story. Sanchez’s colors are rich and vibrant without being overly garish. The colors add depth and luminosity to the heart of a fun issue.
The current Barbarella series seems to have a really firm grasp of what works on the page in this particular world in this particular genre for this particular character. It all feeels quite pleasantly put together from premise to dialogue to drama to the way the art frames the action and the way that the colors enhance a potentially immersive depth. It all feels like it’s more or less perfectly poised as Northcott and company advance to the second major story arc in the series.
