Time Bomb: Countdown to Armageddon
| Time Bomb: Countdown to Armageddon | |
|---|---|
| Date |
|
| No. of issues | 4 |
| Main characters |
|
| Publisher | Shadowline Image Comics |
| Creative team | |
| Writers | Jimmie Robinson |
| Artists | Jimmie Robinson |
| Letterers | Kristen Simon |
| Colourists | Paul Little |
| Creators | Jimmie Robinson |
| Editors | Melanie Hackett (issue #1–2) Jade Dodge (issue #3–4) |
| Original publication | |
| Published in | Bomb Queen |
| ISBN | 978-1-5343-2037-6 |
| Translation | |
| Publisher | Jim Valentino |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Bombastic: The Divine Comedy |
| Followed by | Bomb Queen Versus Hack/Slash (one-shot) End of Hope: The Day the Heroes Died (miniseries) Ultimate Bomb: Trump Card (midquel) |
Time Bomb: Countdown to Armageddon (also known as Oh-BOMB-Ah! and Bomb Queen vs. Obama) is a satirical limited series graphic novel written and illustrated by Jimmie Robinson that was released in four parts from 2009 to 2011 by Shadowline and Image Comics as the sixth volume of the American comic book series Bomb Queen, set in the Image Universe. Part 1 was released on September 30, 2009, Part 2 was released on November 24, 2010, Part 3 was released on December 15, 2010, and Part 4, Final War, was released on January 26, 2011. An omnibus edition was released on June 15, 2011.
Set sometime following the election of Barack Obama, the series follows a now-pregnant Bomb Queen as the supervillainness wages a smear campaign against the U.S. President after he announces a blockade of New Port City, throwing out her previous status quo in the process. Preceded by Bombastic: The Divine Comedy, it is followed by the story arc End of Hope: The Day the Heroes Died, as well as Ultimate Bomb: Trump Card, set between Time Bomb and End of Hope.
The series has received a universally positive critical reception.[1]
Premise[edit]
Part One[edit]
The superheroes of the Image Universe are lining up to congratulate U.S. President Barack Obama, but NOT the supervillain dictator of New Port City. When the new administration targets her criminal city for closure along with Guantanamo Bay, the seething with bloodlust Bomb Queen tracks down blackmail information on the President.[2][3][4][5]
Part Two[edit]
After killing two superhero assassins sent into New Port City by the President, while continuing her media smear campaign of him, Bomb Queen returns with new twists and mayhem as she is revealed to be three months pregnant, purportedly with the President's child after raiding a sperm bank he had once visited. Can Washington D.C. put the evil Queen back in her bottle, or will this be Obama's first comic book defeat?[6][7][8][9]
Part Three[edit]
After Bomb Queen forces Editor Girl into a scenario where she must sacrifice herself to save/revive the heroes of the Image Universe whom Bomb Queen's minions would kill/had already killed (including ShadowHawk and Firebreather), President Obama scrambles to prove his innocence when the evil Bomb Queen alleges he is the father of her unborn child. With the President on the defensive, the Queen unleashes her perfect media charm upon America's scandal-hungry media, much to the White House's detriment.[10][11][12] The issue also includes Proof by Alex Grecian and Riley Rossmo as a backup story.
Part Four: Final War[edit]
President Obama believes he can finally beat the scandalous Bomb Queen, but the supervillain is ready to show the world the TRUE meaning of the darkest evil, throwing out her status quo entirely and blowing up New Port City along with the White House, declaring all of America the new location to send the world's evil. leaving the despondent President, left lacking his arms and one eye, to address the American people, as Bomb Queen gives birth to her son, actually the biological son of George W. Bush, whom she names George Damien Bush, intending for him to one day become the Antichrist.[13][14][15]
Development[edit]
In August 2009, on announcing the sixth volume of Bomb Queen, tentatively entitled Bomb Queen vs. Obama,[17] setting the titular supervillainness against U.S. President Barack Obama following the pair meeting during the epilogue of the previous miniseries The Divine Comedy (Bombastic),[18] series' writer-illustrator Jimmie Robinson stated:
"Bomb Queen cannot exist under Obama's watch anymore than Guantanamo Bay, or Abu Ghraib. To say Obama supports a criminal dictator on American soil is akin to condoning torture – which he does not. So the inspiration for the story was clear early on. Obama will attempt to shut down New Port City and the Queen will attempt to crush [him]. Folks thinking I'm jumping on some kind of Obama bandwagon clearly have not read the series. It's been about politics from day one, page one. Now, don't get me wrong I personally support the President, I'm glad he's in office, I voted for him. However, I have to write for my character – and she hates Obama. Just like Stephen King or Clive Barker, who write horrific characters and do not identify with them, so do I, or any writer worth their salt. So this volume was another test for me as a writer to go outside of my personal beliefs and script a story from a villain's perspective. Still, there's another part of the story, which is a spoiler I can't reveal, that came to me as inspiration from one of my readers. Yes, that's right, a long-time reader put my feet to the fire on a few issues and it made me think. Not just about the spoiler aspect, but about the series as a whole. As a result of the Obama storyline, readers can expect a shift in the "Bomb Queen" paradigm. While [I'm] unsure how readers will react to the change that's coming, [I] does believe that after 25 issues, the series is ripe for such a change."[19]
There would be a fourteen-month delay between the first and second issues of Bomb Queen VI, between September 30, 2009, and November 24, 2010,[20] with Robinson featuring Obama recruiting several of the heroes of the Image Universe to take on Bomb Queen.[21] Elaborating on Bomb Queen's new "PR warfare" tactic from the second issue onwards, Robinson described it as:
"Bomb Queen is fighting him on the public front. People love Obama and there is no real dirt on Obama. With George Bush, Bomb Queen had all kind of blackmail dirt on him. With Obama, there is nothing. He's really clean. To attack him outright physically would make her out to be the true villain and Obama would be in the right, [so] the best offense against Obama would be the charm offense, where Bomb Queen would take her case to the American public. That's where I get to use the platform of Freedom of Speech and constitutional rights for a villain. She has hate speech, but you have a right to be hateful if you want – it's just bad taste. She's pretty much saying that in her city, they have the right to be idiots and the current administration doesn't have the right to close them down for that."[21]
Robinson further expressed interest in producing a Battle Pope and Bomb Queen special with Robert Kirkman, and a The Pro and Bomb Queen special with Garth Ennis, following the in-development Bomb Queen Versus Hack/Slash Valentine's Day Special set to follow Bomb Queen VI,[21] and that on describing the satirical nature of Bomb Queen vs. Obama to his publishers, noted that "they added a caveat. I could NOT kill him. So going with that I set out to hurt him, even maim him and destroy the country under him [since] Bomb Queen, created during the George Bush era, obviously would hate him. And likewise, Obama would not stand for a place like Bomb Queen’s city. New Port City is sanctioned by the government, and that program would be cut under Obama",[1] inspiring later series of Robinson's such as Ultimate Bomb: Trump Card to see Bomb Queen take on other United States Presidents.[1]
Reception[edit]
Comics XF lauded the characterisation of Barack Obama as a central character in Book VI as "some of the best writing [in Bomb Queen] as a thoughtful, reasonable guy trying to do his best in a crazy world dominated by the [Bomb] Queen",[1] with Washington City Paper noting the President's Bomb Queen appearance as his fourth "hottest comic-book guest star" spot appearance of 2009, behind The Amazing Spider-Man, The Savage Dragon, and Youngblood.[22]
Collected editions[edit]
| Title | Material collected | Published date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time Bomb: Countdown to Armageddon | Time Bomb: Countdown to Armageddon (Bomb Queen vol. 6 #1–4) | June 15, 2011[23] | ISBN 978-1534320376 |
| Bomb Queen Deluxe Edition: Volume Three | Bombastic: The Divine Comedy (vol. 5) #1–6 and Time Bomb: Countdown to Armageddon (Oh-BOMB-Ah!) (vol. 6) #1–4 | September 18, 2013[24] | ISBN 978-1607067696 |
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Nevin, Will (August 28, 2020). "'Bomb Queen' Creator Robinson On Resuming His Half-Naked, All-Violent Series In An Age Of Trump". ComicsXF. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
- ^ CBR Staff (June 12, 2009). "Image Solicitations, September 2009". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved June 12, 2009.
- ^ Winstead, Nick (September 29, 2009). "Comic Book Previews for September 30th, 2009". ComicBook.com. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
- ^ Schleicher, Stephen (June 12, 2009). "Image Comics for September 2009". Major Spoilers. Retrieved June 12, 2009.
- ^ Ambush Bug (September 28, 2009). "AICN COMICS STM: Previews The Tingler! G.I. Joe Cobra! Obama vs. Bomb Queen! Plus Online Comics & Neurocinema!". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
- ^ Allen, Troy-Jeffrey (September 23, 2009). "Image Comics Products Shipping In October 2009". Previews World. Retrieved September 23, 2009.
- ^ Meyer, Jeff (August 26, 2010). "Bomb Queen Makes Her Irreverent Return to Image Comics This Fall". GoCollect. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
- ^ Alls, Rob (August 23, 2010). "Image Comics for November". Comics Continuum. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
- ^ Meyer, Jeff (September 28, 2010). "Image Comics December 2010 Solicitations". GoCollect. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
- ^ Schleicher, Stephen (September 27, 2010). "Image Comics for December 2010". Major Spoilers. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
- ^ Meyer, Jeff (February 25, 2010). "Image Comics Extended Forecast for 03/03/2010". GoCollect. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
- ^ Robot Overlord (December 21, 2010). "Image Comics Sneak Peek of the Week". Major Spoilers. Retrieved December 21, 2010.
- ^ Allen, Troy-Jeffrey (November 18, 2009). "Image Comics Products Shipping In December 2009". Previews World. Retrieved November 18, 2009.
- ^ Meyer, Jeff (December 4, 2009). "Image Comics Extended Forecast for 12/09/2009". GoCollect. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
- ^ Robot Overlord (October 27, 2010). "Image Comics for January 2011". Major Spoilers. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
- ^ Allen, Troy-Jeffrey (February 15, 2021). "Jimmie Robinson Interview: Bomb Queen, The Villain We Deserve". Previews World. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
- ^ Grand, Alex (September 4, 2019). "Jimmie Robinson Interview, Creator of Bomb Queen". Comic Book Historians. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
- ^ CBR Staff (August 20, 2009). "Robinson talks 20 Issues of "Bomb Queen"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved August 20, 2009.
You look at [Barack] Obama and the guy is shaft of light in the darkness. Doesn't matter that he's still a politician, a lawyer, and talking rhetoric that can never be fulfilled – all the things people normally hate – but he represents a new direction and people respond to that. Even the criminals of society. Bomb Queen will have a rough time if her city decides to tilt away from supporting her. She is only as powerful as her reign and only considered a Queen / ruler' if the people allow it.
- ^ Sullivan, Michael Patrick (August 20, 2009). "Jimmie Robinson Talks Bomb Queen vs. Obama!". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2009.
- ^ Armitage, Hugh (August 26, 2010). "'Bomb Queen' returns". Digital Spy. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
- ^ a b c Mahadeo, Kevin (September 9, 2010). "Robinson Reignites the Bomb (Queen)". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
- ^ Rhode, Mike (March 24, 2010). "Obama Returns to Comic Books, Tasks Veronica with Powering Economy". Washington City Paper. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
- ^ Robinson, Jimmie (June 15, 2011). "Bomb Queen Volume 6: Time Bomb". Previews World. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
- ^ Robinson, Jimmie (September 18, 2013). "Bomb Queen: Deluxe Edition Volume 3". Image Comics. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
