A review by unladylike
DC Comics: Bombshells, Vol. 2: Allies by Marguerite Bennett

3.0

I LOVE the characters, context, and queerness of so much of DC Bombshells, so it's extra sad that I can't give this volume more than 3 stars. It's gorgeous the whole way through, and there are plenty of things that happen that made me giggle and fangirl wave air over my own face. But something went terribly wrong with the storyboarding. There were several page layouts where a character's placement or weapon changed back and forth from one panel to the next, as if cards, script bubbles, and even ideas got shuffled in the editing process. I've come to terms with the fact that Margeurite Bennett is not that great of a writer (to put it very kindly). She gets into the kitschy, comic tone of this period piece, but even admits within the dialogue at times that her characters speak in one-liner quips.

So many mushy, gushy, admiring feels for this series, but the second half of Year One got messy real quick. Too many characters all at once, so like in most major DC/Marvel Event debacles, you get action and monologues that make less and less sense, rather than focusing on quality character and relationship development. Bombshells started as a line of pin-up style statues, but it could have easily been two or three titles crafted by talented women working together to intertwine their various casts.