Diana has returned to the realm of the living, but there are issues to be dealt with which continue to reverberate from her time in the afterlife. There are the impending schemes of an old foe, and there is a sword which she means to return to a dead friend. All this and more awaits the revenant hero in Wonder Woman #781. Writers Michael W. Conrad and Becky Cloonan continue their journeys with Diana into Washington D.C. and beyond in an issue brought to the page by Marcio Takara and colorist Tamara Bonvillain. There is also a backup story of Diana’s sister Amazons: the Bana-Mighdall written by Vita Ayala with art by Skylar Patridge.

Diana is having a salad with Etta Candy in Washington D.C. Diana is having some difficulty getting the right moment for time with Steve Trevor, but she’s got time for Etta. Any thoughts of Trevor have to wait as Dr. Psycho seems to have resurfaced. She’s off to ask him a few questions before duty calls. And there is the small matter of a certain Viking sword that she feels the need to return to its owner, who happens to be dead. The issue ends with a tale of women looking to join the Bana-Mighdall. One of the three passes the test only to find herself thrust into the danger of an invading manticore.  

Conrad and Cloonan find a nice, even pacing to the main story. Diana is in a place of transition as she’s still trying to literally get acclimated to the land of the living. The subtle complexities of Dr. Psycho come across quite deftly in a few cleverly-rendered scenes. Wonder Woman’s quest with the sword finds her teaming up with Deadman again. The writers have found an exceedingly enjoyable rapport for the two heroes, making for a fun supernatural buddy action-comedy dynamic. Ayala asserts themself well with a powerful bit of storytelling. The Bana-Mighdall haven’t gotten a whole lot of attention since their debut. Ayala rectifies this beautifully in the opening of a new backup series.

Takara’s visuals move fluidly across the page. The story glides along gorgeously. A conversation over salads feels wide and spacious. A few pages later, a conversation between hero and villain through a slightly open car window feels suitably tight. The flow of action on the sixth page is reasonably genius as Diana is viewed in the window’s reflection before she heads off to deal with a man in distress. Takara also has a very firm grasp of Diana’s more casual moments out of costume in stylishly-rendered conversations with Deadman. Patridge’s art in the backup feature provides a responsively atmospheric architecture to the world of Bana-Mighdal that delicately holds a rich visual drama. 

Diana’s return to the living pairs well with a tale of a new inductee leaving the realm of mainstream society to join the Bana-Mighdal. The twin features appear to be a solid step in the editors’ plans to expand Wonder Woman’s corner of the DC universe. Wonder Woman has had a wide appeal from a variety of different moods over the past 80 years. It’s nice to see DC editorial looking to embrace more of those moods on a more regular basis in the months to come. 

Grade: A