Wonder Woman Black and Gold #1 // Review
Just as it did Batman, Superman, and Harley Quinn in recent months, DC gives Diana her own stylish anthology series with Wonder Woman Black and Gold. The opening issue of the series might open with a couple of awkwardly framed stories. Still, the bulk of the five-story volume features some awe-inspiring work, including stories by writer/artists Amy Reeder and Becky Cloonan. Writer John Arcudi scripts an impressively composed drama at the center of the issue that cleverly harnesses the black-and-white-and-gold format with beautiful artwork by Ryan Sook. The first two stories might feel a bit sloppy, but the first issue of the new series is largely captivating.
Five stories explore Wonder Woman and her exploits from a variety of different angles. The opening story imagines Wonder Woman returning home to her mother in a middle-class residential home. Elsewhere, Diana and Etta look to stop a bank robbery in a classically framed superhero story. “Ageless” takes a look at the nature of immortality in just a few short pages. The final story in the issue has Wonder Woman delivering a story of her lasso to a criminal in hopes of not having to use it on him.
A.J. Mendez’s opening story is a kind of a bizarre attempt to cast Wonder Woman and Hippolyte in a heartwarming mother/daughter sitcom. It certainly is an...interesting experiment. John Arcudi tightly-scripts the first solidly rendered story in the issue. “Ageless” achieves the rarely-attempted task of drawing emotional connections to a story featuring a minor supporting character while simultaneously illustrating the nature of Wonder Woman’s immortality in only seven pages. Becky Cloonan’s “The Wager” cleverly fuses ancient myth with crime-based contemporary psychological drama in a tale of a possible origin of Wonder Woman’s lasso that might be one of the better versions of the story ever brought to the comics page.
Apart from being stories that are framed awkwardly, the first two stories of the issue don’t really engage the black-and-white-and-gold format all that well. Thankfully, there are some really brilliant art-and-format fusions in the first issue, including Ryan Sook’s brilliant art on “Ageless.” The black-and-white format fits with a tale that starts during World War II, and the gold highlights resonate stylishly with Diana’s immortality. Reeder’s bouncy, vibrant “Golden Age” has Wonder Woman attempting to halt a bank robbery with swashbuckling flair. Cloonan’s issue-ending tale “The Wager” might be the best use of the format as it focuses on the magic and mystery of Wonder Woman’s golden lasso. That Cloonan is also able to deliver stylish intensity to real drama only adds to the appeal.
A new anthology series is always welcome. Much can be made to work in a short-subject format that can be quite a bit more provocative than a single, long-running serial plot. There are 39 pages of content in the issue. DC can feel free to fill that space with stories that could be of any length...thus allowing the plots to dictate how long each feature needs to be. It’s a refreshing format. Given a bit more interaction between the reduced color palette and the stories, this will be a real pleasure to follow in Wonder Woman’s 80th anniversary year.
