Review: Barbarella - Centre Cannot Hold #3

When it comes to cheesecake characters, I am not sure that anyone is as famous, or should that be infamous, as Barbarella. For a one stop, should that be one strip, movie she has lasted the test of time. With Dynamite having launched a number of her series, Barbarella is getting a while new range of fans.

Following her recent escape, Barbarella’s companion, Vix, was left behind. Now its back into the Architect’s clutches to save her friend. But stranded as she is, can Barbarella trust anyone?

Sarah Hoyt is a sci-fi writer of repute, having authored more than a huge number of books and stories. It is with this sci-fi setting I think things start to go awry. There are a number of grandiose ideas to back up some of the happenstance elements of the book. In doing so, Hoyt ends up explaining rather a lot. All this exposition, not sex position unfortunately, is more bored rather than the bawd that the character is known for. This then leads me to ask, why write a about a sex kitten character and then not apply any sex kitten to it. It’s kind of like getting a pepperoni pizza with no pepperoni; sure the base is nice enough, but WHERE IS THE PEPPERONI? truth be told, I believe that the main fault of the book land squarely at Dynamites feet. Sex and sci-fi can work, just look at Vault Comics Money Shot as an example. Here Dynamite have clothed their heroine in the drapery of a cumbersome story that is circular in nature.

Thankfully the art from Riccardo Bogani is on point, with the usual formfitting suit that has become the norm looking slightly tighter and zippered lower than I expected. Bogani also work does a great job of the facial elements for our heroine, with strong lines used for close panels. There are a few issues in the longer lens shots, where faces can change dramastically; does Barbarella have a straight nose or button nose, thin lips or full. If you like your Barbarella to look cheesecake, then Bogani is on to serve you cheesecake on a platter. The colors from Werner Sanchez are brilliant, capturing the idea of alien worlds in their vibrancy. There are clever techniques on show regarding the hologram and the after effects of the hourglass engine are a good contrast to detail laden earlier pages. Letterer Carlos M. Mangual does a fantastic job ensuring that the sheer denseness of the script does not affect the art. of course there are a raft of covers, it’s buyer choice!

Bored over bawd is a perfect way to describe this book. Dynamite should look at the target audience for this character, raise the books rating and give the Barbarella fans a book that encapsulates their heroine, not turning her into an impotent caricature of herself.

Writing – 2.5 Stars
Art – 3.5 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars

Overall – 3 Stars

Written by; Sarah Hoyt
Art by; Riccardo Bogani
Colors by; Werner Sanchez
Letters by; Carlos M. Mangual
Variant Covers by; Various
Published by; Dynamite Entertainment

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network