Dynamite Entertainment 2018
Written by Meredith Finch
Illustrated by Vicente Cifuentes
Coloured by Triona Farrell
Lettered by Cardinal Rae
While I am not a Xena fanboy I do know enough about the franchise to know what we’re seeing here and I for one like the exploration of this time in her life. Her meeting Gabrielle and the reaction the two women have towards one another is something that I am so far finding enjoyable. We are going to see a Xena that isn’t so far removed from her days as a Warlord as she tries to walk the road to redemption which is actually a spectacular time for exploring her character from a different perspective.
Meredith is leaving a good impression with me so far. I like the way that this book is structured and how she’s creates the ebb & flow of not only establishing a timeline here but to get us involved in the era and how we see these two. The opening for example is spectacular and I like seeing Xena see herself as she was with this incredulous feeling about it. One of the things people are oft to say is that they don’t see their behaviour as all that bad when the reality is much different and far worse than they know. Unless they have a video showing them the difference they’ll never know and here Meredith takes us and Xena to a place she’s not prepared to go but has to.
I am also pretty impressed with the dialogue and characterisation that we’re seeing here. The fact that Gabrielle is as green as newborn fowl is superbly done. That she gets on Xena’s nerves with her incessant talking is something that else that I like because it shows us a lot about both of them without having to do a lot of narrative. Actually the lack of narrative boxes is a huge bonus and it took me a minute to realise that this was happening here so that all the story is relayed through dialogue and actions which makes this that much more impressive to me.
Vicente’s work on the interiors here is so good. The attention to detail here is spectacular and the varying weight of the linework here makes for some incredibly viewing. The way that we see the detail in the clothing or stubble on someone’s face it all has this quality to it that envelops you into the story. The utilisation of backgrounds puts you into the story more fully as it expands what we see as well as almost becomes a part of the story as it’s own character. The use of page layouts here and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows off his eye for storytelling. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Triona’s contribution to this as well. She is able to really use light sources and colour gradation as well as creating a great mood for the scenes they are in.
For me this is a great book I find it to be well written as well as nicely executed behind a premise that is solid. Explore Xena’s life while beginning her road to becoming the woman we know she’ll be. It is the right time to start off and while getting to explore the characters before they were well established with one another. We get a feeling of hope and promise in what we see so far that this journey will end up where we already know it has.
Xena Warrior Princess is back and ready to be a badass warrior for the good of the world and I am ready to join her.