Barbarella: The Center Cannot Hold #1 Review

 

Writer: Sarah Hoyt

Artist: Riccardo Bogani

Colorist: Werner Sanchez

Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual

Cover Artists: Derrick Chew

Publisher: Dynamite

Price: $3.99

Release Date: March 1, 2023

War is coming! After quietly guiding civilizations on countless worlds, the Architects intend to destroy the Unnamable! Can Barbarella, her furry friend Vix, and the angelic Taln sue for peace? Let’s warp into Barbarella: The Center Cannot Hold #1 and find out!

Story

The trio’s peace mission gets off to a shaky start. First, the Architects fling asteroids at their spaceship. Then a tractor beam incapacitates Taln. After the Architects allow Barbarella and Vix to land, they imprison Barbarella and commend Vix. The latter seems lost: Vix’s world seems changed. Meanwhile, Barbarella must use all her feminine wiles to escape her cell and convince the Architects that she doesn’t carry a deadly disease.

Art

While Derrick Chew’s cover art reminds me of Rose Tyler on Doctor Who, Riccardo Bogani’s interior art seems more like Jane Fonda’s portrayal in the 1968 movie. She’s all pleasing curves and gently rounded contours. Her poise and bearing sustain our belief that she will prevail. All sharp lines and scrawny, Vix looks a little like Mike Mignola’s Blackjack O’Hare but feels more like a porg from Luke’s island home in The Last Jedi.

Speaking of Marvelous rabbit characters, you’ll meet another in this issue. A fusion of Howard Chaykin’s Jaxxon and Sean Connery’s (or Roger Moore’s) James Bond, he’s just one of many races that populate the Architect’s world. There’s so much more that I could discuss, such as Taln’s detailed realism, the Architect’s high-tech laboratories and Buck Rogers-like hallways, and the tree that envelops their world. But I think I’ll leave you to discover that when you read Barbarella: The Center Cannot Hold #1.

Final Thoughts

Appealing imagery and an amusing narrative propel you through Barbarella: The Center Cannot Hold #1. With the second issue arriving in stores this Wednesday, March 29, there’s still time to leap into this fanciful space odyssey. It’s more family-friendly than the original movie, but then, “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in the ‘60s anymore.”

Rating 8/10

To hear another reviewer’s thoughts, view more covers, and learn more about Barbarella’s comic book history, see the review by KcScribbles at Comic Book Dispatch.