Xena: Warrior Princess #1
Publisher: Dynamite
Story: Vita Ayala
Pencils: Olympia Sweetman
Colors: Rebecca Nalty
Letters: Ariana Maher
Cover: David Mack
As someone who utilized the “create a wrestler” feature in a particular wrestling game to create Xena you could say I was a bit of a fan. But as much of a fan I was of the Xena television show I never really got into the previous comic interpretations of her and Gabrielle’s adventures. The ones I did check out it were solely because of the artists involved and not much beyond that kept me on board. So with my hit or miss history with the comic I was a bit skeptical of picking up this new series from Dynamite. That is until I saw who would be writing the series. Seeing Vita Ayala’s name in the credits instantly gave me hope that this would be worth the money mainly because I’m currently reading several other titles by them and have yet to be disappointed.
The issue opens in classic Xena fashion that serves as a solid introduction to the character for the uninitiated and hits a sweet nostalgia spot for those of us a little…older. The pacing and action are on point and artist, Olympia Sweetman, uses Xena’s legendary chakram to take our eye across the double page intro of butt kicking action. From here is where Ayala plunges you deeper into the story as Xena and Gabby agree to help a town that has their fare share of secrets. This is where the characters and story become more fleshed out but what is great is Ayala’s ability to allow the artist to tell as much of the story here as they are with the narrative. This allows for more subtle reveals and for the story to focus on what’s necessary when it comes to the dialogue. The only thing that took me out of the moment for a second was the use of the word “rodeo”. It just didn’t feel right considering the time of myth and legend that Xena takes place in.
Ayala also makes no allusions to Gabby and Xena’s relationship either. So all of you who have been shipping them for years can feel vindicated and thank Ayala for making your dreams come true. I love that it’s not a plot device or “gotcha moment” either. It’s normal and organic like it should be when two people are in love and possibly will fight a god alongside you. They also look cute together so there’s that too.
Olympia Sweetman and Rebecca Nalty provide the visuals and it was great to see that the level of quality didn’t drop after that double page opener. They kept that same energy as they moved the narrative along and revealed much of what you needed to know in the panels. The lighthearted moments with Gabby and the kids juxtaposed against what Xena was dealing with only heightened the tone. When it came to the action sequences they showed Xena’s power and what she’s capable of and didn’t leave Gabby out either as she had some impressive moments of her own.
For now I’m on board with Xena: Warrior Princess and this time it’s because of the entire team delivering something worth reading. You might want to get on board regardless of when you discovered Xena.
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Infinite Speech
infinitespeech@comicattack.net
