DC Comics Bombshells 4: Queens

Bombshells' newest volume is sadly its weakest so far, in my opinion. The series started off on a major high note and early reviews of the recent issues suggest that the series will end on a strong finale, but Volume 4's story arc "Queens" sadly feels like a bit of a filler and a waste of time. The problem with the series at this juncture is that it is hard to tell what the main threat is to the world. In the early books the threat was clearly on the Nazi forces using the undead tenebrae creatures to overwhelm the Allied forces. Now the tenebrae's defeat during the battle for London seems to be the suggested end of their involvement entirely, though how this happened isn't explained well and it is left up to us to decide if Zatanna's defeat of Joker's Daughter was the final push needed to sever the Nazi's hold over the undead. Now the major threat are a group of Nth metal god machines that have been uncovered around the globe. The first of these beasts is located down in the African nation under the rule of Vixen (who was introduced at the end of the previous volume) so the Bombshells head to Africa... that is at least the Question, Batwoman, and Catwoman do. As with the previous volume the team is sadly still quite splintered. While in Africa the story introduces Vixen and Hawkgirl in their What If style appearances (Vixen is a royal who uses her totem to protect her nation while Hawkgirl is a steam-punkish inventor and archaeologist). As with many of the other Bombshell interpretations the characters have been re-imagined as a lesbian couple so if you're triggered by Bennett's decision to use the series as a platform for LGBTQ portrayals you'll want to skip it (for everyone else it is fine and their relationship is quite adorable).The book also puts a renewed focus on the Bombshells version of Barbara Minerva aka Cheetah. Cheetah is the most changed version of herself here, less of a feral half human, half animal killer and more of a mercenary gun for hire who is helping the Nazis find the god machines. The book also includes an intriguing plot point of Renee Montoya and Batwoman having had an adopted son together (the Bombshells version of Jason Todd) who was shot and killed by Cheetah. As much as that plot intrigues and gives the characters a dramatic angle to pursue Cheetah, the overall confusion over the god machines (where they come from, what they are) slows the pace of the story. Things thankfully start to pick back up again in the final issues when Wonder Woman arrives to help the fight against the new power armor weapon of the Nazis (which is weird as all hell and looks like a Gundam) and we see what she and Supergirl have been up to. They are the best characters in the comic aside from Mera in my opinion and sadly these three have been in the series the least in Volumes 3 and 4. All in all, this filler side mission to meet Vixen isn't the best arc of the book, but if you're a fan of the series it is worth reading. Oh and the Batgirls' separate subplot remains boring as all hell and needs to be spruced up (the ending of their single issue in this volume does suggest that some of their characters will soon mix in with the main Bombshells plotline).

I feel like the series has hit a loop of repeat story lines. How many times can we rehash that someone is mourning someone who died? (I'm trying to avoid spoilers here so keep reading on) Plus we just ignore other characters they must assume are minor like Harley, Ivy, Raven, etc. I hate when they do that for a whole volume or two. A little mix up in the story line would be nice, but instead it feels like they want to solely focus on Batwoman and whomever she is with at the time. Even Wonder Woman gets tossed to the side a lot. I'm heavily disappointed in this one, the story line was lacking and just seemed like a jumble, as if someone threw the storyline on the table and said do whatever with it and they did exactly that. It's a mess. Not very entertaining at all. I loved the other volumes and will just assume this one was a writers slump and give volume 5 a chance.

I keep fighting myself loving this series more and more. I can’t get over how they made these characters fit in WW2

Great comic. I bought this for my wife and she loved it

art was good, story was interesting, but I made the mistake of getting the kindle version. even on my laptop the images are sometimes too tiny too read and they won't let you zoom in at all.

I love the series and I can't wait for more.

Perfect. Thanks!

This was cool. A lot going on. We get a bunch of it happening around Vixen and her country, Zambesi. I've been watching Season Three of Legends of Tomorrow, and so seeing all the Zambesi stuff here was cool, and it was also super twisty with Cheetah in there and all the Catwoman/Renee/Batwoman drama. Ooh, and Hawkgirl was there too.We also had a bit with the Batgirls and Harvey Dent and got a different sort of origin story for Two Face too.Another great Bombshells TPB, and as a series it still boggles my mind, and works so well.

I am enjoying reading the series. This was a fantastic installment and I can't wait to get the next book

Got for my daughter she loves it. Delivery was in great time too.

Really good read. Love the alternative storylines can't wait for the next one.