Wonder Woman #794 // Review
It turns out that the nefarious milk manufacturer was actually controlled...by Phobos and Deimos. (The ancient deities, of course...not the moons of Mars.) Their mortal forms don’t stand a chance against an immortal, a British archaeologist, and an Amazon warrior in Wonder Woman #794. Writers Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad continue a deeply satisfying run with Diana aided by the art of Emanuela Lupacchino, inker Wade Von Grawbadger, and colorist Jordie Bellaire. Bellaire once again pens the follow-up story of young Diana, which is brought to the page by Paulina Ganucheau.
The gods in question are only part of a much larger problem that has arisen in the wake of recent events. Those in and around the milk factory seem to be praising a certain ancient Greek goddess of women and marriage. There’s little question about who is responsible for the sudden appearance of an airborne temple. If Wonder Woman is going to confront Hera, she’s going to have to get through Eros. Thankfully, she’s not going to have to do so alone. Meanwhile somewhere in the past, a young Diana says goodbye to an aunt who has already taught her so much.
Cloonan and Conrad elevate things quite a bit in a physical altercation that features some very powerful combatants. The heavy action feels particularly fun with Siggy and Cheetah fighting alongside her. The rationale behind Cheetah’s presence is deftly delivered to the page in a way that lends some weight to Diana’s altruistic interest in reform for those she’s faced as enemies in the past. The two writers manage an impressively swift glide from the encounter with Phobos and Deimos to the encounter with Eros. Bellaire’s Young Diana chapter serves as both transition and closure that should play much more richly as a part of a trade paperback than it does as a back-up feature for this issue.
Lupacchino has a remarkably sophisticated handle on form and scale in action sequences that pit immortals against gods. The scale between the massive Eros and the relatively short Diana adds a sense of style, form, and perspective to the drama between them. Bellaire’s color helps to establish a breathtaking sense of atmosphere, from the dim light of a milk factory to the golden glow of a floating temple of Hera. The warm complexity of emotions in Young Diana’s world are brought to the chill of winter by Ganucheau’s art in the back-up feature.
Cloonan and Conrad offer up a valiantly heroic Wonder Woman who has no fear of facing the gods themselves as she is sworn to protect the earth from everything. Her power contrasts well against theirs. She’s in over her head just enough to make the heroism feel that much more potent. The presence of Cheetah as an ally is a welcome one. The match-up between Wonder Woman and Young Diana in this issue might not feel perfect, but it still manages to make a standard-length comic book feel just a bit more substantial than it would with a single feature.
