Never trust a remote radio tower on an island.
Creative Staff:
Story: Marguerite Bennett
Art: Aneke
Colors: J. Nanjan
Letterer: Wes Abbott
What They Say:
Lt. Frankie Charles teams with Felicity Smoak to find the hidden source of the radio signals.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Bombshells arc has been a little all over the place with what it’s doing but it’s been engaging to watch the various pieces of interplay between the cast of characters. Marguerite Bennett generally weaves things together well when viewed in full, something you can’t always see well in weekly installments, but those installments are fun. Even more so with one like this with Aneke handling the artwork as it has a really great flow to the panels and I just adore the character designs with how they come across, particularly in their expressions. Each panel has its own little nugget of extra goodness in it to enjoy as the space is used, sometimes sparingly, to good effect.
As we’re seemingly mid-arc here, it’s in that kind of weird place where it’s doing things but it hasn’t quite hit that moving forward moment. Having the group that’s come together arrive on the island where the radio tower is definitely works a good visual – especially if you’re like me and saw/read Annihilation from the Southern Reach trilogy, as it’s just a haunting piece with it on the edge of the island. There’s some good stuff in how Felicity and Frankie head into it and try to figure out what’s going on with the broadcasts and whether Black Canary is truly responsible, but it also digs into how Frankie is frustrated that kids this young even have to deal with this at all since they should be enjoying life. That it also delves into discussion about the merits of brainwashing one’s enemies, well, it’s another moment of youth versus experience and how clarity of judgment is obscured with the realities of the world.
Outside the tower, we get a mix of different things going on that focuses primarily on Alysia as she’s talking about how the plants are pretty but what’s underneath is bad for a range of reasons. She and Karen have some interesting discussion points and we get some intriguing nods out of Batgirl as she, along with Croc, discover some tech along the beachfront that’s related to Nygma – which sends certain shivers up one’s spine. It’s what Alysia is talking about that makes it clear what’s happening because it turns out that the island is a trap and a lot of setup has been put into play to draw certain people here for a reason to be revealed. It’s a little slow in how it all comes together, drawn out in a way that frustrates just a touch, but it works and a lot of that is because it’s fun to watch what Aneke brings to the page.
In Summary:
This issue of Bombshells brings a few different threads together and sets up for the reveal at the end, which basically leaves us with more questions than answers. And that works for me because I’m looking forward to the next issue. The character material here is the draw with Alysia again feeling older than she is, as does Felicity to some degree, all while Frankie has to grapple with the reality of these kids’ lives. There’s not much in the way of action here but it makes solid forward progress and teases what’s really going on here, which should be expanded upon soon. It’s a solid book with great artwork, as is expected from this team.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: March 9th, 2018
MSRP: $0.99
