REVIEW: Wonder Woman / Conan #5

You would think that any gods who have been around humanity for so long, would have a better grasp of human nature. Perhaps, the Corvidae have only witnessed the worst of humanity for so long that they don“t understand humans as much as they think they do. But when it comes down to it, they do know which buttons to push on people.

Diana finally has all her memories back and she knows that she isn“t Conan“s lost love, even if he isn“t willing to give up on that idea. They continue on their journey back to Hyborian city of Shamar, where they escaped the gladiator pits, in an effort to spare the city from the wrath of the Corvidae – the punishment for not battling each other to the death previously.

In our time, the Amazons find the gateway that brought Wonder Woman to Hyboria. Hippolyta chooses five women from the pool of volunteers to bring their princess home before the portal closes. They land in the city at the center of all the troubles: Shamar and run into the servants of the Corvidae.

The Corvidae again demand a battle to the death between Conan and Diana. Have they found the right bargaining chips for their chosen warriors? What will be the ultimate price for refusing these ancient and powerful deities?

This really is a fun series put together by Gail Simone (Wonder Woman, Crosswind, Red Sonja). She knows both of these worlds intimately and is clear on how to weave them together to create a great story where each chapter is action-packed but never fails to build on the issues before and sets up the next one. She does an amazing job of not only highlighting the similarities of the two characters, but more importantly, focusing on how they are different.

Aaron Lopresti“s art is also spot on. You get a clear sense of where you are at all times. Each location feels separate and yet connected. While there are similarities, you would never mistake Themyscira for Shamar. Lopresti (Wonder Woman, Excalibur, Turok) also takes care to make sure that while the Amazons might be mistaken for people from some part of Hyboria, they don’t blend into the crowd in Shemar.

This has been a great series so far, and with only one more chapter to go, we“ll all have to wait a month to see how Simone and Lopresti are going to wind everything up. DC seems to have put a lot more thought into their team ups with other publishers and that has paid off in well-crafted stories that benefit the characters from both. Reader got to see another side of Diana and a side of Conan that is rarely brought to light in his stories. I hope this is something that they will continue to explore after this series ends.

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Writer: Gail Simone
Penciller: Aaron Lopresti
Inker: Matt Ryan
Colorists: Wendy Broome with Tony Avina
Cover Art: Aaron Lopresti

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Andy Hall

Sent from the future by our Robot Ape overlords to preserve the timeline. Reading and writing about comics until the revolution comes. All hail the Orangutan Android Solar King!