A new creative team is taking the reins on DC’s Wonder Woman, and while this issue only offers a small sample size, the future seems immensely bright.
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Spoilers incoming for Wonder Woman #58, so if you haven’t read the issue yet you’ve been warned.
To get you up to speed, writer G. Willow Wilson, artist Cary Nord (pencils), and Ramulo Fajardo Jr. (colors) are the new creative team in charge, and there’s a lot to like in their opening salvo. These first few pages are some of the strongest visually, creatively depicting the cascading paths underneath Themyscira. Wilson’s dialogue also leaves an impression here, making what would seem initially like a relatively mundane conversation into something from which a new take on Ares can emerge. It’s also the first time we’ve heard someone call someone else a little pimple, and we’re not going to forget that anytime soon.
We didn’t exactly foresee Grail and Ares riffing off each other so well, and Wilson also has a solid handle on Diana and Trevor, giving us just enough of them to remind you why you should care but not so much that it slows the overall narrative down. The story really starts to pick up at this point after a somewhat slow start, but once it gets going it thankfully maintains the quicker pace without sacrificing Diana’s interactions with the rest of the cast, including Etta Candy. The two characters bounce off each other extremely well here, despite disagreeing conceptually on the best way to handle this situation, and you can understand the view from either side.
The art team has some stellar moments throughout the issue, injecting the action sequences with impact and motion, though at times Wonder Woman herself is a bit inconsistent. Throughout the book, it almost feels like you’re getting several depictions of the character as opposed to one constant vision, especially when it comes to her facial expressions. She doesn’t necessarily always look like the same person from panel to panel, and by issue’s end you don’t really have a firm grasp on who this team’s Wonder Woman is, at least from a visual standpoint.
Where the art does succeed though is in the fantastical, specifically several mythological creatures that come into play later in the issue. They look just as out of place as you’d expect, and they are by far the most compelling hook for issues to come, even when compared to other hooks that are given more page space.
Speaking of that other hook, don’t get us wrong about. It’s one that we definitely want to see explored, especially since Ares has a history of being one-note in the wrong hands. Seeing what Wilson and Nord can do with the character has us intrigued, but some of the other subplots just have their hooks in deeper.
Wonder Woman #58 kicks things off in a new and immensely promising direction, though it’s not based on any one storyline. Rather, it’s the lovely and at times unexpected tapestry of stories and characters that has us so jazzed about the series’ prospects. It seems this team is ready to take some chances, and we are more than ready for the ride.
Published by DC Comics
On November 14, 2018
Written by G. Willow Wilson
Drawn by Cary Nord
Inked by Mick Gray
Colored by Romulo Fajardo Jr.
