I've been saying it for ages, and even wrote it on this site at one point: Wonder Woman needs a female writer, and I'll add it to my pull list when that happens.
Ladies and germs, the day has finally come! On July 29th, DC released Wonder Woman #759, the first issue to be written in a run by Mariko Tamaki. Joyfully, I'm familiar with Tamaki's writing from HULK/She-Hulk at Marvel. She's also known for DC's Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass and Supergirl: Being Super with Joelle Jones, plus a number of other comics and graphic novels. To say that I was excited going in would be an understatement, as saying I'm happy with how it turned out would be. I loved this first issue so much, I say up last night with notes about WHY it was so good spiraling though my brain, and writing it all out before bed. With a few additions, continue reading for my full review of Wonder Woman #759 by Mariko Tamaki, with art by Mikel Janin and colors by Jordie Bellaire!
This is a spoiler-free portion of the review. While I discuss specifics of the art and basic plot points, in this section it will only be things that you would have known from reading the solicitation. There will be adequate warning before actual spoilers are told! If you just want to read what happened in the issue, click here!
As this issue does not mark any kind of restart or reboot for the series, Mariko Tamaki took the wise choice and assumed the audience already knows what they need to know about Diana. Amazonian, raised on an island of powerful women, came to Man's World to help them in their constant struggle for peace.
Instead of giving us that traditional intro to Diana, Tamaki takes a slightly different perspective. She starts off by pointing out that so many of those we label "heroes" don't actually do things for the greater good of the entire populace, and Diana is one of the few exceptions. This is the theme of the narration we get sprinkled throughout the issue, while we follow Diana from one mighty, heroic deed to another. No trial is too big or too small. What I find truly refreshing about the way Tamaki writes Wonder Woman here is how it's so unlike most Wonder Woman books I've read. The narration, while inspiring and thought provoking, doesn't come off as preachy or pushy. A trend I noticed in other Wonder Woman books is that the creative team seems to want to say and show everything about Diana all at once. It makes the comic feel rushed, and diminishes the point the writer was trying to make. One great example of a writer who doesn't tend to do that is Tom King. His Batman run, in my opinion, was taken slow enough to make each issue feel like it had a purpose in the whole. Mariko Tamaki had a similar style of writing in her run of HULK/She-Hulk in 2016, and this far into her Wonder Woman, I can already see she's handling Diana in the same way. She takes her time and chooses her words carefully, not saying any more or less than is needed to prove her point alongside the art. She lets the broad history of the character lead the way. There is nothing that feels forced, exaggerated, or showy. As I said, it's refreshing, and I look forward to absorbing more of this style of Wonder Woman story-telling. Tamaki's writing is paired perfectly with interior art by Mikel Janin. Janin’s art is simple yet striking—saving the high detail for where it matters most in the story. Much of that is Diana’s remarkable athleticism, paired with captivating expressions in a way that makes his art almost cinematic. And that’s all before mentioning industry favorite colorist (and successful comic writer in her own right) Jordie Bellaire. Just like Janin and his detailing, Bellaire knows exactly when to best utilize color in a panel, bringing specific characters and objects to the forefront with clear and concise colors (it's worth noting, however, this will not be the art team moving forward, see below for more details). Not to mention, on more than a few panels, I had to stop and appreciate the deep raven of Diana’s flowing hair. The fashionable reds and blacks of her outfits speak of a modern Diana, clearly respectful of her Themyscrian roots. Her roots are strongly hinted at in the issue, but never fully addressed. As mentioned before, this isn't a reboot of the character, so Tamaki doesn’t need to spend a whole issue explaining the origins and inner drives of Wonder Woman. History, however, seems to be a big player in the upcoming plot, where we’re teased an eventual team up with classic Wonder Woman enemy, Maxwell Lord. Her history with Maxwell Lord is touched on tactfully and paired with a strong visual that would make her creators absurdly proud, which I'll touch on during the spoiler portion of this review. I’m not sure quite where Max Lord stands with having ever died or not. While this comic seems to lean the continuity away from it, Wonder Woman did publicly execute Maxwell Lord at the beginning of the Infinite Crisis event. Since then, there have been a number of universe reboots, so it’s very possible DC has retconned this particular event from canon history. Including his murder or not, Max and Diana have a long and complicated relationship which hasn’t been touched on in years. Another feat this comic achieves is proving once again women can write comics well. Wonder Woman is a female character who tends to be written by men, and a lot of people will probably write that off as there not being as many female star writers worthy of doing her justice. This is due to what we call unconscious bias. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has spoken out about the harms of unconscious bias for years. Similarly, often times people write off the praise a female writer gets on a series simply because it was a female led book with a female writer, so they think of course women read it regardless of if it's any good. While women-supporting-women is indeed a (very good and much needed) trend, I don't think anyone is going to purchase a comic they don't like just to prove a point. With these things in mind, I was almost a little hesitant to take the jump--what would I say if it turned out legitimately NOT good? I know and love Tamaki's earlier HULK/She-Hulk series for Marvel, and have heard nothing but praise about a number of her other projects. But even comic legends have "lame duck" moments, and I'd hate to see that here. I had nothing to worry about. When picking up the first issues of a new story arc in previous Wonder Woman creator runs, I would find myself trying to lower my expectations to match the book in my hands. I'd mentally run in circles looking for excuses to give the creative team about why the comic just wasn't jiving. I don't mean to call out any creator specifically, exactly, and not even all the male writers. But for a long time now, there hasn't been an iconic Wonder Woman run, or even story. When I think about the best Wonder Woman books I've read, I think of Grant Morrison's Earth One volumes, which aren't even the main DC world. What all this comes down to is, I haven't seen a Wonder Woman team making any brave strides, taking any chances, or leaving any kind of noteworthy story legacy in their wake. I've never really finished an issue of Wonder Woman before and been excited to find out what happens next, but I was with #759. If this first issue was any indication, Mariko Tamaki's Wonder Woman is going to be one that goes down is history as remarkable and memorable. If I have one concern, it's what appears to be a rotating door of artists and art teams for Wonder Woman still. It's a problem DC seems to have been having recently, keeping artists on books for longer than about three to four issues. While I'm not in the industry and can't give any insight as to why this might be, I can say definitively as a reader that jumping from artist to artist can be jarring and disruptive to the story. Still, Tamaki's footing was clearly firm with this debut, so I hope to see that continue moving forward! I'll be back in September with a review on the first story arc for the new writer!
If you're looking for a more traditional point-by-point review of the plot, I've got you here!
WARNING: SPOILERS TO FOLLOW!
The issue starts, as I mentioned at the beginning of this review, with Tamaki telling us how Diana is one of the last true heroes. alongside that narration, the princess of Themyscria is moving into a new apartment, and a new neighbor's bunny escapes into the cluttered space. Her owner is an apologetic, I'd guess teenage girl with pink hair and a definite grungy look. She immediately befriends Diana, which seemed a little suspicious, but more on that later.
As the two get to know one another in town, a nearby vehicle seems to go rogue, driving wildly through the parking lot and onto a busy freeway. It's being driven by a clearly mind-controlled mother, with her baby still strapped into a car-seat in the back. Diana is after is before most the onlookers can react. She chases the van onto the road until it begins to veer into oncoming traffic, and she uses her own body to keep the vehicles from colliding. The mother snaps out of her trance, and first responders handle the scene from there. When we get the introduction to her history with Maxwell Lord, the image on the page is Diana standing over her subdued enemy, who is tied up in an almost bondage style. If you're at all familiar with the true origins of Wonder Woman, you know that they're very "tied up" in ideas of dominance, submission, bondage, and female liberation. Her creator, William Marston, would have loved the visual of Diana dominating a former arch-nemesis. When we finally fully see Maxwell Lord in the context of the story, it's as he faces Wonder Woman in his jail cell. Diana was called out to help a highly dangerous situation in a max security prison. Lord must have taken control of a number of super-powered cellmates, as well as a number of the prison's security team. We don't even need to see the fight to know it was easy for her. When we see her in the aftermath, she's standing surrounded by their dropped bodies, like a total boss, ready to face Lord down again. It felt like a short issue, but I loved every panel of it. Based on solicitations through October, it looks like this first arc will conclude with issue #763 on September 29th. It also looks like that teenage girl with the pink hair Diana moved in next door to is actually a villain! That explains why she was so automatically trusting and enthusiastic about her new neighbor. Her villain name is Liar Liar, and we'll see her as a villain the first time in issue #762. My theory in this first arc or so of Tamaki's Wonder Woman, is that Liar Liar is working with Maxwell Lord, will take advantage and double cross him, and then Lord will have to come crying to Diana for help. Issue #764 starts a new story arc with Maxwell Lord still at her side as apparent partner in heroing, so things must smooth out between them real quick. If I regularly rated issue, this would be a 10/10 for me. I'm thrilled to be reading Wonder Woman and LOVING it again! Congratulations to Mariko Tamaki, Mikel Janin, Jordie Bellaire, and the entire Wonder Woman team for such a stunning debut issue, which I'm told has sold out in about 24 hours and is already getting a second printing! What a good time to be a nerd.
1 Comment
4/20/2024 04:38:41 pm
You maaay think that name's funny...
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