Barbarella #12 Review

by Olivier Roth on November 30, 2018

Writer: Mike Carey

Artists: Kenan Yarar & Jorge Fornés

Colorists: Mohan & Celeste Woods

Letterer: Crank!

Published by: Dynamite

 

With this issue, the Barbarella comic comes to an end, and to be quite honest, it’s quite sad. What Mike Carey has been able to accomplish in conjunction with Kenan Yarar and others has been nothing more than awesome. Bringing a European sensibility to the North American comic market in itself should be lauded; portraying a strong, female, main character who gets in and out of scrapes with her wits and a little help from the cutest sidekick in years, makes it all the better.

 

This issue is almost like a greatest hits of the series as Barbarella relieves her last year of adventures - but as always, nothing is quite as it seems. She is jumped from one situation to the next, every time learning a little more about her predicament. As she learns more, she adapts and focuses less on what is around her, and more on what should be around her. That is probably what I liked the most about Carey’s portrayal of Barbarella: she’s very sharp and can figure things out at an almost Sherlockian level. And she does all this with flair.

 

There’s a whole sequence in the middle of the issue that showcase this in great detail that I would say is best seen than described. Also, how does she figure out who is behind it all? Again, pure genius.

 

All in all, this issue was a great way for Carey to celebrate the series and still keep it within context of the actual issue. You couple that with Yarar and Fornés’ amazing pencils and some fantastic colors by Mohan and Woods, and you’ve got yourself a pretty fantastic read.

 

This series is definitely one that has probably gone under the radar for most (as a lot of licensed properties are apt to do), but should end up on some year-end best lists.

P.S. This cover is probably one of my favorites all year. 

Our Score:

9/10

A Look Inside