september's coming soon

I'm going to assume that people picking up the years-later oneshot sequel to a decades-running comic will already be familiar with the original, so google SiP if you want the summary. Given that nobody I have ever come across online even knows about SiP, I'm going to assume no-one will ever read this, but hell. Reviewing ended up being how I process the media I consume, and this in context with the Utena sequel means I'm having thoughts.

SiP: XXV more or less starts where the original ended: The Parker Empire is gone for good with Tambi devoted to making sure it stays down, Katchoo finally has peace and her happily ever after with Francine. But oh no oh no, some ex-Parker girl is getting into apocalyptic military science secrets and the fate of the world rests on the shoulders of one Katina Chovanski who has to hunt her down to keep her family safe.

Content, as such, is familiar territory for those here from the original. There's a lot less romantic drama, naturally, and all the more James Bond. Which on the one hand is a kind of a weird choice, given that I deeply suspect that the drama was what endeared this story to most readers. I can't begrudge it, though, because the kind of clunky story flow that always bothered me with SiP is absent here. Granted, this is also a shorter format than the one in which I read SiP (the pocket collection), so it's possible that the shorter length just made it easier to digest. Unlike the original, I never was confused about the chain of events, here.

The story is old, and that is of course perfectly fine. The only thing I could fault it for is possibly the ending, which took a turn for the mystic that's not entirely off-brand for this universe, but still kind of dissonant with the genre. (and honestly the plot engine is fifty degrees of spaced out but seriously, who cares). Some might also complain about the relative absence of Francine in this story, or the fact that she and Katchoo are together for like... three pages, total. Some might even note that David is never as much as alluded to, except for being included in a collection of character sketches at the end of the book. Both of these are things that someone concerned with pleasing fans would've probably shoehorned in, but I'm happy Moore didn't - because it would be shoehorning, and I prefer my stories well told. We got BAMF Aunt Libby in exchange.

Visually, Moore is still a brilliant artist, and I wonder if part of the improved story flow isn't that he's toned down the experimental parts of his comics. The larger format certainly opens up for enjoying the artwork all the better, and the artwork was always the absolute highlight of this story, for me. I particularly liked the way he used landscapes here, and particularly the parts set in Scotland were gorgeous. The one "untraditional" thing I noticed here was Moore's brilliant use of vertical panels and whole-page frames. They're sparing, but man, are they good.

Should you read it? If you liked SiP, this is more of the same, and - I'd argue - better narrated. If you want to get into SiP, this is probably a decent introduction to the universe, though be aware that there's a considerable amount of comedy and romantic soap opera in the original that are almost entirely absent here.