Review: Wonder Woman #44
The Amazons Attacked storyline continues this issue, with the title of the arc finally bearing fruit.
Grail, with help from the Furies at the behest of Darkseid, has finally managed to bind together the artefacts giving her access to an island long thought lost. Upon her entry, she claims all for her father and well, things get a lot worse for out favourite Princess as she sets about taking on the despot of Apokolips without her Justice League colleagues.
No matter what you think or feel about James Robinson’s writing; division caused by the excellent Starman and the JSA and the much maligned Cry for Justice; and when compared to the high level talent that started this series as part of Rebirth, you can not ignore that fact that Robinson has created a consistent level of writing for what should be one of DC’s top-tier books. In doing so, Robinson has given a focus to other characters in Diana’s life. Ensuring that we don’t see more of her relationship with Steve Trevor, Robinson has been cleverly using Jason as type of surrogate, allowing Diana to show her compassion. In addition, it gives Diana a partner in her cause that matches her power level so there are no awkward “how can a normal guy go head to head with….” questions. Of course, the mystery around how Jason’s powers increased or where his armour came from, along with some missing time, means that Diana could be heading for some heartbreak proving once again that it is her ability to love on regardless that is her true power. The revelations toward the end of this shows that Robinson has been playing the long game and actually built upon what has gone on before, specifically events that occurred towards the end of the New 52.
The pencils are again provided by Emanuela Lupacchino, who epitomises the term consistent even as every issue her work is getting better. This time detailing a mainly all action issue, she is in her element.  Diana is drawn well for the most part, as is Grail and Darkseid. I do feel that Jason’s body structure and placement suffers a tad in comparison, but this is a minor quibble. Lupacchino mixes her panel structure well, giving us big splash panels and pages to help give the battles inside a level of crescendo. As fierce as Diana is, there are still times when the character seems small. I don’t know if this is done on purpose, to show how small a character can feel in the midst of some major upheavals or if its part of a fascination of trying to show the entirety of Diana in the panel. If it is the latter, then a different camera angle would help. Ray McCarthy chips in with solid inks, adding some fluidity to events and Romulo Farjado JR. continues to go about his business with no muss, no fuss and some excellent colors.
Wonder Woman is one of the Trinity that is DC. As such, her book and the talent on there, should rival both Batman and the upcoming Bendis explosion that is Action #1000. However, taking a step back, readers can see how much better Detective has been than Batman, with the latter still having a couple of misfires, and Dan Jurgens continued work in the world  Superman has impressed many. Robinson may not be the attention grabber that Greg Rucka was, but his Wonder Woman book can hold its own with the likes of James Tynion IV and Dan Jurgens and that is pretty good company to hang with.
Writing – 4.5 Stars
Art- 4 Stars
Colors – 4.5 Stars
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Written by; James Robinson
Art by; Emanuela Lupacchino
Inks by; Ray McCarthy
Colors by; Romulo Farjardo JR.
Published by; DC Comics
Author Profile
- 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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