Writers: Amanda Conner & Jimmy Palmiotti
Artist: Emanuela Lupacchino
Collects Starfire #1-6, DC Sneak Peek: Starfire #1
Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti have done it again! The very same creative team that brought us the awesome Harley Quinn monthly – and its several satellite mini-series – have hit another home run with Starfire. This inaugural volume is about as lovable as Harley’s series, yet is in no way a rehash. Sure, the protagonist finds herself relocating to a new city (Key West, in this case) and the tone is a bit lighter, but this series has its own identity.
Emanuela Lupacchino lends some artwork that is vibrant, emotive, and perfectly fits the book’s tone. Every page is a visual feast and I feel she can do for Starfire what John Timms and Chad Hardin did for Harley.
If you are unfamiliar with the titular heroine, fear not because her background is succinctly detailed near the beginning of the read; it gives just enough information and doesn’t bog down the main narrative. I guess you could say unfamiliarity is a running theme as Kori has no filter for sarcasm and is ignorant of many Earth customs and idioms. It’s actually quite charming.
As usual, Conner and Palmiotti prove they have quite the knack for developing a supporting cast: Kori makes new best friends in Stella and Atlee (who is sort of a kindred spirit), as well as meeting Sol, a possible love interest. In fact, you could probably remove the superheroics and this book would still stand on its own thanks to the incredible dialogue and believable characters.
As you can probably tell, this book is a great deal of fun and I promise it has just the right amount of action to balance it out. Kori does her share of superhero-ing (don’t bother looking for that in a dictionary), be it helping out the locals during a relentless hurricane or putting fists to some bad guys when it’s necessary.
I guess that brings us to the one area that I wasn’t too impressed with – the villains. While they are fleshed out, I just didn’t find them to be all that special. At least one of them hints at a possible threat to come that will bring its share of drama with it.
As someone who was admittedly largely unfamiliar with Starfire before reading this book, I can honestly say that Conner and Palmiotti have once again taken a character that I previously had little interest in and made a new fan. I look forward to reading the next volume.
