Wonder Woman #22 / Review
Steve Trevor is waking-up in Diana’s bed. (This might have been the first time this ever happened.) There’s a note for him on the next pillow. Diana isn’t there. She has to deal with a small rodent problem at the Capitol Building that she’s going to have to deal with. So she can’t be there for him. At that stage he’s thinking that things have gotten a little weird. Then he sees the state of the problem at the Capitol and he KNOWS things have gotten a little weird in Wonder Woman #22. Writer Tom King tells a tale of an early encounter between Diana and Steve in an issue brought to page and panel by artist Caitlin Yarsky and colorist Alex Guimarães.
The dome of the Capitol Building is cracked like a giant egg. There’s a rather large rodent peaking out of it. The thing must be at least one story tall. It’s not alone. Wonder Woman is lassoing another that’s the size of a small elephant. The nation’s capitol has become overrun with...mice. Wonder Woman is going to have to deal with them humanely. They ARE, after all, under the control of a deranged villain known as...Mouse Man.
King plays with a few different elements in a deeply enjoyable standalone story. The awkwardness after that first night with anyone can feel more than a little uncomfortable. Add to that the sudden threat of an invasion of large mice and things are going to get VERY bizarre. It’s a clever fusion of the earthbound and the superhuman. Romantic comedy meets superhero action in a fun, little excursion from not too far into the past of the current continuity. Both Diana and Steve come across with great charm as they navigate their way through the process of setting things straight.
So much of the appeal of Yarsky’s work in the issue lies in the mice. They’re large, menacing and impossibly cute. The visual humor of perfectly adorable, little rodents the size of small vehicles never really gets old. This wouldn’t be nearly as charming as it is were it not for the fact that Yarsky has done such a good job of getting the anatomy of the mice almost perfect. Add to that an impeccably well-referenced interior to the U.S. Capitol Building AND a charming interpersonal romance between Diana and Steve. It’s a deliciously enjoyable package. Guimarães also manages to catch the early morning light of Washington D.C. more or less perfectly. Guimarães also renders a rich depth to the complexions of both Steve and Diana as they navigate through the weirdness of the issue.
Every new era for Wonder Woman has spent a period of time re-rendering aspects of her basic origin. King’s approach to the history of Diana has been cleverly pieced together in a nonlinear way that amplifies what’s going on in the “now” of the series. King does a particularly impressive job with Diana and Steve the morning after what might have been their first night together.
