DC Pride Book Club Week 2: DC Comics: Bombshells (2015-) #1-9 🌈

[nu52]

@Vroom Yes! Mera coming in on her chariot drawn by Dolphins while wielding the trident looked really cool.

Can’t wait to hear your thoughts about this week’s selection

[Mae]

I’ve always wanted to ride dolphins, Aquaman and Mera make it look so fun

[nu52]

King of the Hill always made Dolphins look scary

[Jay_Kay]

Just finished it up and I enjoyed it, though part of me feels like there’s a lot of set-up for nine issues (or three counting how they paper publish these digital books). But I’m sure it’ll pick up now that all the major characters are kind of set up.

I’ll get into the questions later when I get off work, but I also want to add to the chorus of wanting a Bombshells animated series.

[nu52]

You’re right. There was a lot of setup. I actually didn’t mind it here. I guess I don’t mind because it’s a different universe and I like seeing glimpses of each of their worlds and how they’re different to the main continuity. It definitely got me invested in the characters.

Can’t wait to read more of your thoughts @Jay_Kay

[Mae]

@nu52, love your new icon! Though I thought the plain pink one was a bold choice, too

[nu52]

Aww thanks Mae. I love my pink profile pic. I’m pretty sure it will be coming back after this month, but I’m starting to like this one a lot.

[Jay_Kay]

“What did you think of Kate’s depiction in this story?”

I liked it – at first, I was a little hesitant, because while I like A League of Their Own as much as the next guy, that’s really not much to go on. But once they started to hint at her being a former adventurer with a shady past in the Spanish American War, I was like “aw yeah, that’s more the Kate Kane and know and love.”

“Are you a fan of Elseworlds stories and which elements from Bombshells would you carry over to the main continuity?”

A huge fan, it’s one of the things I love about these characters is that they’re often so pure that they can transmute and be molded and placed in different times and scenarios and deconstructed and reconstructed and they’re still who they are. It’s what makes these superheroes, and honestly, especially DC superheroes so great for me and possibly part of why I kind of prefer them over to Marvel’s.

As for carrying anything over…I kinda liked the idea of Wonder Woman and Mera being besties. I don’t know if it would work well them being so before they grow into their superhero personas, but I definitely wouldn’t mind seeing them team up more often.

“Which characters did you connect with the most?”

I’d probably go with Kate. I could kind of relate to her feelings in the first issue about feeling like she’s not doing enough or living up to her true potential, I know I’ve had those moments and some days still do.

“What are your thoughts on Kate Kate and Maggie Sawyer’s relationship?”

Uh…it’s there? I’m sorry, while there are some nice moments there in this story, if I’m perfectly honest, I’m not really into Kate and Maggie at all. When it was first introduced in Detective Comics my initial thought was “Oh, they decided not to pair Kate with Renee anymore, so they’re pairing up with a white blonde Renee instead.” Like, I get they’re different in many ways, but I think if they’re going to change up an established love interest, they should make said love interest a little different. It would be like splitting Superman and Lois Lane up and pairing Clark with another female reporter in the Daily Planet named Brenda.

[nu52]

@Jay_Kay I’m with you on why you prefer DC characters. The characters in this book are instantly recognizable. Batwoman’s design is really cool with the baseball hat having bat ears and the Batwoman color scheme still being present.

I do appreciate seeing Diana and Mera as good friends. Some other stories have Wonder Woman and Arthur being childhood friends, so I could see a world where royalty from Xebel would have visited the Amazons and the two princesses would have struck up a friendship.

Yeah, that’s a good point. It’s extremely relatable, feeling like you might not be meeting your full potential. It’s something a lot of people feel/think about, I’m sure.

I never knew Kate and Renee were involved. I always only read stories where Kate and Maggie were together. I’ve also read Maggie in Superman books, but haven’t really been exposed to Renee/Question stories. I guess that’s why to me I don’t have that comparison. From what I’ve seen of Renee in cartoons and TV shows, she seems pretty different to Maggie, but now I want to read stories featuring that relationship of Kate/Renee.

[Jay_Kay]

Super agreed on her design – really, on all of them. I think there’s a reason why the Bombshells line has been so popular and successful both in terms of the comics and the merchandise itself, the designs are just top-notch.

As for Kate and Renee, I’m kind of surprised you didn’t know that – I feel like, at least before the New 52 run, Renee featured heavily in her life even when Maggie was around. She even factors here in Bombshells, because while I haven’t read any further than what is in the reading, I’m pretty sure that the woman we see in the photo of Kate’s past adventures is meant to be this universe’s version of Renee.

[nu52]

After reading this, I was actually looking at some Bombshells action figures on Amazon. They all look super cool.

I don’t really know much about Renee. I remember her from BtAS, but I actually have only seen a few episodes of that show here on DC Universe. I also stayed away from most Bat characters outside of Batgirl because when I started reading comics I only had so much money to spend and would only buy Wonder Woman. It wasn’t until the new 52 that I started to buy more comics featuring other characters. I mostly had only known about them from cartoons and live action TV/movies.

[Jay_Kay]

That’s cool, sorry if that sounded judgemental or anything, totally wasn’t my intent. If you’d like, I can give some recommendations on where to start with them. The silver lining about Renee being kind of put in the back-burner the past few years is that now all of the stuff with her and Kate together are on DCU to read.

[nu52]

No, you didn’t sound judgmental in the least bit. I actually like knowing about that relationship because it makes me want to go read about them now. It’s really awesome that we have all of this reading material on this site now I get where you’re coming from. We all have at least one comic relationship we like that has gotten broken up for what seems like no reason.

[Vroom]

Finally finished chapters 7-9.

Of the last three parts, #9 was my favorite. It had Mera, Diana, Steve and General Sam Lane, plus Diana’s fight at the end reminded me a smidge of the No Man’s Land scene in the live action Wonder Woman movie.

Questions:

1. Kate’s depiction: I liked it, alot. She’s a determined ass kicker when need be and doesn’t back down from punishing those who deserve it.

2. I’m a big fan of the Elseworlds label. There’re many, many good to great and beyond stories within it. My favorite being the The Nail and Another Nail Justice League tales.

There isn’t much, if anything, from Bombshells I’d bring into the main continuity. To me, Bombshells is adapting things from the main continuity as it is, so to do the reverse would be a bit redundant.

3. Who I connected with: Maybe Diana or Kate? I didn’t feel a strong connection to anyone in all honesty, but as an optimist myself, I appreciated that quality of Diana.

I like Kate’s no BS attitude too. She puts the “bat” in Batwoman, that’s for sure.

4. Kate and Maggie’s relationship: You could definitely feel their passion, and Maggie’s sorrow after Kate left. Those are both very identifiable elements.

My one criticism with this story was that some of the writing felt a bit disjointed as a result of jarring transitions. We go from one character or situation to something completely different and not smoothly. It took me out of the overall story a couple times.

Overall, a very good read! I might snag a couple Bombshells action figures when time (and funds) allow.

Thanks @nu52 =)

SN: we need a stuffed Bombshells Constantine bunny. I’d buy one for sure!

[nu52]

@Vroom On your point about Bombshells adapting things from the main continuity already so brining anything over would be redundant, true. This series does feel really familiar as is as they have not changed the characters all that much all that has drastically changed is the time period. Other than that, the changes are because of the time the story is set in. Supergirl and Stargirl are probably the most different, which is probably why that close bond between the two is what I thought of when trying to think of something to bring over.

I also understand your point about the writing feeling a bit disjointed. It was mainly focusing on each main character’s own world. Moving forward, with them coming together, I wonder if that changes. I didn’t mind the disjointed feel because they felt like small vignettes and I like that, but I get what you mean. It also probably has to do with this being a digital first series and needing to tell a story in a much smaller issue than a regular comic issue.

Bombshells Constantine bunny version would be hilarious. I am also looking at the Bombshells action figures. I might just have to pick one up my next paycheck.

[nu52]

Thank you everyone for another great week.

Week 3 will be Gotham Central #6-10. Hope to see you all back!

[Mae]

And thank you for running these this month! For Week 4, can I make a suggestion of a run featuring a trans character? How about Alysia Yeoh from Batgirl (2011) #19-24? Issue #19 was when she came out to Babs as trans, which was the first time that happened in a mainstream comic: https://www.glaad.org/blog/batgirl-comic-introduces-transgender-character (Alysia later married her girlfriend in Batgirl #45).

[nu52]

@Mae I was always planning on doing Alysia for week 4 (week 3 is the only one that changed), but I’m still not sure whether to do her coming out or her wedding. Maybe a combo of both, but would it be too confusing jumping from one run to the next since the Burnside era was so different to the Gail run?

[Mae]

Oh wow! Great minds, am I right?

It is a tough question since both events are pretty big deals in comics history and queer representation. A mix of both would be confusing, unless it come be thought of as “extra credit” or bonus content. I think 19-24+45 would work!

[nu52]

LOL, you’re right

Okay, that sounds like a plan. 19-24+45=🏳️‍🌈