Sirens #1

Vikings. Gladiators. Dragons. Sirens.

Writing and art: George Perez
Publisher: BOOM!

George Perez is a goddamn legend. There's no disputing that. This book, while interesting, may be far from legendary however.

Here, for BOOM! Studios, Perez is unleashing a team of interstellar and time traveling maidens who certainly kick ass but who we're left far from understanding at the end of a lofty and wordy first issue.

Over time, through various worlds and battles, we're introduced to these women. One whom rescues a dragon...I think? But really the dragon is an alien that's helping her in the future because a debt is owed? Another who kicks a ton of ass in the greecian coliseum against men and lions alike. Yet another who shows up in a western times and still, more other heroines of undoubtable danger. These ladies, all introduced individually but united by briefly encountering the "big bad" are then brought forward to futuristic times where it seems they will be amassed as a team to stop the end of the universe. I think that's the plot anyways. 

That's the problem here, it's confusing. It's cool, action-packed, pretty, visceral and...confusing. I'll admit that I have no idea what's going on and I'm going to give Perez the benfit of the doubt because it's only an issue 1 but still..there are multiple head scratching moments story-wise.I have no doubt that there is a cool story here but it's absolutely covered in words, dialouge and info-dump.

The art, on the other hand, is awesome. Retro, cool, and thrilling. The colors pop, the character design is badass and still generous to women who haven't always been the best represented in this medium. You would expect no less from the man who pencilied Crisis On Infinite Earths. It may feel outdated at times, and it certainly is, but it has a certain essence that fits this sci-fi/fantasy story in the best ways. Almost, I would say, like a Heavy Metal magazine. The scenes are so detailed and intricate that lackluster character faces are easily forgiven and weird decisions are forgivable simply because of the cool brutality of some of the action scenes. 

This is a story that I can tell Perez desperatly wants to tell and I think he deserves it, too. That being said, he needs to reign it in. Hone it, give it some breathing space and let it work for itself because as it stands right now, this book is scraping by at average and Perez is capable of so much more.