Review: DC Comics Bombshells #6

DC Comics Bombshells #6 came out last week and was another fabulous issue in what has been a fantastic run. I have said all along that this Elseworlds look has been surprisingly engaging and interesting. In this issue, writer Marguerite Bennett continues to give us a nice mix of action, humor, historical significance, and randy fun.

But for me, the best part of this issue is that it feels like the characters are finally starting to move in a way that will bring them all together soon. While I like hopping from one character's story to another (the diverse locales and characters are a strength of the book), I am eagerly awaiting the 'Justice League' moment when they are united against a common foe.

The art in this issue really sparkles. Ming Doyle continues to give us a noirish look at Batwoman's adventures in Germany. That style complements the story very well. The rest of the issue is drawn by Maria Laura Sanopo and Sandy Jarrell. They both bring a very clean style to the page. All of the characters are just beautiful. The style is so lovely that I wouldn't mind seeing either doing all the pages of an issue!

The book opens with several gorgeous pages of Mera stopping some Nazi U-boats which are manned by the Tenebrau inky zombies we have seen cropping up in the last few issues.

Mera is one of my favorite characters in the book. She is fun and fresh and just seems to love life. While just as driven as the other Bombshells, Mera also seems to enjoy what she does. It doesn't hurt that she sings to gain access to her powers.

Here, called Aquawoman (love it!), she boards an American destroyer, bringing cheer and hope to the crew. They all love her but more importantly respect her. They don't hit on her, despite her summery outfit, instead showing her pictures of the significant others they have left behind.

Again, Jarrell really shines here. This page is just eye-melting gorgeous. There is something akin to Darwyn Cooke in that first panel.

The R&R on the cruiser is interrupted by the arrival of Stargirl and Supergirl whose path for defecting takes them right over the fleet. Mera skirmishes with the two Russians and briefly gains the upper hand. But before Mera can further pound on Kara, Stargirl steps in the middle. She won't let anyone hurt her sister.

Despite that breezy exterior, we know that Mera is hiding something from her past. In silhouette, we see someone about to get run through with a spear. My guess is that Bennett is going to bring in Siren, Mera's sister, and have her be killed. Who could be the killer? Arthur? Orm?

But adding this deeper background to the 'fun one' ramps up my interest in the character. Is she ignoring that event? Is the fun personality a facade?

Meanwhile, in Germany, Kate has decided to don the Batwoman outfit and go out adventuring. I thought this was supposed to be an undercover mission? It seems odd that she would want to do anything out in the open which might jeopardize the bigger strategy.

While in the Batwoman gear, she disables some tanks. She then runs into some resistance fighters who play in a band including the Huntress. This Helena plays the cello, shoots a crossbow, and is a German opposed to Nazi rule. Kate loves her spirit and decides to take her on as an ally/sidekick only if Huntress will be trained. I like the addition of Huntress but I would have liked it more if she was an Italian opposed to Mussolini, leaning on her traditional origin.

It might be an overread, but the panel focusing on Kate's shoes as she talks about the Holocaust was quietly powerful. The image of piles of shoes is so evocative of this tragedy that showing us Kate's shoes and knowing she is Jewish, all while she talks about the horror in Germany at the time was a gut punch.

But after that heaviness, Bennett gives us a little laugh.

Selina and Lex arrive in their motor car to whisk both Kate and Huntress away.

As a joke, Kate asks if it is a rescue or an invite for a menage a trois. The panels of Lex and Selina considering it are perfect. Kate may have been going for a laugh but they're into it! In particular, Lex's look in the second panel is perfect.

Like I said above, there is some bawdy fun in this book.

And then we get game changer. Lex has some Kryptonite. He wants this to be a human war.

I still don't know if I can count Lex amongst the good guys.

The rest of the issue is Bennett and Jarrell moving the pieces on the chess board, bringing everybody together a bit closer.

On the cruiser, Supergirl and Stargirl join the Bombshells and agree to work for Amanda Waller to defend their country. They won't don the stars and stripes though. They are loyal to Russia. They will change their colors though, aligning themselves more with the Allies.

I love that smiling Supergirl.

Meanwhile, Diana and Steve Trevor have been arrested for mutiny after they ignored General Lane's orders to kill the prisoners of war.

Deciding she can no longer follow Lane, Diana uses her powers to break out. Diana is something of a wild card now. She'll need to link up with the Bombshells soon.

And Harley and Ivy are racing through France towards Germany, killing any Nazi they have the luck of running across (or over).

Everyone seems to be on the move towards the front. It can only be a matter of time before they all get together.

The last part of the book focuses on Zatanna. I get a complete kick out of Rabbit John Constantine. (Who rolls those tiny cigarettes for him?).

John tries to inspire Zatanna to break away from the Joker's Daughter. Zatanna has been blackmailed and forced to work for the Nazis because she fears for her life and her family's. But John tells her that her magic dwarfs what the Joker's Daughter can do.

Zatanna is the only character who seems to be in the same place at the end of this issue. But that is okay. We get a lot of backstory and character moments for her here.

All these pages are by Maria Laura Sanapo and Marc Deering and everyone is just fresh, strong, and beautiful. The art sings here, working with the words.

So I continue to love this book. It is a guilty pleasure, an Elseworlds based on statues of scantily clad characters. But Bennett brings so much more to the table. This is a nice romp.

Overall grade: A

Review: Adventures Of Superman #16

Adventures of Superman #16 came out this week, a brilliant story by Joe Keatinge with an all-star artist lineup including Ming Doyle, Brent Schoonover, and others. And it is the perfect sort of story for an anthology series like this. It is a philosophical look at the character of Superman, reviewing a variety of time periods of the Man of Steel, while showing that the core of the character is basically immutable. And as such, it is a rare joy.

Growing up, there used to be special anniversary issues for titles which reached a certain number. Detective Comics #500 had a slew of stories including a look at a different universe where Thomas and Martha Wayne live, answering the question 'Must there be a Batman?'. It is brilliant. In Superman #400, Jim Steranko does a Superman story with overwhelming messianic overtones. It is fantastic, rejoicing in the then  75th anniversary of Superman.

This story, 'Strange Visitor', would fit right in with those classics. It is beautiful and sad and joyous.

And it makes me once again lament the fact that this book is going away.

There is a framework story with art by Ming Doyle which runs throughout the book, leading into the different peeks at Superman. In that far flung future, Kamandi is leading the last survivors of Earth off the planet before it explodes. Before leaving he needs to say goodbye one last time to Superman.

It leads into his telling a humanoid cat Rathotis all about the Man of Steel. We see a very classic-looking Superman teaming up with Batman and Dracula to fight Frankensteinian monsters. It is a very retro sort of story and it shows in the costumes and art.

And yet, even then we see Superman's optimism. We hear him say 'there's always a way!' There is always a way to triumph over evil. There is always a way to win.

Staying in the that time period, we see that humanity has moved forward because of Superman. His existence has made people dream to be more, to go farther, to become something better. As a result, a Kryptonite-fueled rocket is scheduled to take astronauts deep into space. Unfortunately, something happens and the rocket disappears.

Rather than give up hope, Superman looks at a vanishing rocket not as a tragedy but as a mystery. He refused to give up hope.

Now in a nice wrinkle, Keatinge has the characters in the story age around Superman who remains young.

Kamandi continues to lecture his co-pilot about Superman. Rathotis seems to be cynical, not buying into this legend. I wonder if Rathotis is supposed to represent the current comic reader, weaned on grim and gritty milk and fed nonstop violence to the point that nothing else tastes right.

But Kamandi isn't wavering. He talks of how Superman (now garbed in his Silver Age costume, complete with dotted inking) could have conquered, slaughtered, or become corrupted. But that isn't Superman who remained true to who he is.

"It's in this that his true purpose lies."

I don't know if any two panels convey my thoughts about Superman better than these. This is who Superman is. Who he should be.

It is perfect.

Time moves forward. Superman is wearing a modern age costume. And Lois has aged accordingly.

The world is celebrating Superman's anniversary and, as usual, he is uncomfortable with the attention.

And then Lois says everything that I think of Superman as a reader. He is everything 'we should become'. He is loved ... as a person ... as an ideal.

It is why a floating aloof Superman, avoiding his cousin, and willing to kill, just doesn't work. Because who should aspire to be an aloof, disaffected, killer.

We see more brief excerpts of this life until finally we are billions of years into the future, a time when the last human is dying. It is only Superman, and all his incarnations, which are keeping the entropic universe intact, saving lives until the end.

Again we here the true strength of Superman ... his optimism that things can get better, his eternal hope.

The Super-sentries, the various Supermen in existence all meet for one last time, observing a massive Superman balled up, holding the universe together. It is a powerful image.

I also love how the Supermen use Roman numerals to indicate who they are. Of course, Superman MCMLXIII (1963) would be a bug-headed version, a perfect representation of the Silver Age.

We have heard about the never-ending optimism, the immutable truth of Superman, the love and inspiration.

Here, Superman sees a vision of Lois one last time. She says more of the simple truths of Superman. He will always be the Man of Steel, the amazing stranger from the planet Krypton, but also ... and maybe most importantly ... the boy from Smallville. Because it is those human roots that make him relatable, make him more Man than Super, make him someone we can be inspired to be like.

We can't change to courses of mighty rivers. But we can help people.

And yet, at the end of time, at the end of one universe and the birth of another, he is still a hero.

The missing ship from the beginning is found, in some dimensional fold, and finally rescued by Superman. That alone would be a great ending for a great story. But Keatinge goes farther.

Listen to those words, given the New 52 revamp of the DCU, as it seems to comment on the darker nature of the DCnU.

"I can't promise what this new universe will bring.
I can't promise it will be familiar.
I can't promise it will be safe.
But despite all this I swear to you - no matter what happens, no matter what this new home holds for us, I promise -
I will never leave you."

I got chills reading this.

Again, the immutable goodness and heroism of Superman is touched on.
And yet, the unfamiliar, unsafe new universe awaits. And the new 52 DC Universe is still unfamiliar to me. It is a violent world, unfriendly, with heroes who don't like each other. A place where Lex is a hero and Superman is hunted.

It is wrong.

At least this book existed. It was a place where creators, for the most part, understood who Superman is and what he should be doing.

I cannot praise this story enough. And I thank all the creators involved, especially Joe Keatinge. This whole issue felt like a love letter to a classic Superman. And I swooned along.

Overall grade: A+++

Ming Doyle Commission And Womanthology Signing

This last Saturday I was lucky enough to break away from work and head up the road to Hub Comics for a signing for the Womanthology book. Contributing creators Renae De Liz (who oragnized the book), Ellen Crenshaw, Ming Doyle, Stacie Ponder, and Cathy Leamy were all in the store to sign books and talk comics.

I was lucky enough to grab a Ming Doyle commission once the crowd died down a little. What a great piece! I especially love the cape as you can really feel it whipping around in the winds above the clouds. Usually the cape is an afterthought ... or sometimes forgotten! So it was wonderful to see it played up so much.

I was planning getting a commission from Doyle at a convention in NH in June of this year. So I got an early present!

The commission was the cherry on the sundae. The Womanthology book and guests were the real reason for me to head to the store. I wanted to support this project as much as possible so the time seemed right to buy the book.

It is a beautiful hard cover stuffed with shorts, interviews, and tips for breaking into the business. I read a chunk of it over the last couple of days and was impressed with a bunch of the stories, the varied themes and styles, and the passion the creators brought to the project.

The oldest Supergirl at home is constantly drawing, constantly writing, and constantly reading ... including comics. At some point I'll share this book with her to show her that if her dream is comic art it is an achievable dream.

And it was great to talk to the guests there, about the projects and comics in general. I love the personal little signatures they did in the book.

Overall it was just a great day!