Wonder Twins #5 // Review
What is the difference between justice and vengeance? Between heroism and villainy? Between the best plans and the worst ones? This issue of Wonder Twins asks those questions and blurs those lines with delicious irony.
This issue follows the continuing rivalry between Zan, Jayna and Gleek and the Luthor-sponsored League of Annoyance. After a ridiculous showdown in the zoo, Jayna’s friend's dad, the punnily named Filo Math, is zapped into the Phantom Zone as a victim of a racially-motivated accident, leading his daughter Polly begins to change the status quo by working with the supervillain The Scrambler.
Writer Mark Russell continues to bring his signature sense of humor--quirky and political--to the title. One highlight is the return of Zan’s catchphrase, part of the overall hilarity of the zoo fight sequence. The series does suffer from a lack of stakes, as the characters most in danger are the created-for-the-series Math family rather than the iconic Wonder Twins.
Stephen Byrne’s art, along with lettering by Dave Sharpe, continues to shine, with his blend of DC’s house style and a more stylized cartoonishness creating a perfect vehicle for the humor of the series. A particular highlight is the farcical talk show on Lex Luthor’s news channel.
Wonder Twins continues to be a charming blend of sweet and topical, a rollicking triumph for DC’s Wonder Comics line. DC announced today that the 6-issue miniseries has been extended to 12 issues, which is a great decision.
Grade: A-
