The next battle is about to waged!
Creative Staff:
Story: Marguerite Bennett
Art: Sandy Jarrell
Colors: Kelly Fitzpatrick
Letterer: Wes Abbott
What They Say:
Tense and trapped, running in the shadows, the Bombshells join the rebels of the Berlin ghetto to begin an uprising to end all uprisings…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With some good Mera-centric material recently that focused on Atlantis and some neat political/dynasty oriented dealings, Bombshells shifts gears. We’ve had two three-part story arcs that focused well on events that were a bit more narrow but still had some big impact. This time, Bennett brings us back to a long arc with a six-part storyline entitled “The Battle of Berlin,” which means things are about to get big and crazy. And at least I know the book will run for at least five more issues after this. Sandy Jarrell returns for the art duties on this installment and that’s certainly welcome as he’s worked out well on previous installments, and the Berlin aspects feels like it’s something that’s being brought across well with his style and layout designs, especially the way the first two pages are so utterly beautifully done.
With this being a six-part arc, things are naturally going to build a bit before it gets really into it. That works well as the bulk of this issue spends its time working through reconnecting us with the characters that are in the ghetto in Berlin and what they’re facing. With the plan in place to have as many people rise as possible the next dayand fight against the Nazi’s, there’s a lot of preparation going on. And a lot of celebrating and enjoying these last moments as they know some, or most, won’t make it through the experience. It’s fun seeing the younger ones partying and dancing, some hard work being done, and some backstory filled in for Batwoman about her heritage since she’s been so separated from the deeper and richer experience of those here compared to what her upbringing has been like. It’s something that really makes an impact, on her and the reader, and helps her to grow a bit into more of who she’s going to become amid this war.
A decent chunk is also spent with Constantine and Zatanna on the roof of the house where their past is talked about a bit and the nature of their relationship once again reaffirmed. Considering the ups and downs even without the war impacting them, it’s always been a bit crazy. But these two have a really good connection and ease about each that’s well played here. Watching as Raven shows up after he leaves and goes kind of crazy on her about it feels disconcerting at first, but as the truth of the situation is revealed it’s definitely pretty engaging and the right kind of crazy. But not being familiar with this character has me wondering what/how it all happened, though mostly I just shoved that to the back and enjoyed the twist that’s going to lead to the real battle in the next issue. Zatanna’s definitely handled well here in how she tries to ease things for Raven, who doesn’t quite seem to get how relationships can work, and it just makes me like Zee even more.
In Summary:
Bombshells gets its next big arc underway and it looks to be a pretty good one with its focus on Berlin and the fight that’s about to get underway there. This is all about reconnecting us with the characters and it does it well, especially with Kate Kane as Batwoman and then some really good stuff with Zee and Constantine. There’s a healthy mix of characters here to work with, and more that will surely surface as the fighting gets underway, so I’m looking forward to seeing how it all grows and unfolds. This installment worked really well with Sandy Jarrell’s style, especially those first two pages, as it really took me back in time a bit with the layouts and the character designs. It’s not the smoother and rounder designs we get from most of the other artists in the series, but it works exceptionally well here.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: June 24, 2016
MSRP: $0.99
