WONDER WOMAN #34
Writer: James Robinson
Art: Sergio Davila
Cover: Bryan Hitch & Alex Sinclair
Variant Cover: Tony S. Daniel/Tomeu Morey
Colorist: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Publisher: DC Comics
In Part 3 of the “Children of the Gods” we finally meet Diana’s brother, Jason. Overjoyed at getting to know her long lost family Diana’s reunion is darkened by the shadow of Apokolips as Grail finally makes her move.
What You Need to Know:
Diana has found her brother Jason, hidden from her since birth. We also saw in the last issue that Darkseid has plans of his own for Jason to aid Grail in restoring her father to full power.
What You’ll Find out (Minor Spoilers):
We hear a lot of Jason’s account of his backstory. It turns out that he’s known about Diana all along but has never reached out because of a promise to keep himself hidden. As the conversation continues, it’s clear that Jason has clear intentions regarding this meeting and unfinished business with his father AND his sister. When Grail shows up all is revealed and the ensuing battle tests Diana both mentally and physically. Will she be able to withstand an onslaught at all levels or will Grail, at last, have her day?
What Just Happened?
As I said in the beginning, this arc has all of the trappings of a classic comic book story. Up until now, the book has walked a fine line between classic and cliché and managing to stay on the creative side of that. Once Jason started to make mention of his father though, the daddy issues were pretty apparent and what happened next was both abrupt and also predictable. I’m expecting that there will be more to the story and hopefully a few more twists, but I do admit I was hoping that what happened wasn’t going to happen.
Diana’s reaction was a bit out of turn as well, but she’s been dealing a lot with lies and doublespeak since Rebirth began, so it’s a bit understandable that she’s had enough of all of it. But to be honest, I kind of have too. So far all of the arcs have centered around a lie or betrayal of some sort, if I were Diana I think at this point I’d just buy a cabin on the top of a mountain and avoid everyone. Diana’s naïveté throughout the issue is a bit off-putting given her recent experiences, I have a hard time believing desperation to connect to her roots again would make her so careless. Though I do understand perhaps being blinded by hope given she’s lost the rest of her family.
The art is decent. Layout-wise nothing spectacular stuck out to me, but it gets the job done. The perspectives are at times a bit off, but the fight scenes have a lot of action to them. I think the art team, particularly the colorist, did a great job setting an brighter atmosphere when Diana first meets Jason and then gradually darkening the art as the story itself grows grimmer. It was a nice touch in the use of colors, so fair play to Fajardo for representing on the colorist front.
Score: 6/10
Final Thoughts: This story is turning out so far to be solidly okay. I was a bit thrown off by the interruption of “Children of the Gods” with “Times Past”, which I don’t think helped this arc out with its struggle to keep an engaging pace. I’m waiting to see the resolution of Diana’s family reunion and learning more about Jason’s motives for his choices. Hopefully, there will be more depth to come.