Award-winning author Sarah A. Hoyt continues her celebrated run on Barbarella this coming February with a thrilling new storyline “The Center Cannot Hold.”
Known for writing everything from science fiction and fantasy to mystery and historical fiction, Hoyt quickly took to the character that she read as a child and pitted Barbarella against the brutal dictator know as The Lady. The new series doesn’t miss a beat, picking up with a new mission and taking us into more scintillating science fiction madness. Hoyt is joined on this new title by the talented artist Riccardo Bogani.
Barbarella and her pal Vix are off to the curious creature’s home world to try and stop a war between the Architects and their ancient nemesis, the fearsome Unnamable. The sheer volume of lives that will be lost in a war between two such massive galactic powers is nearly impossible to calculate. To complicate matters, her companion Taln mysteriously vanishes, leaving Barbarella to make her way through this adventure mostly alone, while Vix has to come to terms with the old adage that you can’t go home again. And at least one familiar face will return in this series as secrets are revealed and sins laid bare.
Hoyt describes the series as: “Barbarella and Vix desperately racing to find the Architects and try to prevent a cosmic-level war against the fearsome Unnamable that will destroy the galaxy which is the action on the surface, but at its heart, the theme for this story is that it matters who you are, not what you are.”
Barbarella was created by French science fiction comic book creator Jean-Claude Forest in 1962 and was published originally in the comics anthologies V Magazine, Evergreen Review, and Heavy Metal before being collected in a series of graphic novels. The character was relaunched at Dynamite in 2017, with writers and artists including Mike Carey, Leah Williams, Kenan Yarar, Madibek Musabekov, Germán Garcia, and now Sarah Hoyt’s continuing contributions following the “Woman Untamed” arc. Barbarella is also set to return to the big screen, with a blockbuster film starring superstar actress Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria, The White Lotus) in development.
Alongside interior artist Riccardo Bogani, a crew of top cover artists has convened to portray the siren of the spaceways. Superstar Derrick Chew (Harley Quinn, Supergirl) leads the pack, with legendary John Cassaday (Astonishing X-Men, Lone Ranger), Celina, Geebo Vigonte, Jimmy Broxton, cosplayer Rachel Hollon, and previous Barbarella artist Madibek Musabekov also on the team.
BARBARELLA: THE CENTER CANNOT HOLD #1 is solicited in Diamond Comic Distributors’ December 2022 Previews catalog, the premier source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market, and slated for release in February 2023. Comic book fans are encouraged to preorder copies of the issue with their local comic book retailers. It will also be available for individual customer purchase through digital platforms courtesy of Comixology, Kindle, iBooks, Google Play, Dynamite Digital, ComicsPlus, and more!
