Wonder Woman #772 // Review
Diana continues to discover things about herself that almost every reader knows as she delves further and further into the unknown territory of the current DC universe's Asgard in Wonder Woman #772. Writers Michael W. Conrad and Becky Cloonan lend wit and a brisk sense of adventure to the exploits of an amnesiac Diana in another issue rendered for the page by artist Travis Moore and colorist Tamra Bonvillain. The...um...journey into mystery that finds Wonder Woman teaming up with Thor and Odin treats very popular characters from legend (and one fashionable red-clad dead guy from the Silver Age) as minor supporting details in an adventure that is refreshingly ALL Wonder Woman.
Diana is going to have to find a way to get vomited up by a sentient snake. So... y'know... that's how HER day is going. It's not going to be a whole lot better either, though she IS going to be able to team up with a Thor who looks a lot more inspired by contemporary superheroic visions of Vikings than the one Kirby created for Marvel back in the '60s. Then she's going to have to confront a really dark version of herself on the way into the lair of the Valkyries. So she's going to be kind of busy.
Conrad and Cloonan usher Diana through the twists and turns of an Asgardian adventure. There isn't a whole lot of time for sightseeing. Wonder Woman has things that she needs to do and people she needs to help. The opportunities inherent in Wonder Woman's journey through Norse Mythology are placed in the background of an evenly-paced heroic fantasy adventure with dialogue that occasionally leans in the direction of pleasant humor. The gradual return of Wonder Woman's memory and identity continues to be enjoyable several chapters into the new story arc.
This time around, Moore gets a bit more of a chance to place Wonder Woman's adventures in Asgard in an immersive atmosphere. Battles amidst frigid forests, darkness and shadow are aided immeasurably by the depth afforded by Bonvillain's colors. From the blurry white of snow to the deep red of evil to the subtle variations in neon green snake bile, Bonvillain’s visuals add feelings of temperature and odor to the page that make for a more immersive adventure than might have been present on the page without her work.
Three chapters in, the most impressive thing managed by the creative team is a gradual return of Wonder Woman's memory and identity. There's brilliant pacing about it that allows the reader to feel that she is both losing something AND gaining something in the process of reclaiming her identity. It's the type of journey that creates a world all its own that will linger as a dream for fans of the character in the months and years ahead. There may not be a whole lot that's terribly original about this particular heroic fantasy journey, but it HAS been a lot of fun to hang out with Wonder Woman in Asgard these past few issues.
