Wonder Woman #770 // Review
In another life, she had been given the "Wisdom of Athena, the Beauty of Aphrodite, and greater swiftness than Mercury himself. She had so been given so many gifts by so many Greek deities. So why is she hanging out in the halls of Asgard? And what's with the squirrel? These questions and more are raised in the first issue of a whole new story in the latest issue of Wonder Woman. The 770th issue of Diana's series finds her spending time with a whole new creative team, including writers Michael W. Conrad and Becky Cloonan. The action is brought to the page by artist Travis Moore. And in a back-up story, Young Diana rushes off to adventure on Kangaback in a tale brought to the page by writer Jordie Bellaire and artist Paulina Ganucheau.
Diana awakens on a snowy field in Asgard. She's in the middle of a battle she can't remember beginning. She's only just beginning to get into the rhythm of things when she's killed. It's okay: this is Asgard. It happens all the time. Death brings about Valhalla, which means feasting and celebrating until the next death. She knows she's a hero, but she doesn't know the name Wonder Woman. Thankfully, there's a squirrel there to remind her. On the other end of the issue, it's young Diana's birthday on Themyscira. Seeking out the highest pinnacle on the island is only the beginning of her journey.
Conrad and Cloonan cast Diana into an interesting place for a little bit of adventure that's more in line with traditional sword and sorcery than she's been engaging in lately. It's not an unwelcome turn of events. Still, it's A LOT more difficult to engage in something truly original with fantasy adventure than it is with a character like Wonder Woman in a more contemporary world. The issue is released just a couple of weeks before Wonder Woman's birthday (March 22nd,) which makes Ballaire's story a fun, little bit of action that features a fun guest appearance by Diana's kanga "Jumpa" who had made her first appearance all the way back in 1942.
Moore doesn't do as well with action as he does with adventure. The largely bloodless battles in which Diana is engaging in the course of the issue don't hold nearly as much impact as the sweeping, snowy vistas of Asgard and the cozy warmth of Valhalla. The squirrel is a cute addition to the story, and the nordic approximation of Wonder Woman's costume is both classy and stylish. In the back-up story, Ganucheau's clean lines and elegantly simple rendering end the issue with an enjoyable cell-animated feel that suits Diana's childhood quite well.
Though it had its less-than-appealing moments, it would be difficult for anyone to follow writer Mariko Tamaki's satisfying run on the series, which ended at the end of last year. Editors Brittany Holzherr and Jamie S. Rich have done a solidly respectable job of taking the character in a new direction that builds on Wonder Woman's impressive 60-year history.
