Wonder Woman #795 // Review
Diana and Yara are going up against a statue. It’s more than a statue, though. It’s a god. It’s okay: they’re used to this sort of thing. The god in question is Eros. They’ve both had dealings with him in the past. They’re going to have to deal with him again in Wonder Woman #795. Writers Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad continue a satisfying run with Wonder Woman in an issue rendered for the page by artist Amancay Nahuelpan and colorist Tamra Bonvillain. The issue continues its ongoing back-up feature of writer Jordie Bellaire’s Young Diana, which is once again drawn by Paulina Ganucheau with color by Kendall Goode.
Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl Yara Flor aren’t going to have a very difficult time with a statue of Eros. It may be hugely powerful and massive, but they can bring it down pretty quickly. As it’s merely a manifestation of the god, it won’t accomplish much, so hopefully they can get some answers out of the god first. Meanwhile in the past, Young Diana is observing a once-in-a-century ceremony on the island of the Amazons when she runs into a minor deity from the underworld.
In addition to the conflict between Diana, Yara, and Eros, Cloonan and Conrad engage Steve Trevor, Etta, and Siegfried in a conflict with the Titan Hyperion. The contrast between a few mortals and a towering Titan is a bit more striking than the main conflict, but the drama that Cloonan and Conrad conjure with Wonder Woman and company strikes a particularly resonant tone. Bellaire’s latest chapter in the life of Young Diana shows how far the pre-Wonder Woman has come as she confronts a mysterious threat in the darkness that isn’t fully revealed until the final splash page.
Nahuelpan gets a fair amount of the tension in both ends of the main feature right simply by getting a solid handle on the size of the villains. Human-sized heroes square off against immortals who are several stories tall. It’s been incredibly difficult for artists to manage the right perspective on that sort of thing over the years. Nahuelpan nails it with highly kinetic action shooting through very impressive angles. Half of the back-up feature rests solely on Diana in darkness. It’s a hell of a challenge to make one hero alone in darkness look interesting on the page...especially if it’s going to go on for 4 consecutive pages. Aided by Goode’s sharp color work, Ganucheau manages to make the journey a deeply engaging one.
It’s always fun to see two Wonder Women team up. Given the number of different incarnations she’s had, one would think that it would happen a whole lot more often than it does. Yara and Diana are excellent together in a surprisingly nuanced action sequence that is contrasted with the terror of the Titan in the main feature. Bellaire has had the enviable position of being able to completely define her own version of Young Diana at the end of each issue. She’s shown steady progression and smart pacing in the life of the young hero, which has been great fun to see develop.
