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Marguerite Bennett

DC Bombshells (Vol. 4): Queens

I present… my shame. It’s been way too long since I last talked about Bombshells on this blog… please take this two-in-one comic and haul update as penance for my failure X,D

Deep in the jungles of Zambesi, Africa, Batwoman, Catwoman, and The Question are led by Vixen and her Hawkgirl to a dig site. What they’ve unearthed could change the tide of the war – for good or evil, depending on the hands the objects fall into. Strange mechanical beasts rise from the earth at the site: gods from an old forgotten civilization. The Bombshells, however, are not alone in their discovery. Barbara Ann Minerva, the Cheetah, is tracking these old gods as well, for her mistress Baroness Paula Van Gunther, and for the Reich. Old and forgotten these gods may be, but they will do anything to be remembered and worshipped once more. Who are the Bombshells, mere humans, to stand up to gods?

It’s probably been too long since I’ve read the last one, but this one moved into much more pulp territory than I remember – in a good way. With the introduction of Hawkgirl and Renee Montoya as The Question, plus grappling with Nazis over archaeological sites… this volume screams Indiana Jones, much as Athena Voltaire does. Indy could only hope to be so badass and good-looking as Athena and our DC heroines 😉

(There’s even an Indiana Jones joke in the book!)

That said, there were some odd skips in the writing in this volume. I found myself having to backtrack frequently to make sense of what I was reading. The art and layouts, while dynamic as ever, were a bit too overdone here, and it was hard to follow along in some passages. I think the story is also getting a bit too unwieldy, with trying to cram so much into one run. Overall a solid installment, and looking forward to the next, but wondering how it’ll all tie together in the end.

As promised, here is my latest haul! I bought Lois Lane back in November, just over a year after Killer Frost (linked above). I must admit getting engaged and trying to save for my wedding really pumped my collector’s brakes. There are some figurines that are now sold out online, and will be difficult to find later. The thrill of the hunt is part of the fun, though!

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“Hear ye, hear ye!”

(That is what I tell myself to console myself for not buying Supergirl instead of Lois. Though she is adorable, I really wanted Supergirl more. Brb beating myself up again)

This haul is a big one. I got promoted at my university job, and my fiancé and I went a little nuts. I wasn’t missing out on Harley Quinn again, so I got the Deluxe Edition and all the magnets, and he got Batman/Catwoman and shipped it to me. Teamwork makes the dreamwork =P

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I do love me some magnets and car decals!

I continue to be amazed by the quality of these figurines. I admit I regret buying Lois over Supergirl, but Lois is probably the sturdiest figure of the bunch. Only her front foot is pegged into the base, but her dynamic pose is balanced perfectly so she has an even weight distribution. I wouldn’t worry at all about putting her on a higher shelf.

I’m not even a Harley Quinn fan, and am seriously annoyed at the overabundance of all the Bombshells Harley stuff I have to buy, but the deluxe figure is gorgeous. The original sculpt is honestly kind of boring, and not really Harley at all. This sculpt is much more befitting of Harley’s personality. I’m only disappointed they didn’t set the cloud on top of the regular steel base – when I eventually display all of these together, this one will look out of place.

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Deluxe Harley, Gotham City bound.

But Batman and Catwoman. Let me give you a little bit of background. I hate this ship. I want off it every time it comes up. I understand they have comic history, but no. Just no. The only woman Batman belongs with is Wonder Woman. So you can imagine how thrilled I was when we were finally getting Bombshells Batman! … Only to see he was with Catwoman. I heaved a HUGE, WORLD-WEARY SIGH and resigned myself to a completionist buy.

But guys. I opened the box, and gasped in total awe. IT IS STUNNING. I know I say this every time, but I think this is my favorite figurine yet. Getting them out of the box and into the base was a little nerve-wracking (they are in one big piece, and the ends of Batman’s cape can easily snap off), but it was SO WORTH IT. The colors of each hero’s costumes compliment the other’s without being overtly “couple-y”. Both Batman’s feet are pegged into the base, to give Catwoman a sturdy leg up as she lifts the Batmobile’s keys from his belt. Is she kissing him to distract him from her stealing it, or thanking him for letting her borrow it? We can only guess 😉

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Bat/Cat – what started out as a completionist buy totally floored me.

I’m now thinking Funko Pop Bombshells as centerpieces for my wedding… what do you guys think? ;D

– Kathleen

Bennett, Marguerite, Laura Braga, Mirka Adolfo, and Marguerite Sauvage. DC Bombshells (Vol. 4): Queens. 2017.

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Batwoman: The Many Arms of Death

Typically not a DC fan, and definitely not a Batman fan, I decided to give the rebooted Batwoman a try. Kathleen has recently enjoyed previous recent titles about her such as Hydrology and Elegy and had great things to say about both, so I gave it a go.

I went in totally unfamiliar with Batwoman, so I appreciated her origin story in the beginning to get know what shaped her into who she is now. As a child her twin sister and mother are killed in a failed kidnapping (although you just know her twin will reapppear again- if not in this volume, a future one). We then see Kate as a cadet at West Point and when her sexuality is discovered, she won’t deny it, thus she is kicked out. Next the heiress is seen partying it up, but it’s obviously a mask to hide her pain.

Then the timeline really starts to dart around. Kate has a “lost” year between leaving West Point and becoming Batwoman. She is stranded on the island of Coryana with a head injury and falls in love with her beautiful benefactor Safiyah, who is the leader of this lawless nation. Safiyah’s previous lover Tahani is pushed aside for Kate, which fills Tahani with rage. Years later Tahani is back for revenge and the storyline becomes James Bondish, with an actual Moneypenny character. Kate is very unlikable at this stage, and Tahani speaks some truth to her, which Kate just ignores. As soon as I finally was becoming comfortable in this one stage of her life, there is another timeline jump into the future.  No mater what timeline she is in, Kate jumps from one lover to another, and is condescending to all. I’ve never been a fan of “bad boys who need redemption” character types, so I wasn’t a fan even with the gender switch. No matter who you are, or love, be nice. I guess she’s similar to Batman- whose brooding nature I have never liked.

Three artists are listed, and as such sometimes the art style shifts from one issue to the next. All illustrate well, with a dark color palette and varied panel structure. It’s certainly not the art I have a problem with. What I don’t get is her supposed secret identity. Hello- her flaming red hair is a huge clue! Is everyone supposed to think that Batwoman can’t be Kate because Kate has short red hair while Batwoman has long? Its a wig people, attached to her cowl!  And does she she wear it under her clothes? There was one scene in which she is dressed as Kate and one second later she is in her costume. I actually looked to see if there was a page, or at least a panel, that would explain it.

I received this digital copy through NetGalley for a fair and unbiased review. I let the excitement of being approved for the volume to override my usual avoidance of Batman stories. Truth be told, Kathleen would have been a better reviewer for the story. I’m not sure if me not liking it had to do with my distaste for Kate or if the time jumping made it too choppy for me to enjoy. While I welcomed the needed LGTBQ superhero storyline, Kate wasn’t the right person to carry it off.

-Nancy

Bennett, Marguerite & James Tynion IV. Batwoman: The Many Arms of Death. 2017.
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My Top 5 Favorite Comic Writers

I can’t remember ever doing a top 5… oops! =P Here are the authors of some of my favorite comics:

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5. J. Michael Straczynski

Straczynski is more known for his Marvel work, particularly his The Amazing Spiderman run from the early 2000’s, but I loved what he did with Wonder Woman in Odyssey. I mean, look at that costume! SHE’S GOT PANTS AND A LEATHER JACKET!!!

 

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4. Kurt Busiek

Busiek has written for both DC (Trinity) and Marvel (Avengers), but has also written plenty of graphic novels that aren’t comics. This includes the Autumnlands graphic novel, which I absolutely adore!

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3. Jeph Loeb

Loeb has penned a lot of great Batman comics, including Hush and The Long Halloween, both of which were beautiful and haunting. He also wrote Batman/Superman: Public Enemies and Supergirl: Power.

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2. Marguerite Bennett

Call me biased… but she writes the Bombshells series =P She’s doing absolutely brilliantly and I can’t wait to see what else she does with the series.

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1. Gail Simone

I would read anything this woman writes. Simone could write a trashy romance novel and I would read it without question. Her characterization is always on point and she makes me love my favorite superheroines even more. Among her titles are New 52 Batgirl, Birds of Prey, and Wonder Woman.

And there you have it! My favorite comic book authors >:D

– Kathleen

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A-Force: Warzones!

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Wilson, G. Willow, Marguerite Bennett & Jorge Molina. A-Force: Warzones. 2015

The 90’s called and they want their Super Team back!

I don’t even know where to begin with this convoluted mess. This is a Secret Wars book, so basically anything goes in this alternate universe. On the planet of Battleworld, there is a peaceful island nation called Arcadia, populated mostly by female superheroes. Each region in this unique planet is a domain unto itself, with distinct borders that must not be crossed, ruled by godlike Victor Von Doom and policed by Sheriff Strange and the Thors.

Arcadia is governed by She-Hulk, who is Baroness. Her patrol for watching their nation’s borders are Medusa, Dazzler, Captain America, Loki, America Chavez and Nico Minoru. When a huge prehistoric shark inexplicably attacks Arcadia, She-Hulk calls her team into action with her catchphrase  “A-Force Assemble!” In the heat of the battle, the shark is thrown by one of the team members into another of the planet’s domains, which immediately prompts a visit by one of the Thors. This member is then exiled by Sheriff Strange, leading to dissent within the team. She-Hulk discovers there is a traitor in their midst when a portal that had sent the shark is discovered. When the traitor is revealed later, a hero loses her life keeping the Thors away, and the traitor portals zombies from yet another domain to attack Arcadia. The Baroness gets to yell “A-Force Assemble!” again, while all of Arcadia’s heroes fight for Arcadia’s future, and a brand new character shows everyone the extent of her powers.

The artwork is a mix of good and bad. First the good: Singularity is beautifully colored, and Loki is especially well drawn, with some fantastic details as emotions play over her face. The composite picture of five faces combined into one was striking, and I loved the variant art by different artists between the chapters. The so-so: the front cover, while awesomely drawn, is misleading. Singularity is drawn as a sexy adult, when she was quite clearly younger in the series, and other heroines are drawn in when they play little to no part in this storyline. The bad: some of the battle scenes had muddy coloring,  as blobs of color were supposed to represent people in crowds.

Now for my many random observations and/or criticisms of this series: Pixie is shown as one of the heroes out on the original patrol, but then is dropped completely as a character- I don’t think she got a single line. Loved seeing so many of the Runaways after just reading the book– Nico as one of the main characters and then Molly, Karolina, Gert & Old Lace were shown in crowd panels. So many cameos- Jessica Jones defending Luke and their baby, Hulking & Hawkeye, Black Bolt with Medusa, Spider-Gwen & MJ, Kamala as Ms. Marvel (Wilson writes for the Ms. Marvel series), and Gambit with his arms around Rogue.

At my first read through I rolled my eyes at some of the plot, but on a second reading I discovered the little details and cameos that elevated this series for me at the end. I still believe the story was much too confusing, but at least it was FUN mess.

-Nancy

 

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