I’d read the previous issue before this comic so I have all the context needed going into this review and wow this is just a bad story. The story Cecil wants to tell in Female Furies would work in many another comic book but not one set on Apokolips. It’s as if the author is not familiar with or simply doesn’t care about the world Jack Kirby created. You see Cecil wants to tell a story dealing with women trying to rise in a patriarchal society and the abuse they deal with as if Apokolips was a cosmic version of the show Mad Men. In the previous issue we were exposed to ridiculous things like Granny Goodness getting #metoo ed Harvey Weinstein style by Darkseid and the Furies having to face challenges like smile contests, bake offs and of course sexual harassment and abuse. That’s just not how Apokolips works. Darkseid is the absolute evil in the DC universe and Apokolips is his throneworld. There are politics but they are the politics of power and Darkseid’s history has never shown him to even be interested in sex beyond producing an heir. On Apokolips is all about currying Darkseid’s favor through brutality or machinations. No one is repressed because of gender, Darkseid only cares is his minions are useful to him are not.
I tried to look at this story the way that Cecil wanted me too but unfortunately it twists all the participants and the world itself so far out of character with almost fifty years of canon that it is impossible for me to resolve this intellectually. There are plenty of great stories one could tell in the Fourth World of female strife or female empowerment but turning Granny Goodness or the Female Furies into “beaten wives”“ who go along with their abuse for the sake of hoping that one day they will be acknowledged is such a disservice to these long established characters that its insulting. It’s a tragic waste of opportunity to do something in the house that Kirby built.
The tale of the Furies abuse at the hands of their male counterparts and Aurelie’s growing rage and PTSD in particular is so heavy handed and overtly politically driven that even if the story wasn’t ruining the image of the furies it would still be difficult to swallow. For example there is even a point when Aurelie’s abuser Willik even goes so far as to call her a “Nasty Woman”“ which is a direct callback to insult Trump threw at Hillary during the election. Things like this aren“t even clever, its cheap and lazy.
ART
The saving grace of this book is the art. Firstly Dan Panosian delivers a classic style cover. It establishes the major conflict in the comic and even has some good old word balloons on it adding to hints at the story within as well as the title of the story inside. You don’t see this sort of approach that often and it was a nice throwback to the days when Kirby was still making comics.
Mello, who’s work I first became aware of on the Plastic Man mini-series, does a great job here. The scenery is rendered well. The figures are dynamic and expressive, as Mello really conveys the raw emotion of the characters involved. Mello also has strong storytelling skills and solid page layouts.
The colors by Hi-Fi are as usual up to their typical standards. The colors are vibrant and clear as well as assisting the art in establishing mood or conveying emotion. Hi-Fi remains one of the best coloring agencies in the business.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Jack Kirby’s Fourth World doesn’t deserve this sort of treatment but the art at least quite good. 2 out of 5!
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
REVIEW: FEMALE FURIES #2
Writer: Cecil Castellucci
Art: Adriana Melo
Colors:Hi-Fi
Cover:Dan Panosian
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