Wonder Woman #791 – Becky Cloonan/Michael W. Conrad, Jordie Bellaire, Writers; Marguerite Sauvage, Paulina Ganucheau, Artists; Kendall Goode, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: A new arc begins, and based on this first issue it might be the best this series has had in a while. Marguerite Sauvage steps on as the artist for at least this issue, and she’s brilliant as always. The opening has Diana finding out about Hippolyta’s plot and her ascent to Godhood, leading to an emotional catharsis. But that’s the least of Diana’s challenges as she tries to figure out where she fits into this new Amazon status quo. A dire message from the Oracle of the Esquecida tribe leads her to a clue—something terrible is brewing in the Amazon, and with the help of the local Amazons and Etta Candy’s advice, Diana goes deep undercover to investigate what turns out to be a major criminal operation.
It’s a little odd that both Diana and Poison Ivy have gone undercover to expose corporate corruption over the last two weeks of stories, but Diana’s mission is much more benevolent. What starts as a simple infiltration turns into her exposing a major conspiracy of slavery, animal testing, and other cruelty. The cover largely gives away the shocking reveal at the end, but maybe not how I was expecting, and this issue brings back two iconic WW villains. The previous MRA-villain themed arc had its points, but it didn’t really use Wonder Woman to her full potential. This issue has her unleashed in the name of justice, with some of the best art in the series to date, and it’s great to see.
The Young Diana story is excellent as well, dealing with the fallout of last issue’s confrontation. Hippolyta is trying to pull Diana closer under her wing and wants Antiope gone, but the Gods may have other ideas. A mystical beast is loose on Themyscira, and it’s not long before it pulls Diana into danger as well. The visuals and sense of peril this issue are top-notch, ending with a strange cliffhanger that I did not see coming at all. This segment’s main weakness is the short length in each issue, but this second volume is definitely stronger than the first.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
