Sensational Wonder Woman #1: Honey, I’m Home!

2021 is shaping up to be the year of Wonder Woman and it’s about damn time. This digital series kicks off with rising star Dr. Stephanie Phillips and the dynamic Meghan Hetrick putting together a story that displaces Diana from her place of power in the DCU. We see Diana fighting through a fictional vision where she is relegated to the role of 1950s housewife, cooking dinner for her husband and being subject to clear patriarchal systems as she fights an unknown battle in the physical world.

Where the “book” truly soars is in the examination of Diana’s inability to accept the facade. A child in danger spurs her into action without hesitation. When confronted by emotional abuse, we witness Diana “have no chill” as the kids say (do they still say that?). Diana’s strength comes from her sense of self, her confidence, and her unwaivering will to do what needs to be done and it’s clear that Sensational Wonder Woman understands the character well.

Stylistically, Hetrick does some really interesting work incorporating symbols associated with Wonder Woman into the layout design. Additionally, the layouts are prepared specifically towards a digital book rather than a standard comic page size. The end result of this change seems to quicken the pace quite a bit but with alternation of long-view shots and close-ups, Hetrick manages to slow that down a bit, showing a high level of narrative skill. The colorwork by Louise here is just what readers have come to expect from her exceptional talent, keeping the overall scheme in the red, white, and blue of Diana’s costume and reinforcing the importance of the inescapable essense of who Wonder Woman is. The icing on the cake comes from letterer Pat Brosseau who is one of the greatest logo designers and SFX letterers in the business and he continues to shine here. Overall an exceptional start to what promises to be a very entertaining series.