Earthgov Special Agent Jury Quire’s being held prisoner on the planet Métrafusion, fighting her imprisonment even as she’s scheduled to be executed. Meanwhile, Barbarella’s on a distant mysterious planet, so desperate to save Jury that she’s going to take the riskiest gamble ever. If the gamble fails, the whole galaxy is lost. So begins the penultimate issue of the latest Barbarella miniseries, Barbarella #4 written by Blake Northcott with art and colors by Anna Morozova of Magnus Arts.
I’ve been loving the writer/artist team of Blake Northcott and Anna Morozova on Barbarella, and I hope they do many more miniseries in the future. Their work captures the feel of the classic Jean-Claude Forest Barbarella strips (as well as the classic Jane Fonda film) more closely than any other team has managed to do in the past. Morozova’s art is beautifully detailed and her colors make the book feel positively psychedelic. The pages are infused with deep purple, red, yellow and blue, making the panels look very much like ’60s pop-art. As I was reading this issue, I was incredibly tempted to drop a needle on my vinyl copy of Strawberry Alarm Clock’s “Incense & Peppermints” and just groove to the music as I reread the book.
As dazzling as Barbarella’s character design is, I’m equally intrigued by agent Jury Quire’s look. With her sleek jumpsuit (complemented by thigh-high boots), an angular elvish face and tendrils of purplish hair in two patches on her head, she’s a striking character. Even though we only briefly spend time with her this issue, she leaves an impact as she refuses to submit to her Fu Manchu-looking jailer, who’s practically drooling at the chance to execute her.
If Jury manages to escape this death trap, dare I hope she might get spun off into her own miniseries one day?
Dynamite Entertainment
As for Barbarella (it is her book, after all), I enjoy how Northcott writes her as someone who’s all about love, harmony and joy but isn’t afraid to ignite a revolution when someone wants to throw the galactic order into disarray. Sure, a hug’s great, but a punch and a hot blaster can really drive a point home. One of the main themes running throughout the book is the eternal struggle between the haves and the have-nots. The planet Alpha Prime was a planet where the gap between the rich and the working class was as wide as the Grand Canyon.
When they were relocated to the planet where Barbarella is now trapped, the populace was kept in check by Gynosis Ethera. Gynosis Ethera used technology that can zombify the population of any world via diodes that, once placed on a being’s forehead, saps their memories and puts them into a totally hypnotic state where they’re easily controlled, lost in their individual fantasy worlds. Because why would a corrupt government settle for anything but complete mindless obedience from everyone? Now Genosis Ethera wants to expand their technology to other worlds, but Barbarella is determined to stop them.
With a great supporting cast of characters, visually stunning art and a compelling and fun lead character in Barbarella, this miniseries has delivered greatness every issue. Do yourself a favor and pick up this issue (as well as the first three issues) and get caught up on the story before next issue’s finale.
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