Barbarella

Looks new, no problems. Would buy again.

Legendary book

Before Moebius, Druillet, Caza, Corben, and Bilal, there was Forest. In 1962, 15 years before Heavy Metal Magazine (and 12 years before Metal Hurlant), writer-artist Jean-Claude Forest wrote the blueprint for 20th century sci-fi/fantasy comic books. Insane conceptual world-building worthy of Hickman, Remender, or Jodorowsky packs every panel. It constantly spearheads new territory, and features a strong female protagonist who subjugates men to her desires, almost believably. It's actually very forward-thinking in a strange way. She's seldom a victim, there's no Westernized shame plaguing her promiscuity, and what always keeps her in control is her quick-thinking, not her sensuality. There's nothing gratuitous about her playing around, although it does happen often, it's pretty tasteful and conservative by today's standards. The liberality of her character might be what Barbarella is known for, but that aspect of the stories takes a backseat to the jaw-dropping sci-fi world created herein. Every little adventure goes to wildly different places, and within those new and wild worlds, there's a dozen new crazy places or concepts thrown at you. Barbarella as the way for the reader to interface with these worlds is icing on the cake.The ONLY hiccup in an otherwise solid comic is it reads a bit slow and clunky at first, and in this way it's a product of its time. But once you start riding it's wave, it's hard to stop until the book is over and you wish there was more.

As expected.

A lot better than I thought it would be. I was not sure about this purchase but I decided on a whim, I am glad I did. This is similar to the hardback release from 2015 (in terms of story, no idea about size or paper quality etc). The artwork throughout this is crisp and clear and very easy to read. In Black and white throughout (which is no concern, in many ways I prefer black and white). Contains two tales, the original volume and the Wraith of the minute Eater. Does also include a good two page introduction and that is always useful. The story itself is unusual, certainly of its time.

This 150 page reprint of the iconic French strip which started in 1962 is in an A4 format trade paperback, b/w on robust quality paper. There is a short introduction from pretentious movie director Nicholas Winding Refn, and an informative foreword from Paul Gravett.I am a huge fan of the 1968 movie, and I have long wanted to read the source material. It has only taken me 54 years. This book contains the first 2 arcs, the second of which is The Wrath Of The Minute-Eater.So Barbarella is this young women who wends her way through a variety of tricky sci-fi flavoured situations, in the course of which she loses her already skimpy clothing from time to time, and has the occasional sexual encounter.This would have been hugely risque back in the early 60s. Banned in the UK for sure, but the French were always broader minded. This is a good deal less spicy than I expected, however - the sex and nudity in it is quite infrequent and, for the most part, unremarkable and not explicit. But, back then, it would have had people frothing at the mouth.The story is underwhelming sci-fi, lots of made-up names and terms, and a plot which largely consists of Barbarella wandering randomly from one problem into another. I was quite surprised by just how much of the movie was lifted straight off the page, though. Kelley Sue DeConnick's adaptation matches words with images, adds an updated air to it (the horrible "tad bit" puts in an appearance) but the characters are cardboard and don't give her much to work with.The artwork is interesting. We're looking at brush and ink, and first impressions are that it's rough. As I go on, however, I see that anatomy is as accurate as it needs to be - in fact, that's the mark of this work: Forest provides everything that's necessary, and very little that isn't. Stylewise, it reminds me of Ian Gibson's Halo Jones work.I can't see anything about the letterer, but the font is small, on the narrow side, and not that easy to read.I'm glad to have read this - I would have LOVED it back in my teens! - but I won't be seeking out subsequent volumes.