Preview–Refreshing new Barbarella reboot goes meta

Review by C.J. Bunce

After an earlier, year-long reboot series, a holiday special, and a great mash-up with Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Dejah Thoris, space vixen Barbarella got a new monthly series at Dynamite Entertainment back in 2021 (previewed here at borg). Following writers Mike Carey, Jean-Marc Lofficier, Leah Williams, and Sarah Hoyt, two women will helm both the writing and artistic duties of the next reboot of Barbarella beginning next week. Blake Northcott will be writing the scripts with Anna Morozova’s illustrations on a monthly series. Despite the previous, more adult-themed incarnations of Barbarella, this story is toned down–still about the sexy space traveler, with the racy bits only suggestive. As a major twist the series will have a “meta” element to infuse some humor with the action. Think of it like the omnipotent and invasive Q of Star Trek if he decided to fiddle with Barbarella’s exploits.

Check out covers and this preview of the first issue of the new Barbarella series below.

Don’t worry, this is still the risqué Barbarella of the Jean-Claude Forest 1960s comics, and also not quite the cutesy space-farer of the Dejas Thoris crossover series. Morozova draws the heroine with a unique look, but nothing that conjures any past incarnation, like Jane Fonda’s famous movie version.

Barbarella is pulled from her normal life in space with traveling alien companion Vix by some narrator character she can’t yet see. The purpose? Apparently some kind of “hero’s journey” televised in the style of The Truman Show or Philip K. Dick’s Time Out of Joint–across the galaxy. The first issue merely sets up the quirky setting for the series, revealing a character both in charge of her life while also getting manipulated in ways she’s not happy with.

The first issue looks good–a colorful, solid beginning to a new science fiction plot–and the fresh approach will bring readers back for more. Here is the preview from Issue #1:

Colorist on the series is Werner Sanchez and lettering is by Carlos Mangual. Here are the five base cover variants, with other versions of these images available, including “without logo” versions, a cosplay cover, and a sketch cover: