Winter is coming? Oh boy.
Creative Staff:
Story: Marguerite Bennett
Art: Carmen Carnero
Colors: Sandra Molina
Letterer: Wes Abbott
What They Say:
After escaping Hugo Strange’s twisted laboratory, Powergirl and Superman join Supergirl and Lois Lane as they search for Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy’s circus, hoping to join forces against the Nazis in occupied Russia.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Every now and then you have to have your calm before the storm installment. With this series taking place in World War 2, there are plenty of ways to do that, though the fun of digging into big action pieces tends to be more of the draw. This installment kicks off a new three-issue arc under the name “Winter is Coming” and that has series writer Marguerite Bennett paired up once again with Carmen Carnero. Her work here with Sandra Molina is once again top notch, especially as the locales are different and there’s brighter elements to work with, making it so that the characters shine even more. I adore her take on Kara so this arc works well because of that but there’s just something how she captures this period that just delights me to no end.
While not setting up too much here, what we get is some welcome downtime. There’s the nod to what’s to come as Zatanna and Constantine are on their way and he’s trying to get her to calm down a bit since it’ll just make things worse. But what we also see are the marching army of magical creatures that got underway previously and that has its own ominous tone. The bulk of the book is balanced with lighter material, however, as Harley’s Circus is underway and performing and we get to see Superman and Power Girl performing and the kind of bond they have. I’m endlessly amused by him in this classic strongman role with him being wordless as there’s a kind of charm and innocence to him that works. The dynamic with Power Girl works pretty nicely as well and we do see that the pair really get each other, though everything about it comes across as familial and platonic in all the right ways.
We do get some decent dialogue time that includes Doctor October, a character that I’m hoping is utilized more as this arc goes on here. We get some teasing information about what’s to come as Kara reveals the Kryptonite she has and where she got it, which provides some interesting possibilities when it comes to Luthor and her own parentage. October makes it clear there are many things Kara doesn’t know about her father and what he participated in and the idea of a space program at this point in time painted that picture easily before. So there’s some twists coming in that direction that I’m looking forward to. The dialogue is pretty spot on and just seeing Kara in this environment and the ease she has with Power Girl, who upon learning about the Kryptonite is further surprised that Kara didn’t use it. Combine that with the lush way that Carnero and Molina deliver the pages, particularly that beautiful final page, and it’s a very enjoyable read and preparation for what’s to come.
In Summary:
Bombshells continues to do some very fun things and one of the best parts of the series is what’s lacking in so many other series – actual downtime. Though we know some of this is preparation for what’s to come it doesn’t mean it’s empty or meaningless. Getting the characters to simply talk to each other and about themselves is one of the things I enjoy and the team here makes it a lot of fun to read and look at. I’m looking forward to seeing how more of this arc comes together with Zee and Constantine on the way and what truths we may learn about this silent Superman as well. It’s a solid book with some beautiful artwork that really makes me wish the rotating artists on this property were producing some poster artwork and other materials as well for consumption.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: March 24th, 2017
MSRP: $0.99
