Sirens of the City #4 Review Sirens of the City #4 Review

Writer: Joanne Starer

Illustrator: Khary Randolph

Letterer: Andworld Design

Cover Artists: Khary Randolph; Frany; Raúl Allén; Alison Sampson

Publisher: Boom! Studios

Price: $4.99

Release Date: October 18, 2023

Rome awakens in Bellevue Hospital. He wants Layla, the mother of his child. Instead, he finds Davi, another youth who loves the homeless girl. Where is Layla? Will this tortured girl find her mother? Let’s leap into Sirens of the City #4 and find out!

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Story

After falling through the cracks of the foster system, Layla searched for the woman who abandoned her. She finally found Diane Gold and exorcised the malicious spirit that controlled her. Then Lilith–Layla’s mother and Diane’s long-lost lover–appeared. Now Layla has everything she’s ever wanted, but tangled emotions still rule her. Layla still can’t face the truth of who she is: a siren.

Regardless of how much Rome loves her, the Incubus knows the score. Layla loves Davi, not him. Sadly, Rome’s street gang is growing impatient. Craving power, they want Layla and her unborn child. The Rat King hasn’t found the street urchin for them. Still, he knows a way to get her attention. In Sirens of the City #4, Joanne Starer draws us into a world filled with vampires and dybbuks, werewolves and gargoyles, and sirens who wield water as weapons. Like Layla, readers may find it hard to take everything in. Yet it’s even harder to turn away from Starer’s compelling story.

Art

Jerome—known as Rome to his friends—is a wide-eyed youth with a sharply angled afro. He finds it hard not to love easy-going Davi and his “luscious locks.” Yet Layla’s braided hair gives the frightened girl an elegant avian appearance. Lilith—the mother of demons—would give Cruella de Vil a run for her money, while Diane Gold—who Lilith made into a vampire centuries ago—appears ready for her next fashion shoot. Yet Marisol’s Goth/Steampunk vibe is hard to resist. Marisol has tried to help Layla. But after her mother’s death, Marisol feels responsible for the coven of street girls who cower in an abandoned building.

Black surrounds and infuses panels in Sirens of the City #4. Khary Randolph’s detailed black-and-white art conjures compelling characters amid detailed backgrounds. Yet most scenes receive a splash of color. Each character gets accented with a particular color. The blue of the sirens clashes with the Incubi gang’s red. Yet from the beginning, Layla compelled readers with her blue eyes and blue-and-purple-tinged hair. Uppercase black letters haunt white dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. Occasionally, colored text distinguishes characters. Thanks to Andworld Design, we feel Layla’s rage as giant blue letters escape their white balloon. More colored sound effects enhance the action, making Sirens of the City #4 easy to read and as beautiful as the women who wield water.