DC Comics Bombshells

DC Comics Bombshells refers to a line of statues released by DC Collectibles depicting DC Comics Superheroines in a retro 1940s look based on designs by Ant Lucia.^[1] The line has further expanded to encompass variant covers of DC Comics,^[2] licensed memorabilia such as art prints, T-shirts and mugs and their own ongoing comic book.^[3]

Initial Conception

DC Comics Bombshells franchise began “in spring 2011 at a convention in Chicago where DC Collectibles found Ant Lucia’s prints re-imaging DC superheroines as pin-up girls.” World War II history, fashion, and air planes were studied to conceive the franchise. DC Comics worked with Udon Entertainment to produce illustrations. In fall 2011, four character designs of Wonder Woman, Stargirl, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn were used to pitch the idea of a nine-inch statue line. DC later asked Ant Lucia to redesign their initial conception of a retro Wonder Woman. Tim Miller was requested to handcraft the sculptures. In 2013, the first sculpture of the franchise, Wonder Woman was sold in stores.

Ant Lucia, the creator of the sculptures and variant covers design, drew a heavy influence from World War II aesthetics and pin-up models.^[1] He juxtaposed past pin up girl designs with current rockabilly culture. The sculptures created a convergence between modern ideologies regarding feminine agency and nostalgia for the golden age of comics. The Bombshell variant covers were able to cultivate a coherent narrative by placing contemporary characters in the past. Ant Lucia details his process on detaching the characters from their current history and the construction of their new placement in World War II era, “In our initial conversations, we brainstorm on who this character is and if they were set in this period, what elements would make up their costume.”^[4] The sculptures were able to pay homage to acclaimed images in America’s 1940s cultural landscape. Wonder Woman’s sculpture has noticeable similarities to Rosie the Riveter’s famed iconic image. The similarities between the two icons is seen in the both of the characters’ bandanna pinned back hair and nearly identical color scheme of red, yellow and blue.

The American pop culture references of the sculptures become more tongue and cheek in Harley Quinn and the Joker’s statue as to better reflect the former’s explosive behavior. The Bombshell statue for Harley Quinn depicts her dressed in a World War II nurse's uniform. Harley Quinn is seen dipping a flustered lipstick stained Joker in an army uniform. The sculpture was a humorous rendition of the infamous Kissing on VJ photo where a soldier embraces a nurse in a moment of celebration.

Statues

The first statue was released in September 2013 with an initial assortment of twelve statues planned for the line. High interest in the line has meant that the line has continued beyond the initial twelve statues, with releases planned through 2017.^[5]

Future Statues announced for release include Katana,^[6] The Flash (Jesse Quick)^[7] and the first Male Solo Bombshell release with Aquaman.^[7]

There have also been a number of holiday variant statues released, with a Christmas version of Harley Quinn released in 2014, a Christmas version of Wonder Woman in 2015 and a Halloween version of Batgirl in 2016. A second release of the Harley Quinn & The Joker statue with variant paint job was also released in 2016 due to the popularity of the first release.^[8]

Comic books

Based on the increased interest in the property, a digital-first ongoing series written by Marguerite Bennett and various artists began in July 2015, with a printed comic book following in August 2015.^[3] In her initial conception for building a narrative out of Ant Lucia’s designs, Marguerite Bennett has stated, “We were able to retro-engineer this complete environment that lets them showcase their powers that lets them have good relationships and friendships that they wouldn’t have been able to explore in another sphere....Going down to the smallest details that [Ant Lucia] puts into the statues and creating whole backstories for items".^[9] Bennett also speaks on her decision to incorporate mainstream canonical backstories of characters in this new world.^[10] The creation of the narrative cemented each heroine in this brave new world separate from previous iterations. Bennett explored traditional genres and mediums of the 1940s such as radio shows and propaganda films to provide a realistic history for the Bombshells franchise. Bennett speaks on this decision when she states, “Each chapter and each heroine had her own genre essentially. Batwoman started off as the adventure radio show. Wonder Woman was a war story. Zatanna was a horror story. Supergirl was a propaganda movie”.^[9] Bennett concludes and acknowledges the importance of the decision, “We were able to complete this whole new world that wasn’t just one thing because no woman is just one thing. So they each got to have a distinct voice, a distinct personality”.^[9] The foundation of feminist tones in the comic are seen in the structure of this atypical history as Bennett says, “We wanted to make a principle of the series to have the conceit that in this alternate history World War II the women came first. No heroine is derivative of a male counterpart. They are the heroes”.^[9] Bennett’s rhetoric is seen in the first issue of the comic book series where Batwoman saves Bruce Wayne’s parents from their infamous shooting ^[11] Batman has never existed in the DC Bombshells’ continuity. Batwoman is not a reaction to Batman. The refusal to have female characters seen in relation to men is also evident in Mera, Aqua Woman’s, conception. Mera is not seen in relation to Aquaman, as he does not appear until the second act of the series^[12]

The series is collected in trade paperbacks.

Characters

Batwoman- In the 1930s, Kate Kane was an “adventurer.” She kept her father’s company afloat in the depression and fought in the Spanish civil war with her then girlfriend, Renee Montoya. In 1940s, Kate is “The Batwoman” a vigilante inspiring hope in Gotham City. She was named after the bat and baseball uniform she uses to fight crime in. She is requited by Amanda Waller to enlist in the Bombshells war effort.^[13]

Wonder Woman- Diana Prince was first introduced in the series as she disrupted an air raid between US troops and an unidentified opponent because they were causing unintentional harm to Themyscira. Diana soon meets Steve Trevor and cultivates a need to protect him from his impending execution for harming Themyscira. With the help of Mera, Aquawoman, Diana helps Steve escape. Diana soon joins the United States Army corps and fights against Germany.^[14]

Supergirl and Stargirl- Kortni Duginova and Kara Starikov were raised together as sisters after Kara’s Kryptonian pod landed in Russia. Their parents believed they were “like the twin Goddesses-made where the sky met the Earth. We are blessed by the creatures of the Forest and the creatures of the sky, she says. Her little fallen stars”.^[15] After their parents met unfortunate circumstances, Kortni and Kara lived in the Dormitory For Daughters of the Workers’ Revolution and had dreams of flying for the Night Witches, “the most terrifying bombers of the Soviet Air Force”.^[15] At an enlistment exam, Kara’s Kryptonian powers were revealed and the sisters were turned into propaganda for Russia’s war effort. Kara is described as “The wonder of Soviet science-the supergirl walks among us! A gift from the heavens, to favor the motherland in crushing her enemies” in a Russian newsreel. Kortni is described as, “Armed with the strength of the revolutionary soviet cosmonaut program---the Stargirl wields the cosmic staff. A design pioneered by comrade Ipati Dugin, the Stargirl’s distinguished father” ^[16]

Zatanna- In Germany, Zatanna is held captive by The Joker’s Daughter. She performs in a cabaret singing songs embedded with her signature magic. Zatanna meets John Constantine and in order to save his life, she transforms him into a rabbit. Zatanna is forced to aid the Joker’s Daughter summon a dangerous, dark beast called the Tenebrus, who will bring about destruction. She conspires with Constantine on how to successfully revolt against the Joker’s Daughter, yet her affection for him is constantly used against her.^[17]

The Batgirls- Harper Row has a chance encounter with Batwoman where she aids in stopping a crime. Batwoman leaves Harper her Bat, which inspires Harper to form the Batgirls with her best friends and coworkers, Nell Little and Kathy Duquesne. The trio quickly grows in ranks as both Bette Kane and Alysia Yeoh join them. The Batgirls stop corruption from running rampant in an orphanage in order to rescue Harper’s brother Cullen and come across Tim Drake. They both join their ranks as well.^[18]

Events that Mirror History

DC Comics Bombshells includes a depiction of the racial tension at the Olympics during World War II. The racism that was prevalent in the event is paralleled in #58 when Mari Mccabe, Vixen, competed in Track and Field games for Zambesi. Mari is quoted as saying, “I want this colonizer, this conqueror, to know I can beat him and his rabble. I can beat him and his rabble with nothing but the soles of my feet. Their Fuherer was betting on the wrong master race” ^[19] The event mirrors the real life 1936 Olympics in which Jesse Owens, an African-American man, won four gold medals and destroyed the racist belief that the Aryan race was superior.

Use of Atypical History

Marguerite Bennett promotes the idea of atypical history in the following statement, “One of the wonderful things about having it be an alternate history is you don’t have to deal with the historical accuracy of Kate and Maggie being closeted or the characters living in fear or for there to be segregation…I just want to read a story about them being damn heroes!”^[20] In the Women's Army Corps legislature ”...warned psychiatrists to “be on guard against the homosexual who may see in the WAC an opportunity to indulge her sexual perversity...and cause no end of difficulty”….."Homosexuals are quickly detected in the WAC” and “they should be excluded at the time of examination””.^[21] "Most WAC policies that affected lesbians were not specifically addressed toward female homosexuals but fell within the larger WAC regulatory system addressing female sexuality in general. The predominant concern of this design, based in the Code of Conduct, was to portray women within the corps as sexually respectable and to eliminate those whose behavior undermined this goal. Sexual agency in general was defined as a threat to the legitimacy of the women’s corps”.^[21] “Historians have characterized the “lack” of legislation concerning lesbianism as a “history of invisibility” and contended because no military officials issued no explicit policies or procedures for screening out lesbians during World War 11 this invisibility continued in the WAC” ^[21] “In May 1947 Army Officials took action to solve both the problems of discharges and the controversy over the liberalization of policy toward Homosexuals. None of these would be printed on blue paper, and these veterans would now “meet all qualifications for an honorable discharge.” The army revised its discharge regulations to prevent homosexuals from getting these general discharges and to make it nearly impossible for them to get any kind of honorable discharges. As a result gay men and women remained as undesirables.^[22] The characters in DC Comics Bombshells who serve in the WAC such as Supergirl and Wonder Woman do not experience homophobia. The characters’ sexuality is not consequential to their story lines. Characters such as Batwoman and Wonder Woman may be in relationships with other women whoever those relationships do affect the plot of their individual narratives. None of the characters’ sexuality is a conflict. The bisexual and lesbian characters have fully realized and explored relationships with other women.

Variant Covers

In June 2014, a selection of DC Comics monthly titles featured variant covers featuring the DC Comics Bombshells.^[2] This was repeated again in August 2015.^[3] The Bombshell variant covers were able to cultivate a coherent narrative that placed contemporary characters in the past. Ant Lucia details his process on detaching the characters from their current history and the construction of their new placement in World War II era, “We brainstorm on who this character is and if they were set in this period, what elements would make up their costume. Obviously with Batgirl's mask- what would she actually use left to her own devices to create this style costume in that period? What would her persona be — maybe she is this pilot alter-ego superhero? We take a little time in thinking about who these characters are and who they might be in this alternate reality” ^[4] Supergirls variant cover on “Superman #43” was a take on the various propaganda posters used for World War II. The Words ‘keep her flying’ are suspended overhead as the heroine sits on a fighter jet.^[23] She patriotically salutes a figure off screen, ‘buy war bonds’ is the message that connects the image with a suggestive narrative of how Supergirls current conception would fit into the DC Bombshells’ re-imagined history.

Action figures

Based on the continuing success of the line DC Collectibles announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2016 that they would be releasing a line of articulated action figures based on the DC Comics Bombshells line as part of their 'Designer Series' range of 6.75-inch figures. The first wave of figures will be released in April 2017 and feature Bombshell versions of Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and Batwoman.^[7] In a trailer for the series released on the DC Entertainment YouTube Channel they also revealed that a second wave would be released in Fall 2017, with a figure of the Bombshell version of Mera previewed.^[24]

References