Saturday, August 8, 2015

DC Comics: Bombshells #3 Review and *SPOILERS*

Written By: Marguerite Bennett
Art By: Marguerite Sauvage
Digital Price: $0.99
Release Date: August 8, 2015

Stargirl Almost Gets Goose-ed


*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Our World War II story continues and it's time to get some more recruits in Commander Waller's war ending squad...... Well, it's time to at least get introduced to them.  In the first issue we saw Amanda Waller recruit Batwoman, but in the last issue all we had was Steve Trevor's first interaction with Wonder Woman.  So yeah, it looks like we're taking our time to get into the war, but as long as we have strong introductions to these characters, I guess I'm okay with it.  Let's jump into this issue and see the Bombshell versions of Supergirl and Stargirl as we head over to Moscow.  Let's check it out.

Explain It!:

Our story begins with what some would probably call child abuse in this day and age, but for 1920's...... and strangely enough, what it was like when I was a kid, we learn that scaring the hell out of your children in order to get them to sleep is what's considered normal in Russia.  Stargirl, known as Kortni Duginovna is reminiscing about the stories her mother told her and her sister...... Supergirl, known here as Kara Starikov, about monsters and witches in the woods.  The reason for all this emotional abuse nostalgia is because of Kortni's excitement for being inducted into the Night Witches, the most terrifying bombers of the Soviet Air Force.  It seems that these "sisters" are close because even though Kara isn't hip on the idea of going to Moscow and becoming a Night Witch, she follows her sister to make sure that her dreams come true.


As the story progresses, we see these heroines on their way to the air field and I have to say that putting these two very similar looking characters in identical military garb was a bit confusing for me.  Besides for a slightly different hairstyle, you'd never know who either of them is supposed to be.  Luckily though, after having an altercation with a Russian soldier, who shocked me with his allusions to finger banging, we really get to see the difference between these two girls when Kara flicks him in the head and sends him flying back.  Then a couple of pages later, I'm completely lost again.  I guess slightly different hairstyles aren't something that's memorable to me.


In the end, we get the idea, besides for the different last name thing, that even though these two girls are "sisters", they were adopted by another family and their father is someone who is considered a traitor to the motherland.... which is a huge thing to overcome in Russia.  After the two get into the sky, Kortni's plane malfunctions, but before it explodes taking Kortni with it, we again get to see what Kara can do as she flies out of her plane, rescues Kortni and carries the plane and her sister down to the ground.  Witnessing this amazing feat, Kara and Kortni's commanding officer quickly accuses the two of being traitors and our issue closes with them being arrested.


That's it for this issue of DC Comics: Bombshells and while it excels in giving us something new, unlike what I thought last issue's Wonder Woman introduction did, it didn't really have enough time to explain what was really going on with these characters.  They're sisters, they're adopted, one's Supergirl and the other is Stargirl, but Stargirl is simply ordinary with no cosmic staff in sight.  It's all just alluded to and I would have liked to understand them a bit more.  I know they're based on characters that we already know, but besides for me knowing that Kortni really wants to be a Night Witch and her sister Kara will do anything for her, there really isn't much on character development here.  As usual, the art in this book is great and the only real negative thing I have to say about it is the fact that Kara and Kortni look so similar.  I really had a hard time distinguishing who was who.  Other people might be able to take one peek at these two and instantly recall their distinguishing features, but sadly that does not seem to be one of my own personal abilities.  

Bits and Pieces:

While we have ourselves a new and interesting concept for Supergirl and Stargirl here, this being a digital title really hinders the story telling due to it's size.  Just not enough time is really given to present these characters in a fulfilling way that really lets us know who they are in this World War II world.  The art in this series has been continuously great, but since these two characters are very similar and even wearing the same pilot garb throughout, it's easy to get them mixed up.

6.3/10

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