Wonder Woman #61
Recap
Diana and Steve search for one another in the middle of a war zone. While Diana deals with a crusading Ares, Steve has been captured by the followers of Aphrodite. All jokes about love and war aside, we know Ares is looking for redemption and new-found purpose, but what on earth has brought Aphrodite to, well, Earth? The story leaves off with unlikely allies rallying together to end Ares's rampage next issue.
Review
We’re at the point of the story where the separate stories merge together and a path to resolution forms. A lot of time is spent commenting on the nature and often pointlessness of war especially the modern notion of death by remote control. Steve’s longing for the good-old days of when you looked each other in the eye before you fought to the death is contextual, but strikes as a bit of an overplay painting Trevor as the reluctant noble soldier. Aphrodite’s appearance was unexpected (but thank you for not being Grail), and her behavior throughout was definitely a change for the goddess to be sure. Wilson seems to be setting up at least some of the Greek Pantheon for a major makeover.
Wilson’s writing itself is polished and enjoyable but I kept finding myself wondering at little things that nagged at me throughout the story. Take Aphrodite, new directions are one thing, but I spent most of the issue wondering if she is a fraud attempting to deceive, especially since her knowledge of Diana and Steve in the context of the series seems oddly off. Similarly, Diana has been identifying more with gods than humans throughout this arc, which seems largely out of place with her normal perspective.
In all it’s a good story with plenty of action, good pacing, and thematic purpose that fits in well with Diana’s narrative. And yet, for some reason I can’t put my finger on, I’m having trouble buying into this arc. Perhaps it’s because much of the story revolves around pointless conflict and fatigue which makes the story seem unmotivated except to being people into meaningless conflict. Which, I guess the fact that the story has me milling around this much for a point to all of it says something about its ability to be thought provoking.
Xermanico gives us some beautifully renderings brought to life even more by Fajardo’s consistently wonderful colors. Visually this issue continues a long streak of top-notch work and a credit to the series.
Final Thoughts
Overall the arc is moving along at a good pace. I'm still not quite sure where we're headed, but this story has been a good turn for the book over previous arcs and promises to bring more excitement in the next issue.
Wonder Woman #61: The Perils of Celestial Ennui
- Writing - 9/109/10
- Storyline - 8/108/10
- Art - 10/1010/10
- Color - 9/109/10
- Cover Art - 9/109/10