Wonder Woman #759 // Review
Diana is moving into a new place. It's an apartment in Washington, D.C. It feels like maybe it might be a fresh start for her, but it will be shadowed by phantoms of the past as writer Mariko Tamaki takes over in the narrative in Wonder Woman #759. Tamaki is joined by artist Mikel Janín and colorist Jordie Bellaire in an issue that establishes an enjoyable new direction for Diana. Tamaki and Janin take their time in allowing Wonder Woman to settles-into her new surroundings with dynamic style and engaging rhythm.
Diana is moving into an apartment in Washington, DC. She meets one of her neighbors right away: a pet rabbit named Mullaney. The rabbit is a roommate of Emma: a girl who lives down the hall. Diana and Emma become friends and promptly head out to shop at a DC universe analog for IKEA called "Fürn." Shortly after paying $900 for a couch that she will have to assemble herself, Diana halts a potential auto accident that echoes into her job as Wonder Woman. She's called in to quell a riot at a top-secret high max security prison. That riot appears to have been instigated by none other than Maxwell Lord via mind-control that might have something to do with a reckless driver on the Beltway.
Wonder Woman isn't the only one moving-in this issue. Writer Mariko Tamaki is taking over the title with a first issue that feels like a warm hug between writer and character. The chapter's rhythm and pacing feel like she's settling in for a long run with Diana. There's a charming familiarity between writer and character that feels as though she might as well be moving in down the hall from Emma and Mullaney. The composition is very well-modulated. The first few pages of the issue introduce the title character. Then there's an extended sequence with Diana before the action at the prison. Which launched into a cliffhanger for the next chapter. Tamaki's Diana is smart, savvy, and quick to action: a noble icon that will allow Tamaki an opportunity to explore the nature of justice and heroism.
Janín has a sweepingly beautiful sense of perspective. Each panel seems to be tilted at its own angle. To amplify motion, emotion, and action without getting in the way of the story that's being told. There's a very clear sense of action whether Diana is chasing down a car on the Capital Beltway or jumping into a prison filled with zombified inmates. There's a rich emotional depth to Janin's work. Everyone appearing in every panel seems to have their own life beyond the page, which can be really difficult for any artist to manage. Bellaire fills panels with soft radiance and a nuanced sense of texture that enriches Janin's work considerably.
The new direction maintains a noble sense of mystery about one of the most established characters in all of contemporary pop fiction. She's front and center for the whole issue, but Tamaki doesn't allow the reader into Diana's thoughts. The narration that more or less runs throughout the issue isn't Diana's either. Tamaki renders a very appealing Wonder Woman who seems poised to reveal a more intimate personality in time. For now, she's just the beautiful woman with all the swords and vases and decorative Ionic columns who lives down the hall.
