Wonder Woman #788 / Review
Doctor Cizko has riled-up a group of milk drinking men to march to the Hall of Justice and demand that Diana be expelled from the Justice League. He’s got bigger things planned than a mere demonstration in Wonder Woman #788. The writing team of Michael W. Conrad and Becky Cloonan continues a fresh take on a classic character in a story rendered for the page by artist Emanuela Lupacchino and inker Wade von Grawbadger. Meanwhile in the past, Young Diana sneaks out late at night with Aunt Antiope in another coming-of-age moment written by Jordie Bellaire with art by Paulina Ganucheau with color by Kendall Goode.
A small but vocal and potentially angry mob have assembled at the Hall of Justice. Superman and Green Arrow would help out, but they’ve got urgent business on Mars. So it’s up to Wonder Woman and her allies to confront the mob. A few explosions hit the protest and things get ugly. In the world of Young Diana, the future Wonder Woman spends a little bit of late night time with her adventurous aunt and runs into a bit of trouble involving gravity.
Cloonan and Conrad are cleverly working with elements that have been in play in Wonder Woman comics for well over half a century. They’re doing a really sharp job of grafting the extended Wonder Woman ensemble into the current socio-political climate. It speaks to the durability of characters that were created back in the 1940s AND it reflects well on the resourcefulness of the writing team. Bellaire is carefully setting-out the delicate nuances of a young Wonder Woman in her back-up feature. It’s a pleasantly simple addition to the series that continues to gleam with tiny, little intricacies that are a lot of fun.
The mercurial modulation of the art is particularly impressive this issue. Ganucheau and Lupacchino deliver some remarkably deep drama in a few isolated panels in and around the action. They’re able to breathe a hell of a lot of life into the depth of Diana’s emotions...then turn around shoot her into blinding action. Ganucheau’s art in Young Diana lends itself beautifully to the clean and vivid coloring work of Kendall Goode. The visuals in Diana’s youth play out like a dream in another endearing episode in the life of the young hero.
The big reveal at issue’s end finds the Duke of Deception making his first appearance in quite some time. The villain has always had such great potential that’s never really come together. Conrad and Cloonan have a good track record. There’s reason to hope that this might be one of the more interesting appearances. Back in the 1960s, writer Robert Kanigher would pair stories of Wonder Woman with her adventures as a teen. There were serious continuity problems with the format that Kanigher wouldn’t have been bothered with. It’s nice to see a similar format brought to life in the current series with a back-up by Jordie Bellaire that smartly engages with the person she would be come as an adult.
