This week we get Finch’s second issue of Wonder Woman after assuming the role of the series’ creative team. With Wonder Woman’s mother having just melted, how will she react to the loss and how will she balance her responsibilities to the world of man and the island of Themyscira? And of course, is it good?
Wonder Woman #37 (DC Comics)
Alright. Where do I begin? Well, let’s break down the storyline: In the previous issue Diana voiced her concerns with managing her various roles as a queen, superhero, God, and girlfriend. Currently there are villages going missing on Earth that she feels personally responsible for, for some reason, and the island of Themyscira is in turmoil because the Amazonians feel Wonder Woman is not committed to her position as queen. As a result of their skepticism, one creepy old lady wants to take matters into her own hands (cue ominous music). So what happens in this issue?
As featured on the cover, mechanical birds attack the island multiple times. This actually isn’t a major event in the issue, but just evidence pointing towards Diana’s lack of involvement in Amazon affairs. Also, the birds are former pets of Ares, the previous God of War. Why are these birds now attacking the new God of War? Whatever. The main event of the issue is the actions by that old creepy lady. In a possible act of treason against the Amazons, or simply Diana specifically, the older woman assists a sorceress to complete a sacrificial ritual. What actually happens in this ritual? Well it’s hard to say. The daughter of the older woman is killed, rather than the baby she is holding. Is this Zola’s baby? Is this the young woman’s baby? Who is the sorceress? Why is Diana’s clay mother boiling in a cauldron? All of this then ties in with the final pages which features even more dark, quasi-extraterrestrial looking figures which prompt even more questions. It’s quite hard to tell what exactly is going on here.
The Writing
Meredith Finch is making me nervous. You were always rooting for Diana in Azzarello’s run—wait a minute, you should ALWAYS be rooting for a series’ main character, especially when that character is Wonder Woman. Right now I’m siding with the Amazons; she isn’t being a good queen. They’re being attacked by robotic eagles and she’s working out with her boyfriend. Speaking of that scene, the exchange between she and Clark seems forced and Diana randomly snaps and the dialogue is questionable. I’m not liking Wonder Woman right now; she seems a bit dense and scatterbrained and in the words of Ron Weasley, “She really needs to sort out her priorities.”
The Art
I’m a fan of David’s art, but the panels all seemed too large to me. It’s like when you accidently increase your laptop’s screen size to 150% and now all you have to scroll sideways to see the whole page and links are awkwardly big, it’s a nuisance. But I digress, there’s a two page spread that seems as though David tried going too big and the scale of the picture takes away from the “epic” look he was going for. Other than that I still enjoy his work and the villains, despite not knowing who they hell they are, look pretty cool.
Is It Good?
It seems as though Meredith has bit off a little more than she can chew. The storyline is extremely confusing because we don’t know how much of Brian’s run is still relevant to the current storyline and the change in art makes it difficult to recognize formerly introduced characters. The reader definitely shares Diana’s pain in being overwhelmed by the amount of events that are taking place and trying to figure out how they all connect. Hopefully next issue we get more answers than questions.
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