New secrets revealed.
Creative Staff:
Story: Marguerite Bennett
Art: Mirka Andolfo
Colors: Wendy Broome
What They Say:
The Batgirls’ adventure concludes as they face down the deadly Nazi robot known as Moloch.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The middle section of the three part arc involving the Batgirls hits here and it continues to be a very fun adventure, even if I do feel less connected to these girls than the others. Part of this is just because we’ve gotten so many introduced so (relatively) quickly and without enough time to individualize them outside of their costumes that I don’t really feel like I know who any of them are. It also doesn’t help that use of names, or code names, is irregular at best and that makes it harder in its own way to identify. Being in a position of not reading a whole lot of DC Comics material overall recently and disconnected for a bit before that, it provides for a small challenge for me to be sure.
With the team having grown in the first installment with Alysia, they’re now moving in a pretty solid way here as a team with a kind of devil may care approach that’s pretty exhilarating in watching it play out. The whole rooftop angle and youthful enthusiasm is infectious, even if they do need to remind themselves that this is series and they’re trying to save Cullen. The situation does get a little more problematic once they make it into the orphanage and are joined by another Batgirl, one that plays for the Batwoman’s rival team no less, but there’s some realism here in that they’re all working for the same goal overall and a little more help isn’t bad. They delve into the nature of the orphanage as they know it a bit, with Alysia having recently been there herself, and it adds some welcome context to the place without being a drain on the flow of events.
As it delves into the reality of the orphanage we get to see that some Really Bad Things are going on there. The idea that a lot of nefarious events are unfolding under the cover of others amid the war is a good one to play with and the use of an orphanage in order to provide a connection to Berlin is nicely played with the whole child slave labor angle. This brings in Time Drake for a bit as one of the kids living there and it’s a nice touch to connect him with all of this. There’s not a lot of action here, though some fun stuff as the headmistress is taken care of briefly, but we get some good hand to hand material that Andolfo serves up with great layouts and flow before delving into the really big bad, at least for the moment, that they’re going to have to face. It plays out well even if you don’t have a strong connection to any of the characters, which is definitely a big plus.
In Summary:
Bombshells continues to enjoy some time in Gotham by showing what Kate’s inspired there and to make it clear that the city is in some pretty good hands while she fights the bigger war. The story is solidly done even if it’s not hugely engaging and that’s mostly because I don’t feel connected to the characters and their stories all that much, especially in comparison to what we’ve gotten with most of the other characters. Mirka Andolfo continues to be perfectly suited for this book and this arc in particular, especially with Broome’s color design as everything here just shines. There’s a sense of wicked fun coming from the characters through the artwork and that is hugely infectious as a reader. I’m definitely enjoying this arc even with my minor frustrations with it.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: December 4th, 2015
MSRP: $0.99
