Barbarella #5

History

The series was announced at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2024, with Dynamite pairing novelist and screenwriter Blake Northcott — known for prior work on Catwoman, Vampirella, and her tenure running Millarworld's backend before becoming EIC of Massive Comics — with 2000 AD and Judge Dredd artist Anna Morozova, for whom the Dynamite series represented a first major showcase for many North American readers. The stated creative mandate was a return to Jean-Claude Forest's original concept, incorporating classic supporting elements such as Barbarella's alien pet companion Vix, and was explicitly timed to precede a Paramount Pictures feature film adaptation with Sydney Sweeney attached to star and produce. By the time issue #5 shipped, the interior art duties had shifted from Morozova to Eric Blake, with Werner Sanchez handling colors — a production change noted by reviewers, though it was not publicly explained in available sources.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Barbarella Vol. 3 #5 is the concluding chapter of the five-issue miniseries written by Blake Northcott, with art on this issue by Eric Blake and colors by Werner Sanchez.
• The issue carries a Dynamite Entertainment on-sale date of March 5, 2025 (solicited with a February 2025 publication date); some fan databases list a later date of July 23, 2025 — the discrepancy is unresolved across sources.
• The plot splits across two simultaneous crises: Barbarella's aerial confrontation with the villain known as the Director over the colony world Alpha Prime, and Earthgov agent Jury Quire's escape from imprisonment on the mechanized planet Métrafusion.
• Jury Quire — described by reviewers as a punk-inflected Earthgov operative in the mold of a '60s spy-thriller heroine — is a recurring character originating in this Vol. 3 run whose fan reception led at least one reviewer to call for a solo series.
• The antagonist the Director is identified by reviewers as the more thematically central villain of the series, with Armanno-K serving as the larger-scale physical threat; their respective resolutions in this issue are structured to mirror the series' media-satire commentary.
• Interior art for this issue was handled by Eric Blake rather than the series' announced primary artist Anna Morozova, despite Morozova continuing to be credited in some promotional materials — a fact confirmed by multiple independent review sources.
• Cover contributors for issue #5 include Joseph Michael Linsner, Annie Wu, Richard Pace, and cosplay cover model Rachel Hollon, with a limited virgin variant by Linsner.
• The entire five-issue run, including #5, is collected in the trade paperback Barbarella: Stardust and Subversion, which also features a full cover gallery.