STARFIRE #1 Review: It's About Time They Got This Right
Written by: Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti
Pencils by: Emanuela Lupacchino
Colors by: HI-FI - Inks by: Ray McCarthy
For Koriand’r, it’s a new lease on life. Freed from her previous one-note eye candy incarnation, the sun-hued warrior known as Starfire has a real chance this time to hit the ground running. The new creative team of fan favorites Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti seem to feel the same way, and they waste no time in explaining how she got here and why it matters.
Past takes on the character have attempted to encapsulate her fearlessness with varying results. Her last outing went heavy on the sexual aspects of her character, which to an extent made sense, as her race is uninhibited in such things. Unfortunately, it didn’t have enough of anything else to balance that out. Fast forward to now, and Koriand’r has quickly vaulted to one of my favorite characters in the current DCU. Conner and Palmiotti build outward, starting with a concise 2 page origin, and then move into the now. I’m sure there will be things fleshed out in the future, but anyone, no matter their familiarity with past incarnations or versions of the character, can easily pick this book up and understand who she is. I wish every new book handled things this way.
It is also pleasing that the two leading characters of the book are such strong women. Stella Gomez (the sheriff), her handler of sorts, is tough but relatable. As for Starfire, she’s a lovable mix of power, wonder, empathy, and forwardness. In some ways this take on Starfire reminds me of what I loved about Allan Heinberg's Wonder Woman run (pre new 52). There is a charming innocence here as she learns about life on earth, but it never devolves to a place where she is perceived as unintelligent or ditzy. It’s a hard balance to keep, but I feel they walk that line superbly well here.
Small scenes like when she goes to pay for her new clothes and just hands all her money over (which Stella is able to catch), or tender moments of empathy such as when they are talking about a recent passing in Stella's life. Little things like this happen throughout, and are utterly endearing. The times her upfront nature does come into play, it’s again handled with care and fun, rather than just to elicit a reaction from a hormonal teenage boy. This is an aspect of her character, but it does not solely define her character, and that is what this book demonstrates in spades.
While I wouldn’t call her costume conservative, it covers a great deal more than her previous attire. As for the art itself, it is just fantastic. I wasn't familiar with Emanuela Lupacchino's work before Starfire, but that is a thing of the past. Along with her lovely pencils the coloring of HI-FI helps to make every panel pop off the page. I imagine it's been fun to have an extended color palette to work with. I mean, the main character is bright orange, so muted colors are just not allowed here.
I love how DC is handling this book, and I hope to see good things for Starfire in the future. See you soon for issue #2.
