A dangerous descent!
Creative Staff:
Story: Marguerite Bennett
Art: Mirka Andolfo
Colors: J. Nanjan
What They Say:
Joker’s Daughter banishes the now magic-less Zatanna and Constantine onto the streets of Nazi-occupied Germany, where they meet a mysterious stranger who might be able to help them, and goes by the name of…Raven..
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The positives and negatives of the Bombshells series continue in that each issue I find myself wishing for more of the story we just had but getting totally sucked into the story that’s getting underway here. There’s such a rich world to work with here and range of characters that it’s like vertigo trying to decide which one I’d like to dig into next. After a strong and engaging episode with Mera that showed us events after the Battle of Britain for her, this one shifts to giving us some time with Zatanna and Constantine. Their story has had its moments over the run of the book but it’s definitely felt like the weaker one at times since they’ve been behind enemy lines and in the handes of the Joker’s Daughter.
With the talented hand of Mirka Andolfo at the helm here with the artwork, which gives Nanjan some fantastic material to dig into – especially that final page!, Bombshells takes us back a bit before catching us up to the present. Going to 1936 with the Olympic Games and using Edel Nacht here is interesting, as is having Zatanna and Constantine there as it further cements their friendship into the past as they watch what’s going on. There’s certainly a chill to it as you’d expect with the events at play, knowing what’s to come for some of these characters as Joker’s Daughter is whispering right into Nacht’s ear with what she wants. And she knows she wants Zatanna, which leads to some really intriguing material in how she manages to capture her and essentially enslave her for several years, making her do her bidding completely. Zatanna’s unable to do anything to resist because of how Joker’s Daughter’s power works and she has complete control over her.
When it shifts to 1941, taking us past the Battle of Britain and how events played out there, we see how she and Constantine are now being thrust into the ghetto to wait for their death through a prolonged period of despair ahead of them. While there’s the usual cackle from Joker’s Daughter about it, what drives the narrative here is that of Zatanna. Seeing her from her high at the start with her club, position, and confidence, to how she’s completely broken after her capture and then thrust into this situation is painful. Constantine’s doing what he can to try and ease the pain, console her and offer some hope, but she’s in a situation where it’s utterly understandable and almost expected that she’d break down like she does. I’ve long, long, loved this character and it’s heartbreaking to watch her and Constantine go through this. At least there’s an intriguing bit of hope right at the end with a lovely new design entering the picture.
In Summary:
Bombshells has offered up some tragic material before so it’s no surprise to see more of it here considering the situation. Marguerite Bennett is definitely enjoying playing in this time period and working our characters through some tough times and situations, but I’m close to saying that Zatanna’s breakdown here is the biggest one we’ve seen yet on a personal level. Mirka Andolfo and J. Nanajan really bring this script to life in a great way here by making you feel exactly what Zatanna is feeling, and the way Constantine feels in trying to do what he can to ease things here. It’s a situation that just evokes so much from so many people in different but similar ways that it works very well at achieving what Bennett sets out to do here. I’m anxious to see this storyline picked up again because I fear going too long without some sort of resolution. At least I know there’ll be a lot of engaging stories in between.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: April 29th, 2016
MSRP: $0.99
