Born from clay, ended by clay?
Creative Staff:
Story: Marguerite Bennett
Art: David Hahn
Colors: David Hahn
Letterer: Wes Abbott
What They Say:
Emily must stand up for Wonder Woman’s ideals, because Diana is nowhere to be found.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Bombshells: United has been doing some fun things with its cast but at the same time I really wish it had spent this opening arc in shorter bursts, which admittedly may work better when read in print form with how it’s collected there. Marguerite Bennett certainly has a plan here and the expansion is made clearer by the end of this issue in a fun way, which is made all the more enjoyable thanks to David Hahn’s artwork. This is his first involvement in the Bombshell’s franchise but he fits in just right in capturing the design and styling of it while also getting to work some fun things with Clayface. Though this issue doesn’t wrap up this arc what we do get is a next phase beginning feeling from it.
With Diana having disappeared amid the way the fight went with Clayface, the fallout from it worked well in seeing Donna and the others step up to try and get him to stop what he was doing. What this installment focuses on is Clayface himself as he still can’t believe what happened actually happened as he wanted to make Diana his because of how he viewed her. Donna and the others push back on that well as the view of who Diana was that Clayface had just wasn’t the right one. He saw her as the conquering hero who dealt with her enemies while Donna talks about how she removed enemies by making them friends. That was hard to see from the newsreels that Clayface saw as Basil Karlo and shows how the propaganda worked.
This issue spends some decent time showing Basil’s past as to why he was this way but also the two tracks his life could have taken. The simplest of things could have turned it in a very different way and trying to get him to understand that is a big thing here. It may move quickly overall but seeing the transition of who Basil is as he becomes a different kind of Clayface and uses what happened to Diana as a way to bring her back in another form through the group is inspired – though you know Diana will have to return at some point. But, similar to the others that we’ve seen done in group form, giving us the Wonder Girls as a group here with their specialty weapons is utterly delightful and has me hopeful that they’ll get some fun stories in the months to come.
In Summary:
While I’m still struggling with this United incarnation in a couple of ways, each issue brings in things that click for me and enjoys it. The last few pages here captures some of the magic of the previous series in how I felt reading much of it and I’m excited to see what’s next to come with it. David Hahn was a solid addition to the series with the art and colors as it all clicks well with what’s come before both in costume design and layouts but even down to the kinds of poses that are used. This is a fun issue once it gets to the heart of who Basil is and moves past that to give us something new with a nice tweak on what’s come before.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: October 6th, 2017
MSRP: $0.99
