Wonder Woman #777 // Review
Diana, an Asgardian, and an Asgardian squirrel find themselves on earth not far from the Hall of Justice. Still, things aren’t quite what they seem as the writing team of Michael W. Conrad and Becky Cloonan track Diana to Earth-11 in Wonder Woman #777. Artist Emanuela Lupacchino and inker Wade von Grawbadger bring the story to the page with the aid of colorist Jordie Bellaire, who continues her work as writer on another chapter in the life of Young Diana with the aid of artist Paulina Ganucheau and colorist Kendall Goode. The pairing of the two stories continues to generate a satisfying balance between action and drama.
Diana, Siegfried, and Ratatoskr are on the trail of a deadly villain with a weapon capable of killing a god. Wonder Woman looks to enlist the aid of the Justice League...only to find that she’s in unfamiliar territory in an all-female Justice Guild that has been targeted by the villain. Meanwhile, Young Diana confronts her mother on matters of the past she has kept secret. Hippolyte has a lot of explaining to do if she’s going to get her daughter to understand. It’s not going to be easy.
Conrad and Cloonan point Diana in a really cool direction this time around. Wonder Woman always seemed like an interesting potential fit for Earth-11. It’s fun to see her in action with Batwoman, Superwoman Marsha Manhunter, and the rest of them. The narration may get a bit heavy in places, but the “A” feature is well-constructed. With Young Diana, Bellaire is venturing into territory that has been explored quite a few times over the decades. Bellaire’s distinctive retelling of the origins of Themyscira has a powerful, almost poetic sense of brevity about it that serves as a satisfying iteration of the now-classic story.
Lupacchino and Grawbadger usher Wonder Woman and company into Earth-11 without much in the way of establishing backgrounds that could make for an atmospheric journey into a slightly skewed world. What their work lacks in atmosphere, it more than makes up for in action. The Justice Guild looks powerful and formidable as they square off against a rogue Wonder Man and the sinister half of Janus. Bellaire hands Ganucheau and Goode a bit of a challenge. The Young Diana chapter for early August is largely monologue. The art team captures her story in a dreamy tapestry of pictures that carry some remarkably intense drama in an appealingly streamlined cel-animated style.
Like so much else that Wonder Woman has crossed through in her recent journeys, Earth-11 is once again shown to be a world that could clearly support it’s own title. Wonder Woman’s venture into the world is all-too-brief in the span of a single issue. The Young Diana story might feel all-too-familiar for anyone already familiar with Wonder Woman, but Bellaire and company bring it to the page with power and poise. Once again, the pairing of young drama and new action serves. the title well.
