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75 reviews for:
DC Comics Bombshells, Vol. 3: Uprising
Mirka Andolfo, Marguerite Bennett, Laura Braga, Pasquale Qualano, Sandy Jarrell
4.07 AVERAGE
75 reviews for:
DC Comics Bombshells, Vol. 3: Uprising
Mirka Andolfo, Marguerite Bennett, Laura Braga, Pasquale Qualano, Sandy Jarrell
4.07 AVERAGE
I liked this one even better than the other two. This time, the story was more personal. It focused on Mera and her family and her duties as a princess of Atlantis, and it also focused on Kate's past as well as Jewish traditions and stories. I found myself tearing up again at some parts of the story, and I like all the Batgirls whenever it focuses on them. The diversity is pretty nice and I like how some characters' backgrounds are changed a little.
I would say something about the male characters (Tim Drake and Roy Harper, for example) not getting a lot of focus, but I feel like the opposite is often true of other comics. So I would like to get to know them more, I can understand why they're more background characters. And I really like the male characters that do get a bit more focus. I especially love that Steve Trevor's PTSD is highlighted and that John Constantine and Arthur Curry are supportive and encouraging of their ladies.
I also like that the ladies can have a romance going on and not have it detract from their strength or power. And it's pretty cool that Mera is bisexual-- or at least that's how it reads to me. The story also kind of hinted that one of the Batgirls was transgender. Again, I might've just been reading into it, but if that's the case, it's really nice to see the representation.
Overall I'm still really enjoying this comic. The story is interesting, the characters all have great personalities, the action is paced well with drama and heart, and while none of the villains have felt much like a threat yet, I still want to know what happens next.
I would say something about the male characters (Tim Drake and Roy Harper, for example) not getting a lot of focus, but I feel like the opposite is often true of other comics. So I would like to get to know them more, I can understand why they're more background characters. And I really like the male characters that do get a bit more focus. I especially love that Steve Trevor's PTSD is highlighted and that John Constantine and Arthur Curry are supportive and encouraging of their ladies.
I also like that the ladies can have a romance going on and not have it detract from their strength or power. And it's pretty cool that Mera is bisexual-- or at least that's how it reads to me. The story also kind of hinted that one of the Batgirls was transgender. Again, I might've just been reading into it, but if that's the case, it's really nice to see the representation.
Overall I'm still really enjoying this comic. The story is interesting, the characters all have great personalities, the action is paced well with drama and heart, and while none of the villains have felt much like a threat yet, I still want to know what happens next.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book's finally found its strength by leaning into its (Bennett's? I'm not sure) Jewish identity, with the Bombshells defending a ghetto in Berlin from a siege and bonding with its inhabitants.
I like Harley's uncomfortable origin being dealt with as just her being half of a Bonnie and Clyde duo whose Clyde got too much into forbidden lore and it consumed him. Ivy, meanwhile, as a French smuggler/poisoner who is all in on Harley right away? Oh man, my shit. Also a fan of her fairly modest look; I like the idea of Ivy -- technically the bombest pussy in the DCU -- doing a major flex by just dressing modestly.
Mar... no, Miri Marvel is one of the best re-imaginings here as well, as ghetto child Miriam Bätzel who finds her strength in the ancient lineage of her people, with Bennett turning the Shazam initials into heroines from the torah. Beautiful! (I like how the name is bestowed upon her by one of the kids just going *gasp* Miri MARVEL!!! That's cute as shit)
I can't wait to see where this series goes from here.
I like Harley's uncomfortable origin being dealt with as just her being half of a Bonnie and Clyde duo whose Clyde got too much into forbidden lore and it consumed him. Ivy, meanwhile, as a French smuggler/poisoner who is all in on Harley right away? Oh man, my shit. Also a fan of her fairly modest look; I like the idea of Ivy -- technically the bombest pussy in the DCU -- doing a major flex by just dressing modestly.
Mar... no, Miri Marvel is one of the best re-imaginings here as well, as ghetto child Miriam Bätzel who finds her strength in the ancient lineage of her people, with Bennett turning the Shazam initials into heroines from the torah. Beautiful! (I like how the name is bestowed upon her by one of the kids just going *gasp* Miri MARVEL!!! That's cute as shit)
I can't wait to see where this series goes from here.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
They need to stop giving every single Bombshell and blind soldier/sailor as a lover because I can't tell them apart
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Ok I think I'm definitely into this series at this point, even though they keep adding new people and I don't know who they are lmao, but I'm just going along with it and really it's a lot of fun regardless. I loved the addition of the gang of Bat Girls back home as well. I'm hoping that more of the characters meet up in the next volume because while I did enjoy this volume, it's getting a bit tiring to be skipping back and forth so much since we've got people in so many different places. But it's still a really fun story with a lot of awesome ladies!
I'm out.
The Batgirls were the most annoying part of book 2 and now they're back in a hamfisted, fourth wall breaking plot about Donald Trump!
The Batgirls were the most annoying part of book 2 and now they're back in a hamfisted, fourth wall breaking plot about Donald Trump!
So, I love the premise of Bombshells a lot. And I'm enjoying reading it. But I do think it can get a little... crowded sometimes. Even overly-ambitious. I love the idea of all these female DC heroes teaming up to defeat Nazis, but sometimes it feels like the writer is trying so hard to get every single female hero in on the action that, as a reader, you're overwhelmed with "wait, who's here? Have I been introduced to this character yet? Am I supposed to know who they are? Where did so-and-so go?" It's cool, but also too much, y'know? I find myself enjoying the smaller stories with one or two (or even three and four) heroes far more than the big blowout "here's a dozen characters you should recognize in a two-page spread" scenes.
So yeah. Definitely still enjoying the story overall, but it's too crowded for me to give this one more than three stars.
So yeah. Definitely still enjoying the story overall, but it's too crowded for me to give this one more than three stars.
My gender and racial identities are warring with each other. I don't know how to explain that this book appears to represent everyone EXCEPT black women well. It feels like a glaring absence and I just don't understand it.
This is a tough one to rate and I don't really know how to write a review that doesn't come across as somewhat bitter without getting a few things out of the way:
1) I have a lot of respect for Marguerite Bennett as a creator. Not only is she managing a lot of storylines here and doing so effortlessly, she has written books in the past that felt quite female centric and rather brave.
2) I'm shocked DC allowed for such a queer positive book to exist on their main line.
3) I appreciate that there are a lot of Jewish, Romani (although I believe they're only referred to with slurs but I'd have to reread), latinx and queer characters in this story.
4) I have read Bennett writing black women in Sleepy Hollow and she did a great job.
5) I did my research to confirm my suspicions and they're true: DC comics does not have great, prominent black female superheroes. You can name Vixen and Bumblebee, but they've never been huge characters and Vixen was only given a short solo series. You can name Thunder and Nubia but they have never been given solos or huge roles. You can name Amanda Waller but she's never been a superhero - at best she's been grey morally.
That being said: the reason the lack of black female representation hurts me so much in this series is that the canonical backgrounds of some characters were changed to suit this story. So, if they can be changed, why weren't they changed to add black women? Why do we only have the minuscule, expositional appearances of Amanda Waller and one Batgirl with no backstory or significant role?
Dudebros and racists can complain all the livelong day about DC having Iris West, Dinah Lance and Selina Kyle played by black actresses (light skinned only in the films, but that's a different conversation) but I swear DC did that because they looked at their selection of female characters and realized there were hardly any black women to be found. I will give Marvel one plus over DC, they actually have black female characters and they give them solo series and focus (we could always have more but still, I give them a plus over DC). I say this because I've seen quite a bit of DC's animated properties and read quite a few comics and I struggled for quite some time to name black female DC characters.
There's a lot to love about this series. I love the focus on Jewish people during this time. I adore Kate Kane's backstory and the flashbacks to the short lived life she shared with Renee Montoya. I really liked their story with Jason. I enjoyed the Batgirls short story for what it was. I really liked what was done with Harley and Ivy. While John/Zatanna and Mera/Arthur aren't my jam, I appreciate the effort with those storylines. The final battle in this volume was great!
I just felt like the absence of black women became so much more glaring in this volume. It did not help that this book ends with a "ta-da!" in presenting a I just don't know... I don't want to gloss over the wonder that this series was. I just feel conflicted because I am bisexual and I am a woman... but I don't feel represented or all that immersed in this series as I have with other diverse properties because the absence of women that look like me is so incredibly apparent.
Again, I think I'd feel differently if the backgrounds of other characters hadn't been changed. At least then there's the excuse of trying to stay close to canon (although, I don't really care about that sort of thing. Times have changed and people finally realized that black people weren't invented in the 1980s). It just feels like effort was made to allow for more representation... for everyone but black women.
This is a tough one to rate and I don't really know how to write a review that doesn't come across as somewhat bitter without getting a few things out of the way:
1) I have a lot of respect for Marguerite Bennett as a creator. Not only is she managing a lot of storylines here and doing so effortlessly, she has written books in the past that felt quite female centric and rather brave.
2) I'm shocked DC allowed for such a queer positive book to exist on their main line.
3) I appreciate that there are a lot of Jewish, Romani (although I believe they're only referred to with slurs but I'd have to reread), latinx and queer characters in this story.
4) I have read Bennett writing black women in Sleepy Hollow and she did a great job.
5) I did my research to confirm my suspicions and they're true: DC comics does not have great, prominent black female superheroes. You can name Vixen and Bumblebee, but they've never been huge characters and Vixen was only given a short solo series. You can name Thunder and Nubia but they have never been given solos or huge roles. You can name Amanda Waller but she's never been a superhero - at best she's been grey morally.
That being said: the reason the lack of black female representation hurts me so much in this series is that the canonical backgrounds of some characters were changed to suit this story. So, if they can be changed, why weren't they changed to add black women? Why do we only have the minuscule, expositional appearances of Amanda Waller and one Batgirl with no backstory or significant role?
Dudebros and racists can complain all the livelong day about DC having Iris West, Dinah Lance and Selina Kyle played by black actresses (light skinned only in the films, but that's a different conversation) but I swear DC did that because they looked at their selection of female characters and realized there were hardly any black women to be found. I will give Marvel one plus over DC, they actually have black female characters and they give them solo series and focus (we could always have more but still, I give them a plus over DC). I say this because I've seen quite a bit of DC's animated properties and read quite a few comics and I struggled for quite some time to name black female DC characters.
There's a lot to love about this series. I love the focus on Jewish people during this time. I adore Kate Kane's backstory and the flashbacks to the short lived life she shared with Renee Montoya. I really liked their story with Jason. I enjoyed the Batgirls short story for what it was. I really liked what was done with Harley and Ivy. While John/Zatanna and Mera/Arthur aren't my jam, I appreciate the effort with those storylines. The final battle in this volume was great!
I just felt like the absence of black women became so much more glaring in this volume. It did not help that this book ends with a "ta-da!" in presenting a
Spoiler
Vixen who's coloring was a lot... lighter than I'm used to seeing in other comics (however that was not something Bennett had control over).Again, I think I'd feel differently if the backgrounds of other characters hadn't been changed. At least then there's the excuse of trying to stay close to canon (although, I don't really care about that sort of thing. Times have changed and people finally realized that black people weren't invented in the 1980s). It just feels like effort was made to allow for more representation... for everyone but black women.
Probably my least favorite of the series so far, but still plenty of silly fun to be had with the Bombshells!
This volume opens with a Batgirls story back in Gotham City, where they mess with the plans of a certain Mr. Cobblepot with the help of a spunky reporter named Lois Lane. We then move back to Europe, where Batwoman gangs up with Ivy, Harley, Zatanna and Raven to organize an uprising in a Jewish ghetto. Meanwhile, Mera wakes up on the shores of Ireland and makes a, ahem, friend who will help her fight to get her kingdom back from her traitor brother-in-law.
I especially liked the glimpse into Harley's backstory (yes, this includes a version of my beloved Mistah J!) and Batwoman's Spanish Civil War tale. While the overall story feels a little scattered, the plus side is that the art remains vibrant and gorgeous, that characters' alternative history evolution are great re-imaginings of the canonical stories - and the (not very subtle) messages of female empowerment, solidarity and resistance in the face of human evil are still strong.
Onward to volume 4 soon!
This volume opens with a Batgirls story back in Gotham City, where they mess with the plans of a certain Mr. Cobblepot with the help of a spunky reporter named Lois Lane. We then move back to Europe, where Batwoman gangs up with Ivy, Harley, Zatanna and Raven to organize an uprising in a Jewish ghetto. Meanwhile, Mera wakes up on the shores of Ireland and makes a, ahem, friend who will help her fight to get her kingdom back from her traitor brother-in-law.
I especially liked the glimpse into Harley's backstory (yes, this includes a version of my beloved Mistah J!) and Batwoman's Spanish Civil War tale. While the overall story feels a little scattered, the plus side is that the art remains vibrant and gorgeous, that characters' alternative history evolution are great re-imaginings of the canonical stories - and the (not very subtle) messages of female empowerment, solidarity and resistance in the face of human evil are still strong.
Onward to volume 4 soon!