Nothing like a kiss that brings back the memories of your dead lover.
Creative Staff:
Story: Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti
Art: Emanuela Lupacchino, Ray McCarthy
Colors: Hi-Fi
What They Say:
It’s the final showdown between Starfire and the wicked Soren Hook! As the battle reaches its end, a familiar face arrives in Key West! Will sparks fly when Kori is reunited with Dick Grayson?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Starfire continues to move along the beat of its own drum and there’s definitely a lot of appeal in that. Palmiotti and Conner have put together a fun and quirky book that makes its own leaps and has managed to largely stay alone with little in the way of big connections to other books. For me, not wanting to get caught up in events and sprawling storylines while still being engaged with fun characters, this is a huge plus. This installment brings us a little crossover with the Grayson series, which I did read the first collection of and didn’t care for in the slightest. Which pained me as I’ve long liked the character of Dick Grayson going back to his Teen Titan days and moving on from the world of the bat.
Like most of the installments in this series, there are a few things going on at once and the balance is just a little awkward. The first half of it is a lot of fun as we get Kori and Sol going out on a date and just having a good time. The actual date itself doesn’t get too much attention as they do one of those short evening cruises that populates the Keys, but it’s some fun time together. The lead-up to it is amusing as we get the standard lack of real communication between them as there are a lot of language missteps, but there’s some fun in seeing the way that plays out. Where it takes a dark turn, however, is when the two do kiss at the sunset moment and the memories of the loss of his ex, Maria, come to the surface. It’s a piece of who Kori is that this happens and it’s really disconcerting with how it hits until you realize what it is that’s going on. I almost felt like I missed a page.
The action side of the issue is where Dick comes in as he’s working a new job as part of his Grayson series in tracking down a target with high tech weapon components that need to be taken out and analyzed. Naturally, the target ends up on the same boat so there’s chaos and confusion as Dick is made by others and his cover is blown as Kori can see through it. This opens up a lot of weirdness because it was never made clear, at least to me, where things stood between them and where Kori was prior to this series. It really felt out of continuity in a way but this brings it back in firmly. The two work well together, even with Kori suddenly discovering she has a pint sized light fairy friend that’s helping her out (which feels very out of left field), and the action is fun, brisk and fluid thanks to the consistently strong art team here. It just felt like some of it needed a whole other installment of context before it, particularly with the way it ends between Kori and Dick.
In Summary:
I continue to enjoy the Starfire series for its strong visual presentation and the humor that it brings to the table, but I’m also ambivalent about the title as a whole. Unlike their Harley Quinn work, this series feels a little less defined and a little bit listless and meandering. The structural choices in how issues unfold is interesting and I do like it, and I’m not looking for a grand storyline here, but it does feel like it hasn’t found the right balance yet with what it wants to do when it gets serious versus silly as well as what level of involvement the supporting cast will have – particularly as some feel like they’ve been shuffled off for a while. There’s definitely fun to be had here, but that’s more in the first half than the second half. And even that’s a little odd considering the consequences of that kiss.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: December 9th, 2015
MSRP: $2.99
