DC Comics: Bombshells, Vol. 4: Queens by Marguerite Bennett

DC Comics: Bombshells, Vol. 4: Queens Reviews

• 
  Corrie

  Volume #4, our kick-ass heroines are back and the fight continues.
  
  Great art work. Technology and terror form an unholy alliance in a world at war, and only the heroines known as the Bombshells can shut it down!
  
  Themes: DC Comics, batgirls, female super heroes kicking ass in WWII, alternate universe, super powers,zombies, evil robots, feminists.
  
  3.7 stars
• 
  L. McCoy

  Holy fuck, this series went downhill.
  
  What’s it about?
  Some bombshells are in Africa fighting animal-power Nazis... yeah, it’s weird.
  
  Pros:
  The artists all do a great job. There’s a mix of art styles and it works in this volume.
  There is a lot of great action throughout. There’s at least one action scene in each issue, usually involving villains, robots and the stunning, powerful ladies of DC. What’s not to love about that?
  The comic relief is very well done in this volume. More than the previous volumes included in fact and most of the jokes work.
  This series is still quite a bit more suspenseful than most DC superhero comics.
  There’s a pupper. I love puppers.
  
  Cons:
  The story is cheesy. Not in a fun kinda way but in a “that’s the best plot you could come up with in this volume... really?” kinda way.
  The commentary is not well written. It opens with a fairly annoying “orange man bad” scene. Unlike the previous volumes this volume kinda beats the feminism messages to death (though fortunately didn’t cross the line into sexist street). There were a few other things, it was annoying. It’s the kinda thing that makes me think “this is why comicsgate is a thing, huh?” (note I am not pro or anti comicsgate, I can understand both POVs but at the same time disagree with both)
  The romance isn’t interesting in this volume. My main problem is with the love... square? Basically Batwoman has to choose between 3 different women and it’s sorta dumb.
  
  Mixed thoughts:
  The characters. On one hand, most of them are pretty interesting and have the elements that make for most of my personal favorite female superheroes (adorable and sweet yet bad-ass and powerful). On the other hand there are so many characters that I need a fucking character guide or something to avoid being confused (almost seems like Bennett is trying to cram in every female DC character) and a few don’t interest me at all (looking at you, Hawkgirl).
  
  Overall:
  I don’t want to make it sound like this book is bad, it has some things going for it but it’s disappointing nonetheless. It’s like the series jumped from surprise DC masterpiece to standard superhero comic. Not bad as I like superheroes but I’d prefer masterpiece over what at this point feels more like a more mature, slightly sexy Power Rangers series.
  I’d still recommend this series as it’s good but will be taking a break from this title. As far as just this volume goes, not good or bad, some things about it are great but other things about it suck.
  
  3/5
• 
  Sesana

  My least favorite in the series so far. I just never really got into the main story. The Batgirls story was great, and the scene where Diana attempts to console Supergirl is really well done, though.
• 
  Megan

  Everything is so beautiful queer. I'm in love.
• 
  Devann

  This probably could have easily been a 4 star read, but unfortunately due to some incorrect GoodReads descriptions, I actually ended up reading half of this volume's issues with the previous volume so I can't actually remember what happened all that well, and the second 3 issues here were just kind of okay. Still a fun series though, although I'm thinking that they're going to have to all meet up fairly soon because this jumping back and forth is getting a bit tiring and it makes it difficult to make any significant progress with the story.
• 
  Hannah

  In this disappointing volume, the story moves away from the WWII battlefront to focus on a fight to control and defeat supernatural mechanical animals. I didn't find this plot or the new characters very compelling. I also struggled with deciphering who was who in the scenes where the superheroines were out of their costume, since most of the female characters have the same body type and face shape.
• 
  Jenny Clark

  The art was still good, but the plot suffered a bit for all the occult thrown into it. While it is still an interesting series, I wish it would not have taken this turn. Historically, though, I know the axis powers did do a lot of research into the occult, so it is not entirely far fetched that there would be an expedition to find lost mechanical gods, even if it never would come to fruition.
• 
  Emma

  The volume we finally got the amazing Hawkgirl and Vixen.
• 
  Brandt

  In my review for DC Comics: Bombshells Vol. 3: Uprising and I lauded Marguerite Bennett and company for taking Ant Lucia's DC heroines as 40s and 50s cheesecake pin-ups and co-opting whatever Lucia's original motivations were for these designs (I think it was probably something sexual given the obvious cosplay opportunities these nostalgic designs) and turning it into something that is a feminist statement from Bennett, et al. However, in the interim of me reading Bombshells, vol. 3 and Bombshells, vol. 4, I've also had the pleasure of reading Trina Robbins and Kurt Busiek's lost classic The Legend of Wonder Woman and I can help but wondering if Bennett doesn't take a lot of her cues in Bombshells from the example that the Robbins-Busiek team put forth.
  
  One thing that is immediately obvious in both Legend and Bombshells is that men are always relegated to secondary status in the stories. While this might offend some MRA idiot who still lives with his parents, this is a bold choice. Perhaps the choice was more bold for Robbins in 1986, but someone had to break the fertile ground that Bennett has been able to till for four volumes of Bombshells. In addition, most of the villains are also women--in Legend the villain was an obscure Golden Age Wonder Woman villain called Atomia. One of the villains in Queens is also a Golden Age Wonder Woman villain: The Cheetah. However, unlike Legend, while Bombshells is set when the actual Golden Age of comics occurred, it is written with a contemporary aesthetic. While Robbins may have been an outlier for female creators in comics in 1986, Bennett is part of a growing wave of female comic creators who are producing innovative, quality work--often times outdoing their established male counterparts.
  
  While the style of Bombshells is dead sexy--don't be fooled. There's a ton of substance here too. Considering all of the successful comic artists out there, I think it's easy to draw a pin-up...but to write a compelling story about those pin-ups? That's the hard part, and Bennett pulls it off, creating a fitting tribute to trailblazers like Robbins and women in general.
• 
  ElphaReads

  Admittedly this isn't as strong as the previous works, but it's still pretty damn strong. There were a lot of things to like about this collection!
  
  - We meet Vixen and Hawkgirl, who are not only founders of the Bombshells, but Vixen is the Queen of Zambesi, Hawkgirl is tech savvy as hell, and they are a loving and kick butt couple.
  - Vixen stole Hitler's dog Blondie and took him(her?) on as her own pet.
  - We get more backstory as to the relationship between Kate Kane (Batwoman) and Renee Montoya. I'm a little worried in that KAte doesn't seem to even remember that Maggie back home waiting for her, but the backstory was valuable and heartbreaking.
  - THe Batgirls group is given more than just a one off plot as they protect the homefront, and Lois Lane is here to stay, it seems!
  - Along with that Harvey Dent is on the road to redemption and is a friend of the group. Along with THAT, Two Face appears. ANd I want to talk about this because I have a lot of feelings. So SPOILERS, y'all. Harvey is injured in this and gets his usual half face scar, but since he's been working with the Batgirls (as opposed to say, oh, BatMAN), they rally around him and show him compassion and empathy. So while he's clearly at the beginning of his trauma (and who knows, he may not come out of it clean), you really get the sense that because he's shown love and care and support that he ISN'T going to be driven insane because of it. I LOVED that and what it said about the power of stereotypically 'feminine' responses to such a thing. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this.
  
  I was a bit frustrated with the mechanical animals from another world plotline and that Wonder Woman showed up late to the game (with Supergirl only being in it for a few pages), but overall I'm still SO into DC BOMBSHELLS and QUEENS was another good storyline to follow! More Vixen in future issues, please and thank you!
• 
  Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈

  I liked quite a bit of this but the conclusion fell apart a bit. It kind of turned into Transformers?
  
  Anyway, this introduced Vixen and Hawkgirl. I really liked Mari's back story and the fact that she stole Hitler's dog! I liked that they carried on the themes from her original story where she doesn't get her power from the totem - it was in her all along, etc. I really liked Hawkgirl's story. I'm glad that they were together - although I have a question: the only gay kiss in this volume is non-consensual. Why? There were no kisses between Alysia and Nell or Mari and Shiera and it was very, very clear they're together. It seems odd. Don't know if that was DC's choice.
  
  Anyway, Barbara Ann (Cheetah) had an interesting story. I don't know a lot about her original origin but, in this one, she murdered an orphan out of jealousy that he had a better childhood than her's. At least, that he had loving parents - you know, his life wasn't perfect since he was living through a war and all. She supports a Nazi because that was the only person that showed her love? I guess. The same reason Raven appeared to be using her magic for evil.
  
  I actually liked the Indiana Jones bit. I would honestly read a series that was just Shiera and Mari exploring the world and being in love because I really liked them together.
  
  The finale was a bit all over the place. The tech was a blend of magic and statues? It looked like? Not entirely sure but the Bombshells have to fight a super robot that looked like a Transformer.
  
  So, overall, I enjoyed it but it was a bit all over the place for my tastes. Also, I'm not sure why Vixen's skin color changed in every single panel. For some reason, she was ashen? It was a strange shade that didn't quite look brown and combined with her hair color, it just looked odd. But that's a colorist's problem, not an issue with the writing.
• 
  Chris Lemmerman

  More of a 3.5 rounded up. This volume takes place away from the rest of the main conflict, instead centering on Zambesi and new characters Vixen and Hawkgirl as Paula Von Gunther and the Cheetah also make their appearances.
  
  This feels like a calm-before-the-storm kind of story, as the threat of the mechanical gods never really feels that big compared to what the Bombshells have faced already. It's still good fun, but after the giant battles in the previous volume, it's all a bit muted. The character work, especially with Vixen and Hawkgirl, and Kate Kane and Renée Montoya, is very good, as always.
  
  And the artists on parade here are as always rock solid. I especially like Marguerite Sauvage, Mirka Andolfo, and Laura Braga's contributions, but there isn't a bad artist in the bunch.
  
  One more arc to go, I think?
• 
  Joana

  So far, this was probably my least favorite of this collection, so 5*- or 4*+, because it's farther away from the center of the war, and I really like the historical fiction aspect of this series, but this one is more magical and supernatural
  I really LOVE the Batgirls scenario, and I really like seeing Dent!! But I also missed Harley and Pamela so much in this one
  But I would still definitely recommend the series :)
  
  (Read for the 2017 BookTube-A-Thon, and this doesn't fill any new challenges)
• 
  Vincent Darlage

  I was much confused on who was who in this volume. Too many characters, and too much reliance on hoping the audience are experts on DC heroes to know who is who and what their powers are (an area I rather fail at - I know the big ones from Superfriends, but that's about it)... and this book continues the unfortunate trend that I never know which order to read the pages. Sometimes you read it a page at a time, left to right, but sometimes you are supposed to read two pages as though it were one - but the artists give almost no clues as to when to do this. It makes for a jarring and confusing reading experience. Things got a little better once Wonder Woman showed up, but, still, too many characters, too many flashbacks, and no clue who some of these people are.
• 
  Crystal

  Overall I really like this but the second or third to the last issue was a little bit over the top. If you've ever watched a Transformers movie then you know how Optimus Prime usually makes a speech about life and fate and humanity and what not at the beginning and/or end of the film. The issue I'm talking about was basically just 10-15 pages of Wonder Woman making that speech which was a little much.
• 
  Jasmine

  That one was a trifle confusing. i think if I had known ANYTHING about DC mythos, it would have been better, but I was doing a lot of ?????? at the page.
  
  Hawkgirl! Awesome!
  Diana continues to be my fave!
  Sad about Cheetah's past. :(
  Sad about Maggie deciding to cheat on her partner with her old partner. :(
• 
  Hadas Sloin

  Story-wise, I think Volume 4 is the weakest one of the Bombshells series so far. However, there were still a few points in this volume that I loved. Most of all, the chapter of Diana comforting Kara was a beautiful piece of art. I also loved Hawkgirl's speech regarding forgetting old technologies and enjoyed every second of catwoman.
• 
  Jess

  I like Hawkgirl so much. She's fun!
  
  Still don't know enough about some of the characters to be fully invested in this particular arc, but as ever, I really like this comic.
• 
  Kristin

  More exciting than the last one, but I have no idea what's going on. Way too much emphasis on fantasy stuff. Can't they just fight regular nazis and be done with it?
• 
  Ashley Marie

  This one threatened to lose me with the additions of superheroes with whom I was unfamiliar (ahem Vixen, Cheetah), but I caught up and held on tight and the story was again fantastic.
• 
  Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin

  Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
• 
  Machteld Bosmans

  Deze vond ik wat minder goed. Misschien omdat ik het in kleine stukken heb gelezen ipv in een keer.
• 
  The Library Ladies

  (originally reviewed at
  thelibraryladies.com)
  
  As you all know, I really really REALLY love the “DC Bombshells” series because damn does it give my favorite superheroines something to do. There is something so organically feminist about this series, and it keeps the thrills, action, humor, and pathos balanced out expertly. Seeing some of the best and brightest DC ladies at the forefront is a delight, and whenever a new one comes out I can’t wait to read it. We are now on Volume 4, and after an action packed Volume 3 in which the Nazis were dealt a severe blow by our Bombshells, we’ve moved the action to North Africa and been introduced to Vixen and Hawkgirl! Also mechanical animals and Cheetah, aka the woman who killed Batgirl and Renee’s adopted son Jacon!
  
  I sometimes get worried when new characters get brought into the fold in comics, especially since sometimes I have a hard time keeping track of characters as it is. But with “Bombshells” I am always excited to see which classic heroines will show up next and in what capacity, and Vixen and Hawkgirl were no exception. Vixen (aka Mari) was especially great, as we got to see her stand up to Hitler and steal his dog Blondie, as well as see her in a position of power as the Queen of Zambesi. She and Hawkgirl (who is delightfully tech minded and a very clever inventor) also helped found The Bombshells, so we got to see them interact with the team they created, as well as interact with each other as confidants, partners, and lovers. I think that ultimately the relationships between the women in these stories are the strongest parts of them, and these two fit right in in that regard. I liked seeing more interaction and background between Kate (aka Batgirl) and Renee as they faced their past relationship and the death of Jacon, but I have to admit that I’m kind of not digging the fact that Kate seems to have completely forgotten about Maggie back on the home front. Sure, Batgirl and Renee Montoya have a shared past and a shared pain, but Maggie is Kate’s present.
  
  Speaking of Maggie, we got a fun story back on the homefront with the Batgirls again. I had thought that they were going to be a one-off story, seeing as so much is going on with the Bombshells in Europe, but I really liked seeing them and Lois get some more time to shine. I think that my favorite aspect of it is the way that their presence is handling some familiar storylines. And with that, I give you a SPOILER ALERT.
  
  I think I mentioned that Harvey (eventually Two Face) Dent was in the previous Batgirls storyline as a mayor who was promoting an “America First” agenda. Well, he eventually got over that and had become an ally to the Batgirls, with self reflection and redemption on the mind. But given that Harvey really does have to turn into Two Face, I braced myself for it, and indeed, it does happen in this collection (won’t say how, but it does). Ever since I read the classic “Long Halloween” story arc, I’ve felt so incredibly bad for Two Face and the road that he takes, and I was worried that it was going to happen here as well. After all, Batman couldn’t help him in that universe, so my hope was slim. But in this one….. he doesn’t take the road to villainy, at least he hasn’t yet. Because while yes, he’s been horrifically scarred and has had something of a fall from grace, The Batgirls have done what Batman never could: they have rallied around him and affirmed that he is still Harvey Dent, imperfect but trying to be better Harvey Dent, and that they are going to support him and be there for him. And it seems that because of this, he’s MAYBE going to stay on the side of good, and remain their ally and friend. Cheesy? Maybe. But I think that it’s also a testament to the power of empathy and understanding towards those who have experienced trauma, something that Batman just couldn’t ever pull off the way that a bunch of awesome ladies can. The last panel of the Batgirls embracing him got me weeping.
  
  But all that said, I was a bit disappointed seeing that the big problem to overcome this time around was a group of mechanized animals from another planet. I liked the Zambesi setting to be certain, but it felt like a whole lot more conflict crammed into a story that is already rife with conflict. Plus, given that it’s more ‘Nazis want to get their hands on otherwordly weaponry’ stuff, it kind of feels like more of the same. The good news is that we get a couple returns here, including Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor, and Supergirl, all of whom I dearly missed in the last collection. I just wish that we could have seen more Wonder Woman and Supergirl (seriously, Kara was barely in this), before the last fourth of the book.
  
  So while this is the weakest “Bombshells” collection for me so far, it’s still incredibly strong and I can’t wait for the next one. And I think I only have to wait a little while longer for that!! “DC Bombshells”, you still got it!
  
  
• 
  The Bookish Unicorn

  This series is so wonderful, so much woman-power and gay relationships. It has also renewed my childhood love of Hawk Girl; she is even more badass now than ever!
• 
  Shelley

  North African adventure with Wonder Woman, Batwoman, Renee Montoya, Catwoman, Cheetah and Hawkgirl. The art was wonderful, and I love the characters and their relationships, but I found the plot scrambled and hard to follow. The last volume was so much better at a clear plot, so this was disappointing. It took me weeks to read this, when normally it'd be a few hours. Also, Kate seeming to forget entirely about Maggie really bothers me. I loved them first, and to see her with an old flame and others makes me sad. Happiness for Maggie!
  
  But I did like Renee, and the spread showing, via bloodstained letters, what was happening to her parents was super effective. I also loved Hawkgirl, who was just the cutest and awesome. I must have a thing for inventors.
• 
  Kendra

  Well this was the most CONFUSING one so far. I had a really hard time following what the heck was going on for most of the book. However, pretty much in love with Hawkgirl, and Vixen is cool. And Wonder Woman helping Super Girl with grief 3
  
  It's getting pretty hard to tell these redheads apart, you guys...
• 
  Jessi

  I've had this book for WEEKS and I only just picked it up a few days ago. I don't know WHY!
  
  I think sometimes it's hard to keep track of all the characters especially during the chapters with the bat family. I think I gave up on that. I really enjoyed the story that unfolded in Zambessi though almost wish it had been Amaya instead of Mari but that's because that's the Vixen I know best.
• 
  Hannah Givens

  I liked a lot of this -- love the characters, the queerness, a lot of the story themes -- but it's always confusing to figure out what's going on because there are so many characters, and a lot of them look alike.
• 
  Jacqueline

  Bombshells is DC Comics alternative history World War II series starring an all-female superhero team. I love the concept and usually really enjoy the series, but I must admit that this volume was confusing and disjointed.
  
  The first story is short and fairly straightforward. It features the Batgirls, the young girls and teenagers who were inspired by Kate Kane's Batwoman to protect Gotham City, especially anyone who is dispossessed. They have taken in Harvey Dent, and the story opens with Dent and the Batgirls watching a baseball game. At the game, Dent is attacked by The Reaper. The Reaper makes it clear they want to kill Harvey, the Penguin, Killer Frost, and Dr. Hugo Strange. The Batgirls decide that as bad as those villains are they belong in jail and shouldn't be killed so they go to warn them. They warn Penguin first, but Reaper follows the Batgirls (and Harvey Dent) and kidnaps Frost. The Batgirls are able to rescue Frost and to arrest Penguin who offers up info in exchange for Frost being rescued. But during a conflict with the Reaper they find out he is a she, and Harvey is attacked with an ice blast and his face is disfigured. But the Batgirls convince him it's what's on the inside that really counts. Lois goes after the Reaper who escapes and is after Dr. Hugo Strange.
  
  The second story is about Vixen, Zambesi, and Hawkgirl. I had to read it several times because it was very confusing and hard to follow. In addition, there were several flashbacks which filled in the backgrounds of the characters - except the placement of the flashbacks were weird - characters would be in the middle of a battle and suddenly they are thinking of their childhood as an orphan. It's like, huh? For example, towards the end, Wonder Woman shows up in the middle of a big battle between the Bombshells, some Thangarian mechs, and Nazis - but instead of seeing her battle everyone, we get a flashback to Supergirl on Thermyscira mourning Stargirl and Diana and Steve Trevor trying to figure out how to comfort her. It's interesting and follows up to Supergirl losing Stargirl in the last volume but it has nothing to do with the current story, it interrupted the battle, and it really didn't make sense to be in the book where it was. And the majority of the flashbacks were like that - they were interesting, and by themselves, I liked the mini-stories, but they interrupted the flow of the novel making it even harder to figure out just what was going on.
  Mari McCabe, Vixen, competes in the 1936 Olympics - beating the Nazis super soldier, despite said soldier trying to trip her during the race. That night, she and Hawkgirl break into Hitler's office and are attacked by a mechanical hawk. Mari steals Hitler's dog, Blondie, and some plans and heads back to Zambesi with Hawkgirl. Mari remarks they have about five years to figure out a plan. Later, at a dig in Zambesi, Kate Kane, Catwoman, Renee Montoya, Hawkgirl, and Mari (Vixen) are investigating another mech - this time a giant rhino. It seems inactive, but then Cheetah shows up and it goes on a rampage.
  
  The Bombshells are set against Cheetah, the Baroness, the Snakegirl (Whisper A'Daire), the mechs - which turn out to be from Thanagar, and miscellaneous Nazi troops. The primary characters are Vixen, Kate Kane (Batwoman), Renee Montoya (the Question), Wonder Woman (at the very end), Hawkgirl, Blondie (the dog), and Catwoman. When Cheetah, the Baroness, Snakegirl and the rest show-up, Catwoman briefly appears to be still working for the Nazis - but it's a ruse. We also briefly see Alexander Luthor, who gives Wonder Woman Kryptonite and seems to be controlling the strings, especially in the case of Catwoman.
  
  The Bombshells defeat the Thanagarian mechanical beasts - and Wonder Woman offers the recipe for Greek Fire to truly destroy them rather than bury them again. The Nazis and their allies are driven out of Zambesi.
  
  I like the Bombshells series - it's just fun to see so many female heroes working together. And I really like the friendships between the various characters. I did like the background stories in Volume 4 - Queens. And the modern-day story of extremely old alien tech being uncovered and causing trouble for everyone (the Nazis and their allies think they can control the Mechs - they are wrong) I also liked. But the presentation was extremely confusing. The time jumps were hard to follow, and as interesting as the background information was - it often seemed to interrupt the "present day" story rather than add to it. I still highly recommend the Bombshells series. This is an excellent series for teenaged women to read and to get introduced to comics too.
• 
  Jessica

  If you've read my previous reviews of these comics, you know I'm not impressed by the Batgirls issues, because the flaws of using such a large cast are really apparent here. In the issue in the trade, I mixed up Bette and Felicia at one point because they have very similar costumes and color schemes, and Felicia is one of the most underdeveloped Batgirls. This time, they are tangling with a villain determined to make Nazi sympathizers in Gotham pay for their crimes. It brings together some previous Gotham plot points nicely, but the girls' decisions to use the law to punish villains clashes with a choice Batwoman makes later.
  
  Speaking of Batwoman, most of this book focuses on Batwoman, Catwoman, the Quesion, Vixen, Hawkgirl, and eventually Wonder Woman (Mera and many of the other heroines and their beaus are not here) in the fictional kingdom of Zambesi in Africa. There was some fighting in Africa during WWII, but this mostly feels like an interlude to go over some backstory while keeping the Nazis from uncovering some alien tech hidden in Zambesi.
  
  Focusing on six principle heroines did the story some good. Hawkgirl and Vixen feel more familiar than several characters introduced in previous issues, and we also learn a lot about Batwoman and the Question as well as the villainess Cheetah. However, a lot of the characters aren't particularly complex. The closest the characters get to internal struggle is Supergirl's continued mourning of Stargirl and Hawkgirl realizing that sometimes aliens really did make some of the wonders.
  
  Batwoman's development in the series is interesting. While I get the vibe that Bennett has a very rosy view of her heroines, Batwoman has been developing into a morally gray character. While the Batgirls don't want to take a life themselves in the name of justice, Batwoman is all too eager to kill Cheetah to avenge her and Renee's adopted son. While she was kicked off the Kane Industries board, she helped them attempt to exploit Zambesi's resources, which eventually lead to the Nazis being able to break into the country and try to create their own weapons and super humans. She also seems to be cheating on Maggie with the Question and on the Question with Catwoman. It's not a good look, and while she gets called out on the Kane Industries stuff, I wonder what Bennett will do with Batwoman's romantic tangle.