Review: Starfire Vol. 2- A Matter of Time

Quick Summary

Pros: The humor and relaxed pace of the book are still great. The main cast has an incredible friendship that is a joy to watch. Starfire’s sendoff is well done and heartfelt.

Cons: If you didn’t like the humor or style of the last volume then you likely won’t like this one. The romance in this book feels very unnecessary.

Overall: This volume continues the work of the first in delivering charming comedy and wholesome character moments. Conner and Palmioti have created a delightful cast who you can’t help but fall in love with. In addition, they wrap up the series nicely and give it a conclusion that satisfies all around. If you liked the first volume in this series then you’ll love this one.

Story

Starfire Vol. 2: A Matter of Time, by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmioti, proves to be a repeat success. It mirrors the highlights of its predecessor while improving on its flaws. The low stakes action and comedy are still a joy, while the individual friendships and character interactions are better than ever. On top of this, the book delivers a heartwarming and meaningful conclusion to the series which will make you feel like you’re saying goodbye to old friends rather than a cast of characters you only met a few issues ago. Not every storyline is a winner, the romances stand out in this regard, but this charming book is something all fans of the first volume are sure to enjoy.

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The book starts out with a quick visit from one of Starfire’s old flames, Dick Grayson. The pair have some great moments together here and fans of their past relationship will be thrilled to see the two together again. It is also nice to see that a romance between the two wasn’t forced here and that both characters are mature enough to see the reasons why that would not work.

From there, the story has Starfire, Atlee, and Stella travel to Atlee’s homeworld in the underground kingdom of Strata. This portion of the book is mostly pretty carefree and focuses on the relationship between these three girls. If readers didn’t care much for this trio of friends before, this will change their mind, as seeing them interact is incredibly fun and occasionally funny as well. There is some action and suspense here, but the real highlight is the friendship (discussed further below).

Once back on the surface, the story begins saying its goodbyes as Starfire leaves her newfound home. Her decision over leaving was remarkably mature, especially considering the romantic entanglements. Things like these are not often done in comics, at least not without a fight and plenty of drama, so it is pretty refreshing to see this handled so well. Plus, Starfire’s exit is wonderful and shows how much she has grown to care about the people around her.

One of the book’s only real flaws is the romance and relationship drama happening in the book’s background. Sol and Starfire have been a typical “will they/won’t they” couple since the beginning of the series, yet nothing about this relationship has been that great. Sol jumps around from being hung up on his past to being completely fine with little warning, while Starfire only appears to have a passing interest in Sol. In a surprisingly mature move, the two decide they aren’t good for each other and separate, somewhat redeeming the relationship’s negatives. However, the ride up to this point was so that the entire narrative’s inclusion feels unnecessary.

On the plus side, while the book’s romances aren’t that great, the friendships more than make up for it and end up being the clear highlight of this book. Starfire, Atlee, and Stella truly feel like friends, in a way most comics seem unable to do. Their laughter and conversations feel so organic that readers can easily imagine it happening in real life rather than in the world of comic books. The fact that this is the second volume helps in this, as the relationships and dynamics between characters are already established and need no further introduction. Connor and Palmiotti are great with this type of writing, so its nice to see them take on Starfire in this way.

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Art

Once again, Emanuela Lupacchino provides a bright and beautiful looking book that perfectly conforms to the relaxing, island lifestyle found within these pages. His pages look just as good as they did in Welcome Home (Review), so readers know exactly what they are getting into. All in all, there really isn’t much to complain about here.

However, Lupacchino only provides the artwork for about half of this book, the other half is done by Elsa Charretier. The only negative with this is that the switch is a little jarring. Charretier and Lupacchino’s work is very different and the style switch happens without warning, making it somewhat hard to adjust to the new art on display. After adjusting though, one can really appreciate Charretier’s bubbly and fun take on the cast.

Continuity

Starfire Vol. 2: A Matter of Time flows directly out of the events of Starfire Vol. 1: Welcome Home (Review).

This storyline ends here. However, Starfire’s adventures continue in Teen Titans Vol. 1: Damian Knows Best (Review).

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

• Dick Grayson’s current situation is brought up a number of times throughout this book.
  • His perceived “death” is the result of Forever Evil.
  • His current job is explained by Grayson Vol. 1: Agents of Spyral (Review).
• Atlee mentions that she brought a superhero friend to her homeworld once before. This is a reference to Power Girl’s journey there in Power Girl: Power Trip.