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Review: Wonder Woman #29

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

Now that the well deserved hype surrounding Diana’s solo movie has died down, at least until it comes out on Blu-Ray, I can’t get past the idea that it seems that DC is done with one of their longest-serving characters.  Its fair enough that public attention is likely to wane when there is no movie out; DC then look to court readers by losing Greg Rucka, Nicola Scott and Liam Sharp and replace this impressive trio with Shea Fontana and Inaki Miranda.

This issue is part four of the current Heart of the Amazon storyline. There is a bounty on Diana’s head and after last issue’s Deadshot wannabe, we get four female villains all looking to cash in.  These include Cheshire and Plastique amongst the group.  It’s in the aftermath of the battle that the real action of the story finally coalesces.  It seems that there is a guy that wants to harvest Diana’s DNA for his own nefarious needs, or maybe he has the means for Diana to really make an impact on the world she has chosen to protect.

Shea Fontana is a writer whose credits are numerous, with her work on DC Super Hero Girls graphic novels appearing on the New York Best Sellers list.  She has also filled in on the Justice League book, so has the ability to write in diverse style, catering to both young and older readers.  Here, Fontana crafts a story that, as the title suggests, strikes at the very heart of Diana and her role as Wonder Woman, as she tries to decide how best to save her adopted world.  In addition, the inner monologue at the beginning of this issue serves to draw attention to how the character is viewed.  Her thoughts on this reflect any number of fans, with some of the comments sounding very reminiscent of opinions held about a certain Gal Gadot. The fight scene however, came across as a tad trite; you have a just released from hospital Etta Candy able to hold her own against Cat Eye and despatching of Abolith in some confusing manner.  In addition, there is Cheshire’s “Amazon strength toxin”.  What’s next, Amazon strength cleaning products for when bleach just won’t cut it?

The art by Inaki Miranda is inconsistent, as if he hasn’t quite made up his mind on the style he is going for.  At times, the figure work s spectacularly strong and at others incredibly weak.  In addition, character’s faces change with alarmingly regularity and some of the poses lack perspective and general anatomy.  As a result each page feels like a surprise rather than a coherent piece of story telling.  Miranda provides his own inks, but I can’t help but think if a strong inker may have helped with some of the artistic problems.  Colors are provided by Romulo Fajardo Jr, who keeps things simple for the most part, to good effect.

I have said it a couple of times; I was never a big fan of the alternate stories timeline stories that accompanied the start of this series.  Still the loss of the talent from this book is huge.  Wonder Woman as a character, requires top-level talent. For me, the best artist drawing women at the moment is Stjepan Sejic and I for one would love to see him take on this book, coupled with the at times thought-provoking writing of Shea Fontana.

Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 3 Stars
Colors – 3 Stars

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Written by; Shea Fontana
Art by; Inaki Miranda
Colors by; Romulo Fajardo Jr
Published by, DC Comics

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes
I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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