This superhero comic book is so... nice. That's what I would call 'Starfire, Vol. 1: Welcome Home' in one word.
It's just such a breath of fresh air to dive into something superhero related these days that is positive, where people are nice, and isn’t "dark and gritty" (which has quickly become synonymous with “lazy and boring”) and caught up in catering to stunted male adolescent power fantasies. Don't get me wrong, there exist excellent serious, realistic storylines about superheroes - ones that deconstruct its tropes with a carefully-planned and penned craft - and 'Starfire, Vol. 1' does contain deep, nuanced scenes plus violent moments. But it overall gave me a good feeling while reading.
The reader enters and explores a new environment along with Starfire, aka Koriand'r, aka Kori. The alien princess from Tamaran wishes to learn more about life on earth on her own, without any superhero business getting in her way. Thanks to some help and advice from Superman, Kori makes her new home in Key West, a small sunny coastal town - just her style! She meets new friends (the residents have never heard of her for some bizarre reason, though there are a lot of superheroes in the DCU), and she must earn a living by finding work (relatable!). But she also finds that trouble is always going to be looking for her -be it natural disasters, underground monsters, mutants, or alien threats - no matter how much she may enjoy living like a "normal human".
The artwork is lovely; one of the most colourful I've seen in comics in recent years, fitting the setting and the benign mood of the main character perfectly. It does show off how beautiful Starfire is without overtly sexualising her (aside from her bare midriff and legs, and occasional shower bits). With her long, fiery hair and array of facial expressions (the drastic ones are especially well drawn), she clearly has big aspirations and will not hide anything. Where her sexuality is concerned she possesses her own agency and is comfortable and confident about herself. That’s a good thing.
Starfire's personality here resembles her 'Teen Titans' animated counterpart, which will more than likely please her fans who grew up watching that show. She's really funny in her observations, and mimicking human speech mostly picked up from TV. Like an angel sent from Heaven to pass judgement, she is insightful: loving how diverse the human race is. Caring and compassionate towards any living thing, Kori is beautiful on the inside as well as out. As her own hero she gets to shine in a number of ways, and despite the weight of the responsibility of her powers and her place on earth and on Tamaran, she will try to find peaceful solutions to large scale attacks.
How great is it that a comic featuring Starfire - in her own solo series - remembers to give her a character and isn't distracted by her obvious sex appeal! She isn’t a bland object of wish fulfilment for the presumed straight male reader. Like, seriously, how many exploitative nude drawings (done professionally) of her are there? The excuse of her bare skin absorbing the sun’s rays thereby boosting her powers is an old, poor one. Even for an alien, isn't she still meant to be underaged? The way 'Starfire, Vol. 1' handles her is mature, but bright and fun at the same time.
The first volume, as it develops, shows a dark side to Kori. She isn’t afraid to consider killing when people she cares for, and innocents, are hurt. No surprise since her backstory involves an invasion on her home planet, her parents being murdered, and slavery. Despite the sunny disposition, there are violent moments in the comic, and Kori reacts accordingly, either in confused shock or rage, as she discovers more things about earth and humans in Key West. Everywhere and everything in life has a balance of light and dark, good and bad; Kori becomes fascinated by how humans cope with varied phenomena and tragedies all the time.
I love her relationships with other female characters, for indeed she is not alone. Sheriff Stella Gomez is wonderful as Kori's strong, earth mother guide to humanity, and plays the straight man in their duo, leading to hilarious as well as touching results. And there's the terrakinetic Atlee, who acts as an assured parallel to Starfire. Hooray for the Power Girl mention! Kori also develops a slow-building love for Stella's brother Sol, a nice, charismatic man with secrets. By the end of the volume you can tell there is a love triangle on the horizon, which I am not looking forward to, let me tell you.
Anyway, I recommend 'Starfire, Vol. 1: Welcome Home' to anyone. It has comedy, drama, action, mystery, and a little horror. It's about time that Starfire received her due, and is treated with the respect she deserves by DC.
A feel-good read.
Final Score: 4/5
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