Wonder Woman #793 // Review
Diana, Bruce, and Clark don’t get to hang out as much as they used to. People think of them as a central trio. They’ve been around for the better part of a century, but they actually haven’t had a hell of a lot of time together. Writers Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad bring the three together once more in Wonder Woman #793. Artist Emanuela Lupacchino and inker Wade Von Grawbadger assemble the action on the page with additional depth and luminosity by colorist Jordie Bellaire. Bellaire also furthers the story of Young Diana, closing out an issue with the aid of artist Paulina Ganucheau and colorist Kendall Goode.
The Justice League’s orbital watchtower has been out of commission for some time. Naturally, Clark would be a little curious to find a distress signal coming from it. He will need the aid of Bruce, who’s more of a tech-minded guy, to figure out what might be going on. He’s invited Diana as well. Three good friends check out a derelict home. What could possibly go wrong? Meanwhile in the past, Young Diana finds herself in Olympus for the first time. There are a few gods there looking to clue her in to her fate.
It’s really, really difficult to write a dialogue between three characters who know each other so well. If the characters are particularly iconic, it can be almost impossible to make it seem like an organic connection. Cloonan and Conrad do a brilliant job of drawing Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman together into an orbital investigation. Each of the three comes across with a unique perspective and a distinctive charisma. Bellaire knows exactly how much space she’s got to tell her story. It would be all too easy to try to cram a million little details into a story of Diana’s first trip to Olympus, but Bellaire keeps it simple to allow the artist room to render the wonder.
Lupacchino gives the three heroes intricate and nuanced expressions and body language as they interact on an orbital space station the way three superhuman people WOULD act in a place that would seem totally foreign and fantastic to most of the people on the planet below. Lupacchino cleverly maintains the balance between the earthbound and the fantastic--explosive action and thoughtful drama. Ganucheau and Goode fare well with a dreamy trip to a glossy Olympus that is filled with a starry magic. The wide-eyed innocence of a young Diana is given plenty of room to fill the page.
November’s issue of Wonder Woman has some action but also a tremendous amount of space to allow for casual moments of conversation. Both creative teams have done an excellent job of keeping everything moving with plenty of time to reflect on where things have been. This is a balance that can be maddeningly difficult to achieve for long-running series. Once again, Wonder Woman shows a mature level-headed sophistication that works on many levels.
