That’s what she said!
Creative Staff:
Story: Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti
Art: Emanuela Lupacchino, Ray McCarthy
Colors: Hi-Fi
What They Say:
Starfire’s new job at the aquarium has had some ups and downs, but that’s nothing compared to the adventure that’s about to begin. And this time, it hits close to home-from a galaxy far, far away.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The nature of the Starfire series one that definitely continues to march to the beat of its own drum. In a way that feels good yet disconcerting is that you know that it’s not being written for the trade route because it kind of goes and does what it wants to without thinking of that structure. That has its positives and negatives, but after so many years of having arcs that are compact enough plus an epilogue issue being the norm, something that feels looser and freer like Starfire just has an odd vibe because of that. It’s all in my head yet I can’t help but shake that. And at the same time it draws me to it more because it doesn’t feel like it’s operating under the normal constraints.
And that mostly works to its advantage, though sometimes the disjointed nature and the cuts between sequences can be a bit jarring. The opening to this does a lot of good stuff to humanize Sol more as we get a bit of a look into his past with Maria and there’s a really great sense of passion and playfulness there that makes both of them pretty fun to watch with how they are with each other – both at work and at play. You know things aren’t going to work out right, but it’s a helpful flashback piece. And it serves as a really good companion to how he and Kori are getting along in the present after the big action sequence in this book. Though the two of them certainly aren’t on a date proper, they each bring out good parts of each other and there’s a love of life that they have which is infectious. With so many characters dour faced for the most part, the fact that these two smile so much – more so when with each other – is just a great thing to see.
This installment is all fun and silliness though as it has to deal with Soren at first since he’s nearly killing Sol and Kori won’t let that fly. The encounter is interesting once again as we get a certain perspective on Soren’s past and all the killing he’s involved with that makes it unclear how aware he is of what he’s doing. It’s tough for Kori to absorb and it reinforces why she’s so intent on taking him down. it’s a story that’s still ongoing though as it’s just pushed to the side for a bit in favor of her also having to deal with Kragg the bounty hunter. This serves as a good knock down kind of street fight, though Kragg’s referencing of himself makes me want her to hit him harder, but the big point of it is to make Kori aware that there are events conspiring on Tamaran that are going to require her attention at some point. Though hopefully after she finishes her on the job training at the aquarium.
In Summary:
Starfire continues to be an interesting series to read simply because I have no idea where it’ll go next. I love the quirky sense of humor and the whole fish out of water element that Kori brings to it – and the way that others realize it and kind of just run with it. The story structure still just makes me feel a little weird while reading it and trying to process it, but there’s just so many small moments to like that it’s easy to simply enjoy it. Which is even easier with what the art and color team here does. The book runs the gamut of places, people and situations and just knocks it out of the park with ease. I continue to adore the colors here and it reminds me why I buy this one digitally as the print edition just doesn’t feel anywhere near as beautiful and rich with the colors and details.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: November 11th, 2015
MSRP: $2.99
