REVIEW: Wonder Woman Historia : The Amazons

What a pleasure it is to see Wonder Woman back in Black a year removed from her Black Label debut under W. Johnson’s wing. “Historia” though is a less Diana-centric though, as the Sinclair variant I got my hands on portrays, and more focused on the Amazons, as described within the title. The oversized prestige format doesn’t necessarily do wonders for this “Wonder Woman” title, since there is so much details that a digital reader can just zoom in and point out, those with a physical copy can be left on the outs do to this, but easter eggs are to be taken with a grain of salt when reading Historia, since the return of Phil Jimenez to a Wonder Woman title deserves celebration, and the man did not phone this in.

With all the details contained in Historia Book One’s panels, Jimenez could be considered as painting pieces here that could not only easily rival, but surpass Renaissance period décor. As for Deconnick’s script, “Historia : The Amazons” serves as the prologue to any great Wonder Woman story that nobody asked for, but now exists thanks to her belabored efforts. There isn’t plenty of books that would move a comic book reader of this caliber to want to delve into the encyclopedia section, but by the end of the tales, I couldn’t resist and was not disappointed with the deep dive on the tribes spawned from the Goddesses. Especially to see an origin where Nubia has seniority over Diana, a soft spot in my heart to where many would believe over the years that Wonder Woman’s twin never got the shine she deserved. Even Antiope from Zack Snyder’s JL Universe makes an appearance in the same tribe, which sparks a reader like myself to want to delve deeper in the mythologies that inspired what Deconnick has cooked up.

The pages are sprawling, the mythologies are deep, and the feminist case that the Goddesses’ have against males are enough to carry a great conversation in a Human Sexuality course. Scratch that, enough to teach an entire Human Sexuality course – and this is only Book One! “Historia: The Amazons” deceivingly looks like a storybook, but in actuality carries multitudes featuring some of the best work that a comic book legend who drew the titular icon during her golden years has ever put to page, whether pencil or paint. “Reunited and it feels so good …”

Score : 5/5

Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick
Art by Phil Jimenez
Colorists: Hi-Fi, Arif Prianto & Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Letters: Clayton Cowles