Funko Bat-Family DC BOMBSHELLS!

A Variety of Bat-Family Products: Dorbz, POP, and Rock Candy - Funko 2017-18

The amount of DC Bombshells merchandise that has come out over the past year has been a little overwhelming. The majority of these products have been from Funko.  They have released tons of products from their Pop, Dorbz, and Rock Candy lines (Plus the first Vynl figures have been solicited and I'm sure Mystery Minis and Pint Size Heroes will come eventually). With all that glorious product hitting the shelves, I defaulted to my standard cost-saving methods and limited myself to only Bat-Family characters. But as you'll see in this post, that still left me with a ton of characters to collect. When the Bombshells designs first appeared five years ago I wasn't instantly sold (I have hangups over the historical objectification of pinup girls vs their cool modern reinvention). But after about three years I caved and bought my first DC Bombshells item (a Harley keychain from Elephant Gun). Well then the dam broke and I have almost 30 pieces (with more on the way). Let's check out the current roster below!

DC Bombshells - HAWKGIRL!

DC Designer Series: Ant Lucia #6 - Bombshells Hawkgirl - DC Collectibles 2017

One of my biggest collecting regrets is selling off a large Hawkgirl collection I had accumulated about 12 years ago. I had always been drawn to Hawkgirl's image. The Yellow, Green, and Red costume, the big wings, the beaked helmet. I loved everything about her design. But every time I tried to read her in a comic, I could never get interested. So as much as I loved her look, I was never emotionally invested in the character. The collecting angle had its own headaches. By nature of their bulky wings, displaying any large group of Thanagarians is a headache. They take up a ton of space, they often don't stand well, and when they topple they take a ton of neighbors down with them. I remember feeling good and decisive when I sold them, but almost instantly regretting it. Since then I've picked up about 4 or 5 new Hawkgirls and I'm always tempted to hunt down my old favorites, but for the most part I refrain. I was really surprised as how good this Bombshells figure looked in my LCS and just had to pick her up.

DC Bombshells - BATGIRL!

DC Designer Series: Ant Lucia #5 - Bombshells Batgirl - DC Collectibles 2017

I love Batgirl. She is one of my longest-lasting comic book infatuations (right behind Catwoman). And she was the catalyst that made me really boil down and analyze what kind of characters I am drawn to - that being female versions of established male characters. It's easy to view this as reductive and almost following an "Adam's rib" type origin, but I have always seen it as an interesting gender-swap experiment where extremely popular characters are altered (improved) by applying feminine traits and principles. The majority of female heroes fit this mold actually, but Batgirl will always be my baseline example. These Bombshells designs by Ant Lucia are extremely popular. It took me a long time to warm up to them personally, but now I'm officially hooked. Of all the designs however, I must say that one of my least favorites is the Batgirl paratrooper look. It's not horrible or anything, just not my favorite. I'm just not a huge fan of a goggles-and-bare-midriff combo I guess. Let's check out the Bombshells Batgirl below!

DC Bombshells - HARLEY QUINN!

DC Designer Series: Ant Lucia #2 - Bombshells Harley Quinn - DCC 2017

I'm really surprised at how much I like this DC Bombshells Harley Quinn figure. For some reason the statues and comic covers didn't appeal to me at all and I honestly thought I would be begrudgingly buying this figure out of a need for bat-family completion.  But in actuality I think she's fantastic. There are often aeronautical themes in pin-up girl design, but I suddenly find it interesting that it kind of crosses lines now with the more modern trends of steampunk. The Bombshells brand has also included Harley in a retro nurse outfit, so I will be curious to see if there will be a second Harley figure down the line. There have been six upcoming figures announced so far (Mera, Hawkgirl, Supergirl, Katana, Batgirl, and Bumblebee) and since they seem to come out in batches of four, it's a fair assumption that there are at least two more on the horizon. I'm guessing it will be Black Canary and Zatanna, but you never know. Let's check out the DC Bombshells Harley Quinn action figure below!

DC Bombshells - BATWOMAN!

DC Designer Series: Ant Lucia #4 - Bombshells Batwoman - DC Collectibles 2017

When the DC Bombshells designs first started showing up four years ago, I thought they were really fun, but I honestly wasn't head-over-heels for them. Then a year into the comic variants, I saw the Batwoman #32 cover and kind of fell in love. I didn't necesarily love the art itself or the layout of the cover, but the concept of Batwoman as a baseball-playing bat-woman was pretty genius. Then for a second I got offended about a sapphic softball stereotype, but then I thought about how much I love A League of Their Own and my two Starting Lineup Cooperstown Collection female figures, and I gave her a pass. She is easily my second favorite of this figure series so far (Poison Ivy being by surprise top choice). The sculpts by Paul Harding in this series are fantastic. He has come a long way since those 3.75" Injustice figures. I can't wait to see what figures he does next. I have a hunch he did the upcoming Icons Balent Catwoman which looks stunning. We'll see I guess. Let's check out Batwoman!

DC Bombshells - POISON IVY!

DC Designer Series: Ant Lucia #3 - Bombshells Poison Ivy - DC Collectibles 2017

Pin-Up girls have always been a struggle for me. I love the hair, I love the fashion, and I love the overall aesthetic. But I can't escape the reality that this style was born in an era of subservience and exploitation for women. Luckily the modern trend of pinup fashion has reclaimed the look in the name of feminism. What was once idealized imagery for male titillation is now embraced as a symbol of strong, assertive, and creative women. I think one of the coolest pop-culture ripple effects of this trend has been the DC Bombshells series designed by Ant Lucia. In 2013, DC Collectibles released the first retro pinup-styled Bombshells statues. So far there have been 19 original statues (excluding the various repaints), plus at least 4 more on the horizon. Then in Summer of 2014, DC Comics held their first Bombshells variant cover theme, which they repeated the following Summer before creating an entire Bombshells comic series. I count roughly 65 Bombshells issues between the variant covers and the series.

DC Comics Bombshells Keychain - HARLEY QUINN!

DC Comics Bombshells - Collector Series Keychains - Elephant Gun LLC 2016

Check out this tiny little beauty! It's amazing how much detail they can cram into a 3" tall keychain these days. If these existed in my school days, I totally would have been one of those kids with a tricked out backpack that jingled and rattled as I sprinted late to every class (tardiness is forever one of my biggest flaws). These keychains from Elephant Gun are amazing to me. I really enjoy Ant Lucia's DC Bombshells designs. I have an affinity for pin-up art, and regular readers will know I'm gaga over my DC ladies. So this property seems like a perfect fit for me. However, I never even considered buying the Bombshells statues due to price and lack of display space. I have kind of made it a habit to ignore anything related to the Bombshells during the past three years for just those reasons. However, these tiny keychain versions are well within my budget and they can easily squeeze into any of my shelf displays. I'm very excited to buy them all as they come out. Let's check out Bombshell Harley below!