Greeting Netizens, Fracadactyl here.
Spoilers ahead for some parts of the series.
Kiss the Royal Feet of Bomb Queen
Bomb Queen is about the titular supervillain who runs the American Northeast area of New Port City. Not to be confused with Newport, Oregon or the city from Ghost in the Shell. New Port is essentially a better lit Gotham City with little legal restraints; crimes happen in every corner from murder, rape, molestation, and the like. Despite taking place in a world of superheroes and villains, Bomb Queen reigns supreme after banning every hero from her territory. This causes all kinds of undesirable people to come to the city; crooks, denounced news people, and do-gooders who try too hard.
The Bomb Queen and her People
Bomb Queen is by all means a despotic dictator, ruling with an iron fist ready to explode. Yet the general populace tolerates her and is left alone by the federal powers. New Port and Bomb Queen’s activities actually cause crime rates to drop in the surrounding areas; this is due to all of the crooks migrating to the city. For that matter, crimes only happen in designated Crime Zones, anywhere else is illegal. Bomb Queen is effectively a kingpin of crime and a “benevolent” dictator; she actually manages to improve her city by a wide margin better than any wide-eye superhero or politician could have.
The public tolerates her not just because of a low bar in morality, it’s because without Bomb Queen to run the crimes, things go from bad to worse. Being a city of criminals willing to murder and wreak havoc requires somebody to be in charge; especially when lethal and deadly force is necessary.
Chaos Reigns
This kind of lifestyle is best described as authoritative anarchy. This and constructive anarchy unlike contemporary anarchy uses commitment of stability in everyday life; all without pressures from the outside to conserve and revolt at the same time. Most roles are based on volunteering rather than assignment. Hierarchy is in the background while mutual aid truly runs things. Each citizen works together to keep their respective businesses flowing. For example, drug trade for all of its history of corruption is a lucrative business for run down slum areas. It even follows standard practices like international relations and deal making.
However this is not a complete anarchy as left alone, gangs and crime lords go to war a regular basis. Which is where the Crime Zones come in. Despite what The Purge might say, just a day to pull off crimes without consequence doesn’t lower crime rates. Law enforcement and political systems are still in place even if they are just decorations for the Bomb Queen’s authority. They keep big gang violence in check all the while leaving all the theatrics to its undisputed “protector”. The Crime Zones only allow certain areas for crimes to take place; this ensures no places of interest or business get damaged. People still get hurt but they’re at less risk. The only one allowed to defy this rule is Bomb Queen herself.
How Does it Sustain?
However none of the citizens seem to be agricultural. So the city mainly runs on supplies by its rather creepily politically correct neighbor. Littleville is a small farming town that is the polar opposite of New Port City. How can a town like this even exist in an ideal world? It doesn’t, the town is actually run by clones that are genetically incapable of aggression. There are no crimes so whenever something does go wrong, New Port gets the blame; that’s politics for you.
Political Climate
But nothing is as it seems. New Port seems to have an atmosphere that encourages criminal behavior; even the most well adjusted heroes fall prey to this environment. In fact, there is actually a shadow government that works under the US’s nose through a public senator. New Port is actually as an experiment to lure all of the country’s criminals to a controlled area; it functions like Arkham City. They even create Bomb Queen artificially after several tries to be the warden who would rule over the populace; but the queen went rogue from her control programming. So they try to take the queen down and replace her with a more controllable factor. As for Littleville, it serves as little more than a buffer to support it; complete with an unstable superhero.
Everybody Loves Satire
As for why the audience enjoys Bomb Queen; it’s somewhat similar to why people like Deadpool or South Park’s Eric Cartman. Bomb Queen is self aware enough to make fun of situations that often require eloquence. She is crass, cusses constantly, breaks the fourth wall, and often does things with a sense of unpredictable humor. Unlike Deadpool, she has no redeeming qualities despite being easier to look at. In fact, Cartman can’t hold a candle to her because despite having a similar mindset; the Queen is much more a blunt force of nature. To oversimplify things, the Queen reigns by making campy scenarios the audience can laugh at rather than despair.
It’s not just Bomb Queen either, but her world too, satirizing everything encompassing it. The presentation alone makes anticipation meaningless; things like a big gun and grenade on a guard’s back are just decorations that serves no other purpose. Heck he doesn’t ever appear again. A couple of action scenes are even put on directional repeat; the reader has to guess how events go or if it keeps going until the next panel. In terms of writing, the comic is self aware enough to know that collateral damage from superhero fights is less desirable than being blown up by Bomb Queen. It’s likely that some of the citizens are former henchmen when you look at it with that mindset. Making superheroes look stupid is probably the main reason they’re behind the queen.
Super Satire
Superheroes are mostly played for laughs; figures like the flying brick Ace Justice and hulked-out Public Power are reduced to jokes. Ace’s skin-tight costume is a constant sense of mockery, especially around the crotch; compare him to Bomb Queen who barely covers herself. Also, despite his monologuing about doing good for good’s sake, Ace is really a hitman trying to raise money for his mother’s treatment. Public Power on the other hand is a desperate attempt of a mayoral candidate to censor a scandal about him; belying a ‘nothing to hide’ policy his title and “costume” implies. He loses because of an allergy to cats for crying out loud!
But not all heroes are like this. Editor Girl is one hero who retains her dignity and actually fits into the satire as a whole. All thanks to using a magic pen that allows her to control outcomes by re-writing speech bubbles. Then there’s Dee Rail, a superhero who has a rather ridiculous power set; she needs to be actively on a railroad just to live. But she is far more capable than traditional heroes like Ace Justice.
Some of the other villains aside from Bomb Queen also satirize powers. One character has nipples so hard and sharp they pierce through steel and plexiglass shields. In fact the final mini-series shows how heroes and villains can become icons for cults; all the while covering any crime they commit. Sounds a lot like real world religions.
Social Satire
In just the first volume, New Port City takes the opportunity to make fun of taboo topics; including a white slave trade overseen by black people. This might seem like just an ironic joke; but in today’s anti-cisgender white male media, even hate speech not aimed at minorities gets praise. For example, New York Times hired Sarah Jeong as a writer, despite her clearly hateful tweets against white men. Compare that to when discrimination comes up a chapter later; it’s brought out by known racists like the Ku Klux Klan who want to do their crimes wherever they want. These jokes play accurately reflect a politically correct culture that expose social morality’s double standards.
Bomb Queen on Inter-State Relations
Politics in the greater area comes up in the fourth mini-series. When celebrity and meme favorite senator Barak Obama becomes president he attempts to have New Port shut down. So Bomb Queen fights against him using a series of bluffs and a twisted form of campaigning. By bluffing through Obama’s view of New Port; the Queen starts a movement against him from out of her city’s borders. And by adding a baiting bluff that she is pregnant with Obama’s lovechild, his credibility drops with attempts to censor. In fact, by showing a perverted version of American values such as supporting the LGBT communities, different social classes, and systems of belief no matter how extreme; it brings up a surprisingly less wild version of the 2016 elections.
Counter-Culture at its Most Raw
In the fifth to final mini-series, after the Queen succeeds in becoming a ghost in the machine; she becomes a virus that can infect the world. However she bids her time for the right moment. In this case a futuristic dystopian world with ever present distractions constantly playing. One kid has to save his dad by becoming a superhero because of this.
Anyone not connected to the system called the Singularity is considered a criminal; and it seems that nobody can turn it off since the terminals are bonded to the nervous system. Public privacy doesn’t even exist anymore other than as a commodity. In fact just Bomb Queen’s presence causes dissent among a strike force. With the queen’s followers using the only analogue and unbiased sources of information; it’s a place for the people who fall through society’s cracks. Now I know why she comes back in 2020 to challenge Donald Trump, fans wanna know who would win.
Most sources of opinion are in polls that always pop-up in the background. Heck most people prefer to stay in a virtual world the Singularity provides compared to the real one. In fact, any political dissidents who don’t agree with the current system are immediately incarcerated. Boy does that sound familiar. I guess it goes to show that reaction to evil personified can create misguided good. Ultimately, the queen gets her way by taking advantage of these minorities successfully dominating the world and causing mass destruction.
The Overall Idea of Bomb Queen
All of this in mind, Jimmie Robinson created this character simply because he couldn’t keep up with the public interest; he had to follow a trend to get himself back on track. But rather than stick to the Frank Miller-style superheroes; he decides not to take himself too seriously when developing Bomb Queen. A character like her isn’t some two-dimensional obstacle for some two-bit cape. Instead she’s a vehicle to subvert expectations of comics from the 90s. It’s actually kind of scary how this comic predicts real world events by messing around.
Closing Thoughts
I never realized how rough superhero franchises had it until I saw Bomb Queen. I’m so familiar with tragic characters or relatable mundanity that it started to become dull to me. Yet living the comedic life of a complete psychopath reminds me of why I like shows filled with vain people; think Dan Vs or It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. You can embrace the fantasies of defying status quo with camp and not giving a thought. Bomb Queen is very ahead of its time.
But the ink’s not dry yet. Thanks for coming and as always remember to look between the panels.