'Barbarella, Vol. 2: Hard Labor' by Mike Carey, Kenan Yarar and Donny Hadiwidjaja is the second graphic novel from Dynamite Entertainment based on the cult classic movie.

Barbarella finds herself on Falladim and gets convinced to grab a grubstake in R.U.S.T.-Radically Unstable Space-Time. She finds herself on the run from a claim jumper, his two sons and his talking gun. The backup story finds Barbarella telling stories ala The Thousand and One Nights.

I enjoyed this volume as much as the first. The stories are a bit loopy, but the characters are interesting and the art is really decent in the main story. I feel like it dropped off a bit for the backup story but still works well enough.

Everything I enjoyed about the first volume is here again in the second, hooray for consistency. Barbarella continues her boobalicious adventures in the galaxy.
Want to get lost in a quick silly space romp, grab a copy and prepare for your co-workers to make some lewd jokes if they see what you’re reading! (Worth it)

It definitely has a bit of a wonky plot. I found it a little disappointing overall. I did enjoy the artwork though.

The essence of Barbarella lies in the 60s in certain elements where fashion structure and the balance of a certain kind of pertinence gave the story a bit of levity. The story here with its interesting visuals keys into more the idea of Heavy Metal with its oblong aliens, talking rodents and even Barbarella herself in thigh high red boots taking on aliens. There is a lot of fun in her adventures simply because they are so out there. In “Barbarella – Vol 2 – Hard Labor” [Mike Carey/Dynamite/120pgs], she hijacks a ship after being told about a gold rush in a pocket of time on a specific planet where she can stake claim only to find a gunslinger and his kids with a gun called Mary Anne that talks. Said idea becomes even weirder when she finds an archaeologist and makes her way through a bubble in time to both a primordial place with killer bugs, a barren wasteland with gas creatures and then finally an area of what looks like New York during Prohibition. Like “Heavy Metal”, the resolution has a simple but effective reasoning. The second story talks of Barbarella’s prowess when she tries to get away from a lover who wants to end her ascent. She relays stories of helping to change the path of a flower that is a means of her gaining access to a ship while simultaneously using a force of psychology. “Barbarella” is an interesting heroine in current times but balanced in a sense of satire versus the flamboyant bubble gum textures of the world she exists in.

B

By Tim Wassberg

I could not get through this comic. It must be me, i do not understand where this woman comes from nor do I grasp the notion that galactic peace will come from lesbianism. I have no problem with homosexuality, this comic just did not do a good job of promoting it if that was even the plan..

3.5 stars, but I round up, so it gets 4. I didn't read the first volume, so I'm not sure how it compares to this one, but the stories here were pretty much contained. There's a 3 part story that involves a ghost boy asking Barbarella to go to a planet to mine R.U.S.T., Radically Unstable Space-Time, and I never did figure out why. That whole arc was kinda meh. The fourth story is a 1001 Nights thing, with Barbarella telling stories to keep from getting killed after having sex with some guy, a Bluebeard-ish character. The stories she tells are of past sexual encounters, nothing too steamy, but interconnected. Another kinda meh story. I mean, it was all entertaining enough, but not really "sticks to your ribs" reading. Nice artwork though!

Some solid sci-fi comics with a 60's swagger. This one involves time travel and an old timey claim jumper with a robot gun. Irreverent and surprisingly entertaining.

Volume two of this series drops the feminist lessons seen in the first book. Nor do we hark back to the last story in book one, which seemed incomplete. Instead we get a three part yarn concerning prospecting for some solid timey-wimey stuff, then a one-shot which collides Bluebeard with the Arabian Nights. It's all OK, and looks good, but without the arch look at politics, sexual rights and so on, it's a little less distinguished.

The main story here sees Barbarella prospecting for raw time on a planet reminiscent of Halo Jones Book Three, which feels like a solid enough science fiction premise but perhaps a little lacking in the sexual component a Barbarella story would normally have. Don't worry, it's there, cunningly nested so as not to betray the theme, but also done from such an angle that this could almost be an all-ages book. The final issue's Scheherazade riff, maybe not so much.

(Netgalley ARC)

Well here is the 2nd volume of 4 comics. The first three are linked with a continuous story of prospectors in a planetary system staking claims to mine R U S T.
This kind of writing and art work in this zany space universe is what makes these graphic novels, they work on various levels, with humour but with respect to science fiction. So R U S T stands for Radically Unstable Space-Time and when harnessed correctly can manipulate temperal reality to alter time and provide more producive travel. With the temptation also to attain immortality. Barbarella has no desire for wealth and an extra long life. However, other reasons lead her to protend to register her own claim.
Colourful landscapes and alien lifeforms abound but nothing on the page distracts from the space girl, it is Barbarella to whom the eye is drawn and she exudes a sexual chemistry to all creatures regardless of gender. The drawing is crafted with a open style that recalls this 60's icon, but her charms are more subtle and less explicit. Apart from her sexual prowess, her role is that of a modern scientist, more in common with order and universal cohesion than just smoking pot and proclaiming peace and love.
The 4th comic by contrast is more centred on Barbarella, the female vixen. In a twist on the story of Scheherazade, Barbarella mates with a form of proud alien who kills the deflowered rather than let them find a better lover in the future. Barbarella buys times by telling tales of her salacious past including a wonderful variation of Jack and the Beanstalk.
Not STAR WARS but entertainment Jim, where we've not gone before.