Hello, fellow Amazons. Welcome to another week of Wonder Woman Wednesday. This happens to be the week of San Diego Comic-Con, the biggest comic book convention in the world. In celebration of WW’s 75th Anniversary, SDCC will be featuring an exclusive gussied-up Gal Gadot as WW Barbie. They will also be having an exclusive WW figure with her invisible jet. DC will also be hosting props and costumes from the Lynda Carter television series. Sadly, I will not be attending, so make sure you Wonder fans take lots of pictures.
Now to the task at hand. With the second issue of Wonder Woman coming out last week, we are now privy to the first chapters of the alternating storylines running concurrently through the new series.
SPOILERS BELOW
The first story takes place in the present and focuses on an already established Wonder Woman, albeit one who is questioning the very foundation of her origin. Diana travels to the rain forest seeking the aid of enemy and rival Barbra Minerva (a.k.a Cheetah).
As much as I liked the issue, I felt the pacing was a little slow. A lot of nothing happened, stretched out over the course of an entire issue. I feel like Wonder Woman Rebirth #1 and Wonder Woman #1 could have easily been combined in one issue and made for a more solid read. Once again, as much as I liked it, I couldn’t help but ask myself at the end of the book thinking, “That’s it?”
The art of Liam Sharp is electrifying, enhanced greatly by the palette of color artist extraordinaire Laura Martin. Of particular note is the new design for Cheetah. It’s one of the creepiest, most cinematic designs we have ever seen of the character. Well done.
Conversely, the second story (starting with issue #2) takes place 10 years ago when Diana first encounters Steve Trevor (hunkishly drawn by Nicola Scott) on Paradise island. While the first issue seemed a little thin, the second issue was lush with story. I never thought I’d be so happy to see brunette Queen Hippolyta again!
The art of Nicola Scott and color art by Ramon Fajardo, Jr. is downright flawless. Scott is one of the best, classic type superhero artists working today. (Did I mention her hunky Steve Trevor?)
Speaking of objectification, I should mention the amazing alternate covers by Frank Cho. Sadly, his sixth cover will be his last, citing creative differences with writer Greg Rucka. That is a shame as the covers Cho has produced are some of the finest work of his career.
All in all, I’ll give the Wonder Woman relaunch a solid A. Certainly an “E” for effort, as you can just see and sense all of the love that went into this revamp. Wonder fans, rejoice your truth!
I guess that wraps up another Wonder Woman Wednesday. See you next Wednesday and, as always, be sure to check out the “I Am Wonder Fan” Facebook page.
