Review - George Pérez’s Sirens #1

"It's working! I'm getting full readings on the Sirens! Positive scans all around."

The question of whether or not intelligent life exists beyond the stars is one that may never have an answer. Sure, we'll keep looking, but we may not like what we find. For instance, if we just so happen to realize that there are a group of women out there from various eras who come together as an intergalactic fighting squad, we may not know what to do with ourselves. That makes reading George Pérez’s Sirens #1 from BOOM! Studios even more important. The issue is written and illustrated by George Pérez, colored by Leonardo Paciarotti and lettered by Ed Dukeshire.

As an intergalactic force enslaves planets across the galaxy, the legendary team known only as the Sirens must reunite to save the galaxy. It's a pretty heady task, made even more so by the fact that the Sirens themselves don’t even remember who they are. And the rest of the universe only remembers them as villains, which doesn't exactly help their cause.

George Pérez’s Sirens #1 is nothing if not bombastic. That is to say, Pérez crams so much into the first issue that it's clear he's going all out and wants the readers to jump into the deep end of this universe. Some readers will likely be turned off by the sheer amount of dialogue/story in the book, as it's almost too much. This lends to some slightly erratic pacing here and there, as Pérez jumps from one character (and era) to another. Offering up a variety of strong, female heroes is something that Pérez does very well though, intricately weaving their existences together as components of a much larger team.

Just as George Pérez’s Sirens #1 is chock full of story, it's also loaded with some pretty gorgeous illustrations by Pérez. His style is very familiar and he doesn't try to deviate too much from it, presenting pages rife with characters and action. Many of the pages are teeming with action, asking the reader to really stop and admire everything going on with some frequency. He deftly blends the look of a variety of eras together very well, giving them a uniform appearance thanks to his recognizable style. There's a page showing all the Sirens that really hammers home this continuity in style, with all the leading ladies presented in a way that gives the reader context for each one.

George Pérez’s Sirens #1 is a very ambitious book that seems to want to tell an equally ambitious story that spans both time and space. The Sirens are clearly a force to be reckoned with, yet what exactly they're going up against isn't quite fleshed out by the end of the issue. Pérez put so much content in the first issue that it's easy for the reader to lose sight of the actual plot, as most of the issue is character and universe building. His artwork is great though, filling every page with some great looks at the characters who will carry the series. George Pérez’s Sirens #1 could have easily been six-issues by itself, but short of that readers will be lucky as it is to get another five-issues that further explores the life of the Sirens.

George Pérez’s Sirens #1 is in stores now with interiors below.