Wonder Woman #5: As the tides do part, so too do the sides do gather…

“Nobody — that’s my name. Nobody — so my mother and father call me, all my friends.”—Homer’s Odyssey. As Tom King and Daniel Sampere’s run continues to inch forward, we see Diana make her next move, the Sovereign his, and we continue to get another quirky cute story involving Lizzie, Damian and Jon by King and Ortega Belen. So let’s not dawdle all day, let’s get on with it… 

To say Tom King is verbose would be an understatement. He’s writing for the graphic novel here, and it shows. The snail’s pace continues here, but it doesn’t seem to be as vexing because the art is so goddamn good. The story King’s giving us here, a rather by the numbers drawing of lines, and each side begins to fill out their ranks issue, but the cute little touches we get, whether it’s having Grail literally rest on a throne of men, or having Diana and Donna decide their roles in the big battle between the Amazon and the Sovereign by having them decide over a round of Injustice 2 on Xbox, it made the annoyance over the speed, or lack thereof, of King’s tale less annoying. 

One thing that was rather…interesting was seeing those that the Sovereign, and his consigliere Sarge. Steel sought out from Diana’s rogues gallery to join them in their war to bring Diana, and the rest of the Amazons down. Some were to be expected (Giganta, Dr. Psycho, Angle Man), one could even see the case for bringing Vanessa in, but seeing Circe and Grail here? That needs some more fleshing out here, and unfortunately that’s the problem. We’re not given enough meat to this story to keep up with the episodic narrative that comes with comics. Also what’s going on with Emilie? What was the point of introducing a new Amazon who would become the match that created the anti-Amazon fervor, only to be completely forgotten at this point? Is she forgotten? Most likely not, but the absence has been deafening.  

One of the biggest complaints of this run has been over King’s handling of Diana, the Amazons, her friends, and so on, and there’s a lot of merit to be attached to that. Is she completely out of character? No. Absolutely not. Diana would go to hell and back alone, just to make sure none of her friends would risk losing their lives to the battles that we find our four colored heroes in month in and month out. Per the rest? Debatable, but there’s evidence of it, there’s just not enough evidence yet, and that’s the biggest issue for the run. It’s just too slow. 

Last issue touched people in ways a lot of comics don’t. It unapologetically opened your chest, and jumped on your heart until you were crying. Giving Diana a moment of pure love and compassion, of which we don’t see enough of. This issue seemed to lack the heart the last issue did, which is unfortunate because these are her Wonder Girls. These women should be included in some of Diana’s biggest moments and life changing events, but due to not having the sway over her franchised characters, those decisions are decided by the editorial department for a franchise that has little to nothing to do with Diana’s world. They should be here every month, or on a far more regular basis. We should be getting back up tales featuring Donna, Cassie, and even Yara, and there’s hope that after Lizzie’s origin is told, the others will get their chance to shine. 

While King’s tale continues to drag, there is one thing that will continue to shine like the North Star, and his name is Daniel Sampere. There’s not much else one can say with regards to who Sampere is, or the level of talent this man has. His work here is poetic, and Homeric, giving us the visuals of a gigantic odyssey in the constraints of the most mundane. Robin Hood shenanigans with Yara? Gorgeous. An arm wrestling match between Diana and Cassie? Magic. Donna and Diana playing Injustice on XBox? Divine. Seriously, the man can do no wrong when it comes to Diana and her world.