Review: Starfire Vol. 1- Welcome Home

Quick Summary

Pros: The story is playful and fun in a way that many comics are not. Starfire herself is more endearing than she has been in years.

Cons: If you don’t like the comedy here then you will miss out on a big portion of the book’s positives. Some of the jokes are a little overdone.

Overall: Starfire finally has her own series and it is full of fun adventure and great friendships. If you are looking for a serious book about superhero fights over the fate of the universe, this is not for you. However, if you are looking for a low stakes story full of hijinks and comedy then we would highly recommended giving this book a try.

Story

Starfire Vol. 1: Welcome Home is not a typical superhero comic book, in a good way. It focuses less on high stakes action and adventure in favor of comedy and endearing character moments. It honestly feels similar to comics like Archie or Giant Days, just with an added superhero flair. It is the kind of book that DC Comics should do more of because of the way it breaks the mold and changes things up.

This doesn’t mean it is fantastic all around though. Subjective comedy dominates the book in a way that would make the book hard to enjoy if the comedy isn’t to your taste. In addition, some of the book’s jokes are so overused that they become stale no matter your comedic tastes. However, the overall book is a fun and lighthearted romp with a character that fans of DC Comics, especially those who watched the Teen Titans animated series, will enjoy.

(spoilers start here)

The first thing that readers will notice about this book is that this Starfire is vastly different from the Starfire in Red Hood and the Outlaws. She is less angry, seemingly less intelligent, and more focused on simply enjoying life. This might be a little shocking for fans of the previous series but isn’t too much of a negative overall. It is simply different and might take a moment to get used to.

This is, most likely, why I didn’t care much for the beginning of the book. The jokes were a little too forward and everyone’s actions seemed over the top. In addition, the story seemed too thin to provide any long term enjoyment. It mostly just followed Starfire reacting to the world around her.

However, after getting used to the book’s tone, I was able to really get into the book as a whole. Starfire’s somewhat erratic behavior becomes charming, while the other main characters’ actions seem less outlandish. The book also benefits once Atlee is introduced and Starfire’s relationship with the sheriff stabilizes. These characters form the central pillars of a cast that proves to be a delight to watch socialize. There is still action in the book, yet it doesn’t even need to be there, as simply watching the main characters talk with one another is fun enough.

All of this contributes to the book’s overall appeal. However the book’s biggest positive/negative really hinges on the reader’s perception of the comedy. Like all comedy, the perceived quality of the jokes in this book will vary depending on the reader’s sense of humor. I, personally, thought the book was humorous with only a few flaws here and there (discussed below). I especially enjoyed the word play; Starfire’s understanding of common phrases is very literal, leading to some great moments. This, when paired with the rest of the book’s humor, was enough for me and made the book even more enjoyable to read.

The flaws in the comedy start to show as certain jokes are exaggerated and overused. Nearly every issue in the book has at least one scene where a group of men ogle over Starfire in increasingly outlandish fashion. In this way the humor strays from quirky yet believable, to ridiculous. However, these moments are definitely in the minority and didn’t mar my reading experience too greatly.

(spoilers end here)

Art

Emanuela Lupacchino provides a great looking book with an art style perfectly suited for the tone. This is a fun and often silly book, which is something that the artwork needs to reflect. So Lupacchino draws a book that is bold and not bogged down with excessive details; in this way it almost resembles the Teen Titans animated series. All of this is then amplified by the equally bold and bright colors, by Hi-Fi Design, in order to create a wonderful final product. This isn’t necessarily a book that will win any artistic awards on its own, but it is something that looks exactly how it should in a way that enhances the overall reading experience.

Continuity

Starfire Vol. 1: Welcome Home is the first volume of the Starfire series, a brand new series in the DC Universe. Though Starfire herself has her roots in the Red Hood and the Outlaws series, this new comic is extremely divorced from this. Only a few brief callbacks are made to that series and most of these occur within the first few pages. This means readers are free to jump into this series with little or no knowledge of the characters whatsoever.

The story here is continued in Starfire Vol. 2: A Matter of Time (Review).

This volume also references and continues the stories from other comic books, all of which are detailed below:

• Barbara Gordon stating that Starfire tried living on an island already is a reference to her home from Red Hood and the Outlaws. She first shows off this home in Vol. 1: REDemption (Review).
• The first few pages have small references to Starfire’s past relationship with Arsenal. This ended in the last issue of Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol. 7: Last Call (Review).
• The character Atlee makes her first appearance, in this new continuity, within this volume. However, it seems like she has retained her history from the previous continuity as she references events from then. This means that her first appearance in Supergirl #12 (collected in Supergirl Vol. 1: The Girl of Steel) is still relevant.
  • She also references her friendship with Power Girl, something that is catalogued throughout Power Girl: Power Trip.