Granny Goodness has captured Beautiful Dreamer to use her powers…  against her own soldiers? Your Major Spoilers review of Female Furies #3 awaits!

FEMALE FURIES #3

Writer: Cecil Castellucci
Artist: Adriana Melo
Colorist: Hi-Fi
Letterer: Sal Cipriano
Editor: Jamie S. Rich
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: April 3, 2019

Previously in Female Furies:  The Forever People are Apokolips’ Most Wanted, and bringing one of them to the planet is treason all unto itself, so the fact that Granny’s plan to brainwash her Female Furies has backfired,  Beautiful Dreamer is on the loose and the rogue Fury Aurelie is to blame can’t be good for anyone.  Can Granny track down these fugitives before Darkseid discovers that his warrior women are the source of his army’s recent troubles in the war against New Genesis?

I’M STILL NOT SURE HOW TO TAKE THIS BOOK

Captured by Granny Gooddness, the psychic Beautiful Dreamer, of the Forever People, is forced to project dreams into the minds of Granny’s Furies.  We see a little of each of their fantasies (Stompa dreams of victories in the squared circle, Lashine of leadership, Barda of a quiet family life, Bernadeth wants to murder her brother and Mad Harriet dreams of respect after finding the Anti-Life Equation) and even a bit into Granny’s mind.  As for Aurelie, her dream is a nightmare of being forced to dance for the lecherous Willik, leading her to ally with Dreamer to try and escape, only to fall prey to Barda’s leadership.  Aurelie begs Granny not to send her back to Willik, explaining how terrible his advances are, but Granny simply sends her back.  There’s even a line wherein Granny explains that, in her day, “you played along” and behaved “like one of the boys” to get by, sending her back to Willik…

…who kills her.

A HARD BOOK TO READ

Aside from the extremely pointed commentary on gender relations (which is actually one of the best parts of this book), the sight of Aurelie being forced to dance to death in super-heated boots that burn her legs to cinders is utterly horrifying, and made even more so by Melo’s expressive art.  The issue ends with Aurelie’s funeral, during which Scott Free approaches Barda and offers to help her, making it clear where in Fourth World continuity this story takes place.  Each issue of this comic has been a more challenging read than the last, but it’s always worth the journey.  Castellucci’s script balances the cosmic melodrama of Kirby’s Apokalips with a very 2019 looks at life as a woman in the ‘Me Too’ era, and it makes for a fascinating issue.  Each Fury is given her own dreams and drives, and each of them is stymied by the patriarchal nonsense that is life under Darkseid, making for excellent drama on multiple fronts.

BOTTOM LINE: WELL WORTH THE CLIMB

If you’re worried about whether or not creators can take topical and political elements and weave them into an adventure story without short-shifting either element, Female Furies #3 proves that you can, with sufficiently well-crafted story and expressive art, earning 4 out of 5 stars overall.  I’m really enjoying this take on Kirby’s characters, as it’s one of the few in recent years to break new ground the way Jack always loved to, rather than just retell the old stories again.  Just don’t be surprised by the brutality of Aurelie’s treatment.

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FEMALE FURIES #3

80%

80%

Strong Stuff

Beautiful art combines with some strong (and pointed) storytelling to make a story that's at once dreamlike and all too real. Highly recommended!

• Writing

  8
• Art

  8
• Coloring

  8
• User Ratings (1 Votes)
  0.6