Storyline: The Yellow City
Date: May 21, 2008
Price: $5.99 US
Writers: Alessandro Barbucci and Barbara Canepa
Artists: Alessandro Barbucci and Barbara Canepa

Synopsis: The internationally acclaimed best-seller is now finally presented in English! Meet Noa, a so-called Sky Doll; a life-like female android without rights, who exists only to serve the State’s needs and desires. But when Noa meets two so-called “missionaries” who aid in her escape from her tyrannical master, all hell breaks loose for our cyborg siren as she uncovers clues that she may be much more than just a robotic toy. The first release in a new partnership between Marvel and cutting-edge French publisher Soleil!

Opinion: I first got a glimpse at this comic in Marvel’s sampler, which I picked up on FCBD. The panels struck out at me as a clean style and the snippet of the story seemed incredibly interesting. I knew nothing of Soleil Productions or Sky Doll, so I was very excited to pick this book up and learn more about this character and its story.

I want to reinforce that this issue is not without a couple things to mention. First, it is for mature readers, 100%. Not only for the uncensored light nudity, but also because of the fact that the story is rather mature - and requires a bit of a mature perspective when it comes to comics. Some people might say that’s an oxymoron - but not us. :}

Click through for my full review on Sky Doll #1!

In Sky Doll #1, we meet Noa for the first time, a life-like android without rights, who exists only to serve the state’s desires. These desires range from adult services to manual labor. Due to a clumsy event, Noa stows away in the ship of Roy and Jahu, two papal emissaries on a mission for the state.

Noa is presented as a naive runaway with a streak of independence. While she is even faced with the cold hard fact that she, like other sky dolls, needs to be wound up in order to operate; it does not stop her from exploring what the world has to offer. It’s not long until we come face to face with the fact that she plays a pivotal role in the main story, and I will let Wikipedia explain the core plot, in case you were curious:

The action is set in a fictitious parallel universe, in which the papcies of Agape (representing spiritual love) and Lodovica (Ludovica, or Ludowika, depending on the language, and representing sexual love) fall into a conflict, resulting in the banishment of Agape and the creation of a dystopia in which both spiritual and sexual freedoms have been perverted. With Agape’s followers labeled as heretics, Lodovica rules the galaxy through extensive control of the mass media, using “miracles” to impress the fanatical populace. The main character is Noa, a so-called Sky Doll: A life-like android without rights, resembling a young female, who exists only to serve the state’s desires. Noa meets two “missionaries”, and with their help escapes from its tyrannical master. Unknown to Lodovica, it accompanies the thoughtful, naive Roy and distrustful Jahu on their interstellar mission to uproot the growing “heretic” religion on the planet Aqua, which soon develops into something much more. Eventually, mysterious powers seem to suggest Noa is more than just an ordinary robot.

This book is magnificent, purely a joy to read. Not only is the art breathtaking, but the story smacks of an extremely mature and poignant tale that bears a striking resemblance to cultural perceptions of religion, sex, loyalty, piousness and, well, humanity.

And let’s talk about price. $5.99 is a lot for a comic - but this book is well worth it. If you only buy one new comic this month that you don’t normally buy - this should be it!

I am absolutely in love with this story, and I am so glad Marvel brought this international work to America, translated it and made it available to us.

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