Comic Reviews 12.28.2020

Hey y’all. We’re back with a light one to finish off the year. Of course, the final issues of 2020 will be reviewed next week but that will be in 2021. Anyway, I did read one comic not reviewed here, Excalibur #16. It was a fun issue that I enjoyed quite a lot but when I sat down to write about it, I did not have anything to say. Because of that, you get a pseudo-Featured Review that acts as the first part of my unofficial two-day Wonder Woman 1984 “extravaganza”, which will conclude with the second part, a review of Wonder Woman 1984. Look forward to it tomorrow! Let’s jump into the reviews!

I just wanted to share this cool motion blur effect

Spoilers for: Wonder Woman #769

Wonder Woman #769

Writer: Mariko Tamaki

Artist: Steve Pugh

Colors: Romulo Fajardo Jr.

Letters: Pat Brosseau

Cover: David Marquez and Alejandro Sanchez

 

Here we go, the final issue of Mariko Tamaki’s short stint on Wonder Woman. While it did not, overall, live up to the expectations set by the first few issues, this has been a fun story featuring Max Lord. The fact he remembers the pre-Infinite Crisis timeline was a neat bit, but it never came to anything. With it seeming like everyone will remember all the timelines and Crises going forward, it does not seem like this makes Lord a special character or anything.

There are two genres of Wonder Woman story: Wonder Woman the Warrior and Wonder Woman the Diplomat. Tamaki’s run—and Wonder Woman 1984, more on that tomorrow—is certainly the latter. This is a story that does not end with Diana beheading the villain or even throwing a single punch. Instead, she talks down a distraught young woman with a lot of trauma to process. The issue ends with Diana and the Amazons helping her work through it.

Not sure why she's in shadows but it's still pure Diana

The entire issue is a testament to what makes Wonder Woman unique. Batman would never think to attempt a solution like this. Superman would surely consider it, but he is just as likely to take Batman’s path as he is Wonder Woman’s. Yes, sometimes Diana does take a more physical approach, but that is often only when she is forced into it and this issue displays that perfectly. It is a difficult line to walk, but the team here do it excellently.

A key component of this is that though she has one with her, Diana never draws her sword. She never even strikes an aggressive pose. In every panel she has completely open body language, often with a hand outstretched so as to let Emma know she is here to help. It is masterful work by Pugh. Everything is rendered magnificently here, and the palette used by Fajardo Jr. is the exact warm, welcoming tone this story needs, but it really is the body language that brings not just the art, but the entire issue together.