Wonder Woman #759
Recap
It’s a brand-new day for Wonder Woman! As Diana starts to pick up the pieces of her life following her battle with the Four Horsewomen and her run-in with the Phantom Stranger, Man’s World has become more complicated to navigate than ever before. It seems everyone has a take on who Wonder Woman should be—some who look on her heroics with admiration, and some who lie in wait to seek revenge. A familiar threat is watching Diana’s every move, and now is the perfect time to strike…
Review
Fresh off of winning the Eisner for Best Writer of 2020, Mariko Tamaki settles into the first issue of her highly anticipated run on Wonder Woman with Spanish artist Mikel Janin. As far as first issues go, the book manages to do all the critical work that any major change in creative team requires. Diana’s new status quo is established as characters both new and old are introduced, methodology is put into place, and spaces are explored.
But more important than all of that, Tamaki and Janin clearly establish a sense of Ethos for their take on this long established character. In 2020, where nothing seems certain and everything is in flux, this Wonder Woman opens and closes questioning the fluidity in defining justice and heroes in an increasingly globalized world. When Diana says these are topics she thinks about often, Tamaki clearly maps herself (and by extension the reader at large) into the character as humanity desperately seeks answers to questions that feel like should be easy yet increase in difficulty daily.
Comics narrative is constant symbiosis, particularly when image and text are produced by different creatives. Style and tone can often conflict and create discordance in a book where both art and writing are strong on their own. Janin and Tamaki suffer no such fate here; this issue operates in perfect harmony. Both creators have strong and distinct narrative voices that play off of and feed into each other.
It is only one issue and many things can change from month to month– editorial oversight, scandal, errant tweets– but for now, I feel comfortable saying that this issue feels like a harbinger for a historic run on Wonder Woman. The last time I found myself this excited for Diana, Greg Rucka was writing and Diana was killing Maxwell Lord.
Final Thoughts
A bold new era for Diana begins in Wonder Woman #759(@marikotamaki @mikeljanin #jordiebellaire @droog811 @JimLee @Sinccolor @DCcomics) as the new creative arrives and brings along new allies and old foes!
Wonder Woman #759: “Do the math…”
- Writing - 10/1010/10
- Storyline - 9.5/109.5/10
- Art - 9.5/109.5/10
- Color - 10/1010/10
- Cover Art - 9.5/109.5/10