Trial of the Amazons #1 – Stephanie Williams/Vita Ayala, Joelle Jones, Michael W. Conrad/Becky Cloonan, Writers; Laura Braga, Skylar Partridge, Joelle Jones, Elena Casagrande, Artists; Romulo Fajado Jr, Jordie Bellaire, Colorists
Ray – 8/10
Ray: We’ve got a lot of multi-book events brewing in the DC lineup at the moment, and every event is a little different. Some, like last week’s War for Earth-3, put one writer in charge of the whole thing. And then there’s Trial of the Amazons, which would need a whole bus to bring in all the creators involved. And it all starts with this oversized jam issue, where three creative teams unite to set up the biggest Amazon summit in centuries. Hippolyta has returned from the Justice League, while Diana has returned from beyond (for a few months?). The Bana-Mighdall has returned to Themyscira from Africa, and tensions are high as Queen Faruka has no problem calling out the historical mistreatment of their tribe. And then there’s the Esquecida, the lost tribe of Amazons led by Yara Flor (and aligned with the other two Wonder Girls) who descend on the island with their own questions. And this is without even thinking about the other ten dangling plots the WW books have set up over the last year.
So given all that, it’s a little surprising just how little it feels like actually happens in this issue. With the privilege—and painful responsibility—of guarding Doom’s Door up for grabs, the tournament takes on a somber tone. It gains much higher stakes when Faruka issues a shocking challenge that Nubia accepts. But the best parts of this issue are the smaller scenes that let characters shine. Hippolyta and Philippus’ romance is something I wish had gotten the chance to be explored more earlier, and Medusa’s struggle to make the most of her new chance is fascinating. But despite all that, the stakes seem a little low for most of the oversized issue, and the tournament hasn’t even kicked off. That makes a lot more sense when we see the cliffhanger, which delivers a shocking gut punch and a massive status quo change for Themyscira. Its an intriguing start, even if it does feel massively ambitious and battling with itself at times.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
