Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Wonder Woman #799 Review

     
Written by: Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad,
Art by: Alitha Martinez, Mark Morales, Meghan Hetrick, Juan Ferreyra, Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson, Paulina Ganucheau
Colors by: Tamra Bonvillain, Terry Dodson, Juan Ferreyra
Letters by: Pat Brosseau
Cover art by: Yanick Paquette, Nathan Fairbairn
Cover price: $4.00
Release date: May 16, 2023


Wonder Woman #799 takes Wonder Woman and her friends through a collection of dreams to remember fond memories that may or may not have happened. Is there something sinister going on?
Is It Good?

Well, Wonder Woman #799 marks the beginning of the end for this creative team, so consider this arc the final goodbye. But as far as goodbyes go, it's probably the furthest thing from what you would have expected.

When last we left Wonder Woman and her wondrous friends, a temporarily powered-up Wonder Woman gave Hera a one-punch smackdown to end the invasion of the Olympian gods. Now, everyone takes a little downtime to rest and recover from their ordeal. As each colleague falls asleep they dream of first meetings, possible last meetings, and more. By the end, the dreams are revealed to have a connective thread that leads all the way back to Themyscira.

Once you get what the story's about, it makes sense. However, the beginning of the issue and the dream sequences readers will endure until the reveal of the plot is rough. Surreal dreams are already tough to make engaging for a reader, but when you have technicolor gal-pal movies, WWII fighting ace dramas, and Viking epics, all done in radically different art styles, you'll either love it or hate it.

Holistically, using multiple artists to depict the different dream sequences in different styles and genres makes sense. Where the comic struggles is not in the disparity of art styles, it's in the differences in quality of the different art styles. Some of the dreams look great, others not so much. And the weakest art of all is the connective tissue story wherein the characters fall asleep.

Do the dreams make sense? Mostly yes, if you relax and buy into the surrealism of the situation. It's supposed to be a collection of dreams, so the writing gets a bit of a pass. Therefore, the emphasis on the art to pull the issue's weight is even higher.

We'll see where it goes, but if you're a fan of this series under this creative team, you'll get along with this issue just fine. If you're interested in jumping on, don't. Wait for the next creative team to come on-board




About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

Follow @ComicalOpinions on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Bits and Pieces:

Wonder Woman #799 kicks off a new arc wherein Wonder Woman and her friends experience a surreal set of dreams that eventually lead to something sinister. The story is fine if you accept the dreams are intentionally weird and surreal, but the differences in art quality between the assorted artists drafted for this issue are off-putting.

5.5/10

No comments:

Post a Comment