A little more stage setting as new connections are… forced.
Creative Staff:
Story: Marguerite Bennett
Art: Mirka Andolfo
Colors: Wendy Broome
Letterer: Wes Abbott
What They Say:
Harley and Ivy hide out in the ghetto of Nazi-occupied Germany, where they encounter Zatanna, Constantine, and Raven-and begin to form a rebellion.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
As we hit the middle of the Ghost Stories arc, well, let’s just say ghosts aren’t exactly a big player in events and that’s just fine. There are a few minor chills and thrills to be had, though admittedly some of those thrills come from elsewhere. It’s positively not fair that Andolfo can illustrate like this and make these characters look this great, especially considering my own penchant and fondness for clothing of the era. Suffice to say, she’s bringing Ivy to life in a great way and it looks like Bennett is setting things up so she can do that regularly with a good number of the characters. At least it’s all wrapped up in a bigger story. Stage setting for what’s to come is an important part of storytelling and Bennett does a lot of that here as the cast moves positions around the war and we get some new connections in play.
A lot of what we get here could almost be called vignettes with the way it’s broken out. While Batwoman learns that Wonder Woman, Supergirl, and Trevor have landed elsewhere, she’s parachuting into Berlin to get some things done there. It’s a great little conversation as she’s struggling with the things she told Stargirl before she sacrificed herself and we see other others are nudging her in the right direction. This is good stuff but the win for me is her questioning Barda about her alien technology and wondering if they need to start paying attention to what’s up there sooner rather than later. Yes, focus on the war at hand, but is this a gentle seed of what a second series/post-war storyline will bring into shape? If so, I’m definitely on board.
A lot of what we get takes place underground in Berlin as Raven is looking to bring Zatanna and Constantine to safety. While it’s a bit forced for her to rattle off her origin story, it’s a solid entry and amusing use of Trigon that takes advantage of this timeline to reshape things. Raven’s a fave of mine from days far gone by so seeing her getting a good treatment here works. This runs in parallel to Harley and Ivy talking as they look at their next move and Ivy goes into detail about what you have to do to truly survive in a war when it comes to food and rationing. It’s another welcome point within the series that acknowledges the realities of war and the seemingly odd things you have to do, which leads into what Ivy is doing to ensure food for them. Of course, the two groups underground have to run into each other and a fight ensues, but it’s well put together and enjoyable here, especially with Harley’s humor.
In Summary:
Bombshells is doing some good stuff here as it sets us up for what’s to come and with so many storylines and characters in play it always feels like it goes by too fast and doesn’t cover enough. The focus here works across three groups that will likely come together in some form – before splitting apart in another form – and it’s pretty fun even with the origin story mixed into it. Bennett keeps it brisk and moving while still providing more than enough dialogue and exposition that it needs. Mirka Andolfo delivers another solid and attractive book that Broome makes look even better with the color design to make it fun and delightful. Good stuff all around.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: May 20th, 2016
MSRP: $0.99
