Female Furies #6 – Cecil Castellucci, Writer; Adriana Melo, Artist; Hi-Fi, Colorist
Ray – 3/10
Ray: I’ve been puzzled since the start by where exactly this bizarre comic falls into DC continuity, and this final issue makes it clear – it doesn’t. It’s not a lost story of Apokalips that reveals secret truths from the history of one of DC’s biggest villains. It’s an alternate reality that takes a completely bizarre direction in the final issue that makes it make both more and less sense in context. The Female Furies, led by Big Barda, are back on Apokalips and seeking to foment a rebellion among the women. This book continues to struggle with its allegories, seeking to make a comparison about white feminism speaking for less privileged women when the Furies try to get the Lowlies in the Birthing Center to rebel. But again, it falls flat because when you create a world this horrific, it makes no sense that people who choose to attack their would-be saviors for speaking for them than take the only opening they’ll ever get.
The series still can’t decide whether we’re supposed to sympathize with Granny Goodness or not – she’s been a participant in the Furies’ oppression since the start, but she’s given multiple humanizing segments where she’s passed over for promotions. The portrayal of Godfrey’s nephew who gets promoted instead of her is so broadly comic to make the whole thing feel like a joke. The issue is fairly action-packed, introducing a whole new band of Furies brought in to replace the rebels, which makes this final issue feel very rushed. Ultimately, it takes a wild turn at the end as it seems the Furies actually overthrow Darkseid and send him and his warriors fleeing, on their way to create a more egalitarian Apokalips in Aurelie’s name. This, obviously, is not something that happened in Apokalips’ history, which makes this whole thing feel like a strange sci-fi pastiche of The Handmaid’s tale with a forced happy ending that doesn’t match the incredibly bleak tone of the series.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
