Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Wonder Woman #64 Review


Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Art team: Jesus Merino, Andy Owens, Romulo Fajardo Jr, and Pat Brousseau
Covers: Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson, and Stanley “Artgerm” Lau
Release Date: 2/13/19
Cover Price: $3.99
Reviewed by: Jon Wayne

I was very excited when G. Willow Wilson took over this book but I have been unimpressed thus far. The first arc was ok but very generic, and it was plagued by mediocre art in the beginning. While I enjoyed the last issue more than others and probably scored it half a point too high, it was total filler and Wonder Woman wasn’t even in half the book! However, I am ready to move on and see if G. Willow can get me more stoked on the future of Diana. Let’s find out if she delivers.


We pick up right where we left off last time with Veronica Cale talking with an imprisoned Nemesis (the Greek god, not the one at the Sanctuary in Heroes in Crisis) in her basement. She has developed a theory that has led her to believe that Olympus and Themyscira are destroyed, which means that her daughter is dead. This is a solid connection to Greg Rucka’s run at the start of Rebirth and I’m ready to go with it, though I find it interesting that Wilson is trying so hard to connect her run to his.

Moving on, we find Diana tending to a still wounded Steve and Aphrodite as their new roommate for now. Wilson pokes fun that Steve is complaining about being surrounded by beautiful women, which did get me to chuckle. Before long, Cadmus the Pegasus shows up and whisks Diana off to some disaster. When they arrive, there is some kind of crater in the middle of Washington D.C. and honestly, it feels off that it’s police officers on the scene and not the entire U.S. military, but that’s a nitpick.



Wonder Woman drops into the crater finds Nemesis and the two begin to fight. When Diana uses her lasso on Nemesis she learns that it is indeed Cale manipulating everything. Then we pan up above and see Cale has a photographer standing by to catch our hero when she falls into her trap. After a back and forth between Wonder Woman and Nemesis, the former attacks the latter as Veronica catches her in the act... framing her for attacking an “employee?” It's odd. Diana and Veronica end up having a heated discussion in front of dozens of people where Cale seems to be trying to start DC’s own “Civil War” by calling for heroes to be registered. We’ll see if that is important down the line – and I hope it is – but for now it feels undeserved. Cale reveals that she believes Themsycira has been destroyed and that is why she is attacking Diana, who flies off to be alone.

Art is fine, though it is inconsistent. Merino is a good artist but there are clearly some panels he put more effort into than others, which is frustrating. However, I partly blame DC for shuffling around the art teams so much on this book. Started off with Cary Nord, then Xermanico and Emanuela Lupacchino came on for a couple of issues which were good, and now this from Merino, that’s four different artists for Wilson’s first seven issues. What is up with that? Part of what makes a great comic – especially for the trade, which is what DC seems to strive for at times – is consistent art. I don’t know who the answer is but DC needs to figure it out soon.



There are some positives in this issue, but it still doesn’t quite hit home for me and it is clear Wilson is still figuring out the voices of Diana and Steve. While I can imagine some have no interest in it, how the “Civil War” thread is resolved is something I’m intrigued by moving forward. It feels out of left field but I’m ok with it if Wilson delivers and makes this book matter.

Bits and Pieces

Wonder Woman is one of the biggest characters in comics and her book deserves to be an important part of DC’s lineup. We aren’t there yet – and part of me feels like I’m talking myself up here – but I am legitimately curious as to if this story can get us there.

6.5/10

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