Written by Shea Fontana; Tim Seeley; Vita Ayala; Michael Moreci; Collin Kelly; & Jackson Lanzing
Art by Mirka Andolfo; David Messina; Inaki Miranda; Christian Duce; Claire Roe; Stephanie Hans; David Lafuente; Josh Reed; Romulo Fajardo Jr.; John Rauch; Jodi Wynne; Allen Passalaqua; Jordie Bellaire; Saida Temofonte; Dave Sharpe; & Jenny Frison
Cover Art by Jenny Frison
SUMMARY:
Released by DC Comics in 2018, this 176-page DC Rebirth paperback reprints Wonder Woman # 26-30; Wonder Woman: Steve Trevor # 1; and three tales from Wonder Woman Annual # 1 (all from 2017). Needing a night off, Wonder Woman joins Etta at a family wedding. At the reception, Etta is critically wounded in an explosive blast. Desperately seeking help from Dr. Shannon Crawford, Wonder Woman is too late discovering the physician’s ulterior motive. After stealing a blood sample from a sedated Diana to possibly cure her own fatal illness, a powered-up Crawford is Wonder Woman’s next challenge.
Supervising Etta’s lengthy at-home recuperation, Diana confides her frustrations over sufficiently protecting Etta and Steve. Wonder Woman faces super-powered mercenaries (including Cheshire) pursuing a hefty secret bounty on her. Ultimately, Etta and Steve Trevor must aid Wonder Woman to thwart a covert government scheme seeking Diana’s mystical blood to create an army of unstoppable government super-soldiers.
In “The River of Lost Years,” Steve Trevor’s outnumbered commando squad faces a Nazi-like warrior, Saturna, and her armored troops re: the fate of a dying elderly woman named Fatma. At stake is the revelation of a hidden sanctuary in Turkey where children live in eternal youth. An untitled short story has Wonder Woman in Markovia to save King Shark from an unjust public execution. “The Curse and the Honor” depicts Diana’s cursed friend protecting his snowy Japanese village from a bloodthirsty beast. In “The Last Kaiju,” Wonder Woman befriends a lonely young dinosaur-like creature.
REVIEW:
It’s an entertaining compilation, as Diana’s serene personality reflects Gal Gadot’s self-effacing interpretation in the 2017 live-action film. Yet, Wonder Woman’s occasionally child-like naiveté (which curiously resembles DC’s Starfire) doesn’t always jive for a veteran heroine who has supposedly been in modern-day society for years. Still, the storytelling is admirable, even if the three touching short stories are thematically too similar. Stepping out of Diana’s shadow, Steve Trevor’s solo tale has a well-played sense of poignancy, though Trevor’s bearded appearance is probably too close to Green Arrow.
The various art teams do a splendid job depicting Diana’s adventures. The only sporadic inconsistency pertains to Diana’s height and muscular build in the lead feature. There are some inconsistent panels in “Heart of the Amazon,” where Wonder Woman appears far more petite (or, at least, average-sized) than one might expect. Otherwise, the capable visuals (including the cover images) adds another major asset to this terrific book.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
All the cover images are included, as are black-and-white renditions of them. A six-page variant cover gallery has five covers by Jenny Frison and the Steve Trevor one-shot by Yanick Paquette & Nathan Fairbairn. Frison’s variant for Wonder Woman # 28 doubles as this paperback’s cover.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 8 Stars
