A lot has happened with Wonder Woman’s character since the last issue. The Batman vs. Superman trailer has been released featuring some pretty epic scenes of the Goddess and within the comic realm Diana is taking a lead role within Geoff John’s Darkseid War. So can the Finches deliver an equally as entertaining story with their second issue of the arc? Is it good?
Wonder Woman #42 (DC Comics)
This issue continues the main plot of the arc as Wonder Woman is being hunted by a young man poised to take the mantle of God of War. Not only do we discover who this man is and the motivation behind his actions, but we find out who exactly is pulling the strings behind the scenes and orchestrating the scheme. Donna Troy’s plotline also shares a chunk of the issue as Wonder Woman continues to consult her within the Olympus prison. While the issue as a whole was decent, it got off to a very, very rough start.
I personally couldn’t shake the first scene of the issue which so terribly conveyed the feminist message Meredith has been attempting to put out. Donna and her friend Hessia are at a club, dancing alone to what I presume is “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”, when they’re confronted by the typical male club-goer. The scene is so unnatural and forced that it’s reminiscent of those old GI Joe PSAs, complete with Diana’s end quote, “I’d like to say he was harmless… but that kind of thing always hurts someone.”….(G….I…Joeeeeee). I appreciate Finch’s attempt, but the method to her feminist stance is severely hurting the comic.
Another thing I believe is hurting the comic is her dedication to the Donna Troy storyline. It’s obvious through reading the comic and listening to her interviews that Donna’s character was one of the main goals of writing the series, but that commitment to developing the character is both monotonous and taxing on the story arc’s main story. While it does look like Meredith is reeling back on the multiple storylines (as this one only features two and the last arc had like five), I would like to see more depth within this battle for the God of War title.
David Finch however is carrying this series and I couldn’t be more pleased with the art. The last arc I was nitpicky about some of the figures and the scale of the panels and at a SDCC panel David himself said that he struggled at first to find his groove with drawing the characters and mythic environments. However this issue is done beautifully by Finch and colorist, Anderson. The colors are incredibly vibrant and there’s one page in particular that describes the family history of Diana’s assailant that you can spend a good amount of time staring at.
Is It Good?
Overall the storyline falters a bit since the last issue, but it does still have potential to be much better than the last arc. Meredith Finch’s kiss of death was the opening club scene and after that it seems to recover a bit. David Finch does an excellent job with art as usual.
Join the AIPT Patreon
Want to take our relationship to the next level? Become a patron today to gain access to exclusive perks, such as:
- ❌ Remove all ads on the website
- 💬 Join our Discord community, where we chat about the latest news and releases from everything we cover on AIPT
- 📗 Access to our monthly book club
- 📦 Get a physical trade paperback shipped to you every month
- 💥 And more!
