Writer Greg Rucka skips a whole year after the events of Wonder Woman #20 in “Godwatch” Part Four. With artist Mirka Andolfo, who currently works on DC Comics Bombshells for DC, sitting in for Bilquis Evely, Wonder Woman #22 feels vastly different from the more serious tone of the rest of the series. The issue centers on the first meeting between Wonder Woman and Veronica Cale.
Here’s the official synopsis of the issue from DC:
Veronica Cale will do anything to save her daughter. If that means destroying the Amazing Amazon, it’s a small price to pay.
This issue takes place eight years after Diana left Thymescira and kicks off with her being auctioned off to raise money for charity. Cale outbids Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne to get a date with the Amazon Princess. Of course, it’s all just a scheme for her to see Wonder Woman in action personally. She wants to scan Diana’s lasso and gauntlets to see if they’ll give her any hints on how to get to Paradise Island so she can save her daughter.
We really don’t have to guess what the shocking discovery is going to be, since we learned about it in the most recent part of “The Truth.” Therefore, this part of “Godwatch” is more like a stop-gap issue to fill in some background. Much of the issue is just Diana and Veronica feeling each other out for their eventual confrontations in the present. Veronica even introduces Diana to Colonel Maru who shoots in the arm in “The Truth.” Rucka’s dueling past and present storylines are inching closer to coming together.
Andolofo’s art is much more stylized than Evely or Liam Sharp’s work. While it would be cool to see the entire “Godwatch” storyline handled by one artist for consistency’s sake, Andolfo provides a breath of fresh air for what is mostly a lighter issue. Her very expressive faces communicate exactly what’s going on in a character’s head and Rucka takes advantage of this with a couple of wordless pages. Andolfo will be taking over the artist’s duty from Sharp and Evely to join Shea Fontana after Rucka leaves, so #22 is a good preview of what Diana will look like in the future.
Still, the issue can’t escape the feeling of just being a fill-in or stop gap before Rucka’s latest run on Wonder Woman comes to an end with issue #25. Nothing as exciting as fighting Circe happens here; we just learn how Veronica knows the things we know she knows in “The Truth.”
You must be logged in to post a comment Login