Mirka Andolfo

This week, like a lot of people, we're in the mood to punch some Nazis and see some Nazis get punched, and there's no better comic on the stands for that than DC Comics: Bombshells, which takes the iconic heroines of the DC Universe and recasts them as World War II resistance fighters. The great thing about Bombshells is that it doesn't just extol the virtues of smacking a Nazi upside the face with a baseball bat; it reminds us there's more than one way to fight back.

The brave hero. The wicked villain. These archetypes, and the tales of their struggles, lie at the heart of the comic book medium, providing the basis for many of our favorite stories. While some may scoff at these aspirational stories, we know that they can be empowering, uplifting, and even inspiring. That's often especially true when the hero at the heart of the story is a woman. When women slay monsters, the stories are never just about protecting the kingdom and preserving the status quo. When women slay monsters, they challenge their own oppression, they overturn expectations, and they seize control of the future. When women slay monsters, they change the world. These are some of our favorite comic book stories that celebrate that idea.

Ms. Marvel #13, by G. Willow Wilson and Mirka Andolfo, finds Kamala Khan and her friends going door to door on election day, encouraging people to vote. The timing feels slightly off, since the issue's not out until November 30, but at least we have this preview of the scene for you now, while it's still relevant to our real lives.

The 50th chapter of DC Comics Bombshells is out tomorrow, and it's an exciting one. If you haven't been reading Bombshells --- which is a shame ---you need to know that it's about an alternate version of the DC Universe in which superhero women are the biggest heroes of World War II. It's by writer Marguerite Bennett and a number of great artists, with Chapter 50 drawn by Mirka Andolfo.

Dynamite has announced a new big event series from Gail Simone and Sergio Davila, Swords of Sorrow. Crossing over between many of their female characters, the series will lead into a series of tie-in stories written by some of the most talented women in the business, including Marguerite Bennett, Leah Moore, Mairghread Scott, Emma Beeby, Mikki Kendal, Nancy Collins, and G. Willow Wilson.

Anyone who has ever lost a pet -- even for a moment -- knows it's a worrisome affair. For the extra-emotional Bravest Warriors team, being separated from their companion Catbug is similarly gut-wrenching. Artist Ryan Pequin and Mirka Andolfo's "Catbug is Missing" backup in Bravest Warriors #6, out on March 13, sees just what happens when Wallow and the crew confront every animal lover's

Bodysnatching bad guys are traditionally depicted as germs, viruses, bugs, worms and other less-than-lovely corruptors. In Ryan Pequin and colorist Mirka Andolfo's Bravest Warriors #5 backup, "Cute Calamity," however, the team may be up against a much more cuddly threat when the huge-hearted Wallow adopts a pet of unknown alien origins...

One of my favorite pieces of tech from Bravest Warriors is the team's Holo-John, a Danger Room-meets-Holodeck-meets-bathroom where anything is possible. The animated BW episode "Butter Lettuce" demonstrated the training facility/commode's fun and fantastical side, and Ryan Pequin's "Trivial Reality" backup in next week's Bravest Warriors #4 reveals even more about the room by s