Wonder Woman #783: My Whole Life Has Crashed, Won’t You Pick Up the Pieces

So the cover of this issue was a bit of a red herring, as we didn’t really get to see Diana have to deal with the Image-Maker, in fact she didn’t even get to meet him face to face, just more of the glass Wonder Women. What we do get is the first showing of a brand new nemesis, in the form of a new Shining Knight, whose identity is unknown, but he’s apparently a pawn of Cizko. I’m not exactly sure what’s going on with Cizko, but I’m eagerly awaiting to see who’s the power behind the throne, so to speak. CloonRad have given us a Psycho who seems to have more to him than rather the one-note misogynistic creep who uses his immense psychic powers to subjugate women, but this team is attempting to give him some depth that we’re not used to seeing in stories involving the diminutive dude. 

He’s late for a very important date!

Now to say that there wasn’t any development to the Image-Maker would be a complete lie, it feels as if CloonRad are gearing him up to becoming a reoccurring nemesis after the arc’s finished, and I’m perfectly okay with that. There’s just something about him that makes it feels like he’s a Bronze Age throwback, yet completely modern, and I like that about him. I’m expecting to see the layers these two are going to peel away to give us a character with a deeper meaning than just what’s on the surface. They did it with Janus, and it made for an absolutely exquisite first arc villain, and will make a very welcome addition to Diana’s rogues. 

Smashing Pumpkins, or Wonder Women?

Marcio Takara is providing the art for this arc, and I love it. His style is quite a departure from Travis Moore, but it’s no less dynamic than Moore’s. The characters evoke motion and fluidity. These aren’t characters stuck in amber, just there to pose, and make faces. They’re punching, and slashing, flying, and shattering. CloonRad also seem to be giving us a story that’s complimentary to Takara’s style, and it adds to the arc. 

The backup by Vita, Skyler, and Romulo continues to help set the stage for the upcoming Trial, but also continues to develop Artemis, and the Amazons from Bana Mighdall, which has been a real treat. DC’s output of Amazon related material over the last few months has done so much to enrich the world in which Diana and her sisters live. It’s a tragedy that Wonder Girl has been cancelled. We’re not used to seeing Wonder Woman legacy related characters gain their own series, and with Yara’s title ending, it’s just an unfortunate fate for the Wonder fandom.