DC Comics 2016
Written by Greg Rucka
Illustrated by Nicola Scott
Coloured by Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Lettered by Jodi Wynne
Year One part one starts here. I think this is smart that when you have a bi-weekly comic hitting stands with two art teams that each team just concentrates on one story at a time, well first issue out is the “now” the second book of the month the “then.” This way there’s no interruption in the artistic flow and vision of the stories and it’s a way to tell mulitple angles which receive the attention they deserve while giving the appropriate space. Plus this is Greg streamining the origin of Wonder Woman after we’ve seen so many changes after the Crisis on Infinite Earths.
I really like the dual parallel opening here where we see Steve and Diana each at the same stage in their lives. As we see both of them each facing life from a very different perspective and yet one that inevitably bring them together. From Diana’s point of view she’s the only Amazon to have not had a life outside the Island and how that is brought to us is really rather well done. You get the longing, the sense of greater purpose and even wanderlust from her as she longs to know what lies beyond the Island’s shores.
The training each goes through is well demonstrated. Even the attempts of a love life, of which the question of sexuality on Themyscira is touched upon with a subtle grace. Just the years that we see flow by as each one settles in and becomes the person they had to be upon meeting. Including when Diana sees that mysterious dead tree and experiences what she does to Steve being a Godfather to his friends daughter. Everything is here for a reason and while it may not be overtly told it’s important in how we see the characters grow and evolve.
What Greg is doing here with the characters is incredibly thoughtful and interesting. Taking so much that’s come before and weaving into something familiar and yet fresh at the same time.
Ah Nicola and what she’s bringing to the table here. There’s an innocence to the characters and a great sense of longing and hope that just exudes from them. The way the story is laid out through pages and panels is wonderfully done. I love the use of angles, perspective and the use of backgrounds to really flesh out the tone, feel and mood of where they are at in each panel. There really is so much grace, beauty and a sense of power in what she can on the page that it’s like destiny she’s on this book.
This is a Wonder Woman for the ages, all ages as it has that feel of what Marston brought to the table and the writers and artists since then that have her the beloved woman she is today. New generations can look to her and origin as fresh and exciting while longtime fans can think this is the woman I remember with fondness and a for a hope filled future.