Wonder Woman: Agent of Peace #12 // Review
Diana is looking to help build peace in a war-ravaged Central American nation when she comes face-to-face with oblivion itself in Wonder Woman: Agent of Peace #12. Writer Liz Erickson constructs an ambitious one-shot story brought to the page by artist Jose Luis and inker Jonas Trindade. Hi-Fi brings color to the page. Erickson manages a tightly-packed series of scenes involving a campaign for peace in a small nation that covers both magical and earthbound territories. Erickson is trying to navigate Diana through a bit too much for a single, 16-page issue, though.
Hasaragua does NOT come recommended. Catwoman once referred to the war-torn Central American nation as the “Armpit of the western hemisphere.” Wonder Woman is there with Stave Trevor aiding in brokering peace between warring factions. The peace is tenuous at best. When it becomes apparent that all maps seem to be overlooking a small, violent Hasaraguan village, Wonder Woman investigates only to run headlong into a conflict with Lethe: daughter of Eris and the personification of oblivion in the Greek pantheon. She may able to defeat the goddess of pure water, but will she be able to help repair the uneasy peace coming to life in Hasaragua?
Erickson’s overall composition is admirable. Wonder Woman is well-suited to a story that straddles very realistic military action and magical conflict with a minor goddess. The battle with Lethe takes-up the several central pages of a story that opens with political intrigue and ends with a bit of military action. The overall flow of action works, but the deeper themes that she’s exploring feel rushed. There’s real power in political pressures between two leaders bitterly fighting over a small scrap of land. Seen from the perspective of a warrior of peace like Diana, this sort of thing could be fascinating on the comics page, but there simply isn’t enough space in 16 pages to bring it all across.
Luis and Trindade direct the action across the page in a clean, straightforward style that does little to amplify drama or action and even less to harness the complexities that Erickson is trying to carve into the issue. That being said, Diana DOES look suitably heroic in action against Lethe. Hi-Fi casts the battle in a cool, beautiful blue with radiant, little flashes that make for the most visually dynamic moment in the entire issue. Elsewhere, Diana has a few moments of bitter determination that Luis and Trindade fuse to the page with the proper intensity.
With Wonder Woman having been around for over 75 years, it’s a real challenge for anyone to come up with a fresh take on the character that opens and closes in 16 pages without leaving open any loose ends. Given the right momentum, Erickson could deliver a much more accomplished mini-series featuring a much more nuanced rendering of this exact same story. As it is, though, the scope of this adventure feels a bit too expansive to slide comfortably into a single issue.
