“The Gang Is All Here”
Creative Staff:
Story: Sarah Hoyt
Art: Madibek Musabekov
Colors: Ivan Nunes
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
What They Say:
This is it – the big battle you’ve been waiting for! Barbarella and the Brotherhood have launched a covert strike on Quryx, home of the Lady. Of course, they’re walking into a trap, and brute force is no match for a crazed tyrant with an army of thousands! But where strategy fails, the truth behind the Lady’s actions may prevail…though at what cost? After all, what is an ending but a new beginning? Sci-fi meets the human condition on a battlefield like no other in this explosive final chapter!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The final issue of this run thankfully tells us that there’s more coming in the fall of this year and one of my biggest fears is allayed. Sarah Hoyt has turned in a very strong, engaging, and enjoyable read in this ten-issue series that I really dreaded the thought of losing them as the writer behind it, especially with such a great art team bringing it about visually. This series did a great job of connecting with past works while still feeling connected to the film in its own way. Hoyt is again joined by Madibek Musabekov and it’s great to have their work again as they produce such a drop-dead gorgeous book. I really cannot say enough good things about the look of this series with what they bring to the page here. With Ivan Nunes coloring, the designs look great for the characters with a kind of presence and sensuality that really works and there’s a good look to the worldbuilding that’s going on here throughout.
While the ending of this issue sets us up for what’s to come next, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it started at a new first issue, most of what we get here wraps up events with the Lady. And it’s a bit convoluted at times though it makes sense when you step back just a bit further. Initially, it’s all about Lady showing that she has the upperhand here, basically killing Taln in front of everyone and having her robots haul off Barbarella for the torture that’s to come while the rest of the group are left to die by drowning. What Lady was either unaware of or counting on, depending on your point of view, was that Barbarella would break free and she would shift things so that Lady could take on her role. While Barbarella ends up down below with Jaxstar, Lady works with the revived Taln to save the others and then get off-world as quickly as they can. It makes sense and gives Lady exactly what she wants to move to the next level of her plan.
The problem is that upon getting on the ship. She doesn’t know about George and utterly panics, killing George. Which is when the real Barbarella shows up, having made promises to Jaxstar and learning of Lady’s past that involves Barbarella and Pygar. The exploration of love turned to shame and grief which put her on this path makes sense, a lover scorned that was never actually a lover, has pushed Lady into so many dark deeds. And it’s made Barbarella emotional in a way we rarely see as she takes down Lady and likely comes close to killing her. It’s a solid wrap-up that we get from here as it delves into what Vix learns about their mission and the discovery of the bigger events coming – which Lady was backed by without knowing the true scale of. It’s the end of the first half of a larger fight.
In Summary:
Knowing more is coming and that it’s part of a larger story has me excited to see what Sarah Hoyt has in store for us. This issue wraps up things with Lady really well as it connects a few things from the past, shows where Barbarella is in the here and now, and just how far she’ll go to protect her friends. It’s a solid story that I imagine will read even better in full and it’s filled with gorgeous artwork and some great covers. I love this series immensely as a whole and really enjoyed how it came together in the end.
Grade: B+
Series Grade: A
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: June 8th, 2022
MSRP: $3.99
