“A Justice League of their own”

DC Comics: Bombshells opens its tale with an all too familiar setting. A young boy and his family are exiting from having just seen an iconic presentation of “Zorro” and they unwisely venture into a dark alleyway. Of course true to the test of time, a man suddenly steps from the shadows wielding a gun in his hand. Even the narrator’s booming verbage “Out for a summer stroll, an unsuspecting family couldn’t possibly know what lay in wait..”, leads you to believe you know what’s coming next. If you’ve read a comic before you know what a young couple going down a dark alley with their young son, represents.

All of a sudden, in a moment that twists what we know and hangs it upside down by its ankles we are treated to something new. We hear the phrase “Who is this masked madam?” , as we are treated by a young redhead in a modified baseball uniform, complete with bat-symbol jersey and  ball cap with bat ears, with her wooden bat thrashing the would be attacker! (Biff! Pow!)

This scene was tremendous and a breath of fresh air I have to say. I was very worried that they were going to go the time-honored route of showing Bruce Wayne’s origin (Yet again!) but they quickly swerved me and pulled out this amazing intro. What made it even better was the fact the narrator’s voice was actually an announcer’s voice doing an intro for a baseball game at Gotham Stadium. By day she is a star player for the local Gotham Knights, but by nightfall she is the Batwoman! (How simply elegant and appropriate) What makes this even better is she still wears her mask on the field thus preserving her secret. Ah but even during a game does not mean time off for our sporty heroine, as a gang of muggers are attempting to rob the fans in the front row. How does she avoid this catastrophe? Why, she throws a wicked curve ball at top velocity right into the stands hitting the mugger in the jaw! The Batwoman makes short work of the hoodlums and then hits the showers. Not before bowing to the crowd to bask in the credit first. (very cool, nice break from all the grim who stick to the shadows archetypes)

At this moment we are introduced to another strong femme, Detective Maggie Sawyer of the GCPD and significant other of one Kate Kane: the true identity of the beloved Batwoman. (I have to give the writer’s credit here for going this route and using this iteration of Kate Kane rather than taking the easy way out and using the Kathy Kane version) This take on a such a modern style relationship done in a 40’s time period is very intriguing to me. Maggie is certainly the more gung-ho of the two while Kate still has reservations about the public perception. They are two strong-willed and intelligent ladies. Their banter is fantastic and Kate has the line of the book. “Also, Hemmingway can’t shoot anything better than whiskey.”  Classic.

After some minor bickering, the lovely couple retire to their chambers only to be woken abruptly by a loud noise from the roof. Maggie grabs her gun and Kathy follows her to the roof only to find a helicopter piloted by none other than Commander Amanda Waller. She asks the girls “Would you like to end the war?” (Hmm Waller in any form is never good news. Be wary ladies.)

As we look up to the sky we are whisked to Greece where above a remote island, two groups of aircraft wage aerial assault on each other. The US forces seem to have the upper hand until two pilots are blindsided by an attack and one is completely obliterated. The other pilot makes his escape but crashes down in the waters below where he is washed up on a most unusual shoreline. As he lay unconscious he recalls the sight he saw above a short time ago, thinking he saw Valkyries but he knows he is not dead and not in Valhalla. So where is he? As he looks around he sees a small gathering of tall beautiful women cloaked in sheets and wielding weapons.

Everything is not pleasant because the warrior women want answers for retribution for the intrusion on their sacred island. The pilot identifies himself as Steve Trevor and the ringleader Princess Diana, lets him know he will stand trial to answer for his transgressions. He tries to explain that he was being attacked by enemy forces and was just trying to protect himself. Diana informs him while that might have been the case, the fallout of bullets from their war in the sky has claimed many victims. Women and children alike have fallen because of the bullets that have rained down. She takes mercy on him but he must still answer to her. (I found this interesting because I have always wondered what would occur if this was happening over a crowded area. I mean what goes up, must come down and it’s not like bullets just evaporate. This was a very interesting plot point here that I feel should come into play more often in comics in movies during epic battles.) 

Overall: The majority of this issue served as an introduction to this brave new world (Where women handle every corner of society: business, marketing, even all sports) being adapted here. I loved every second. It all clicked wonderfully. The characters were colorful. The dialogue was snappy and the twists on classic icons were well welcomed. Both Marguerite Bennett and Marguerite Sauvage blew me away. Everything about the comic felt right. The art was a perfect fit. It was a mix of cheesecake and unique stylization which really gave the book a distinct identity. True it’s being published in 2015, I felt like this could have been ripped directly from the 1940’s without seeming corny or dated. Even though concept of this was born from some variant covers and collectible statues, it translates quite well and really holds its own here. With Agent Carter being at the height of her popularity over at Marvel, this was the perfect time for DC to pull the trigger on this franchise. The remainder of the story served as introduction to a very familiar female icon that had a twist too cool to ruin in these paragraphs here. This book definitely got the sleeper of week award here for me. Enough of me gushing. Go out and give this a view. It may not be a mad man’s world anymore but these ladies do such a bang up job, that it is just fine with me. I cannot wait to see where it goes next. Now if you need me I will be busy taking cocktail orders in the women’s wing of a smokey lounge till next month. Have a good one…

Story:  Marguerite Bennett Art: Marguerite Sauvage
Story: 9 Art: 9 Overall: 9  Recommendation: Definite Buy