Wonder Woman #11 – Tom King, Writer; Tony Daniel, Belen Ortega, Artists; Jay David Ramos, Tamra Bonvillain, Colorists
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Tom King doesn’t usually do event tie-ins, and this book has been a really tight narrative from the start – but it actually intersects quite neatly with Absolute Power. After all, it’s very easy for a war against the Amazons to become a war against all metahumans. We’ve seen this story happen many times, and Diana is prepared. She knows Waller’s Amazos are on the hunt for all powered individuals, so she’s gathered the most powerful magical beings in existence – the two remaining Shazams, Madame Xanadu, Spectre, and randomly Constantine and Detective Chimp – for a game of cards. Of course, this is a game without end, as the goal is to keep them locked up safely whether they like it or not.
Of course, this doesn’t last – and this is unfortunately spoiled by the first issue of Task Force VII, which was released last week. One of the perils of complex event schedules, so we know what happens to Billy and Mary. However, King weaves a fascinating battle out of this story, with the villains easily dismantling the heroes and the one Amazo seeming to be malfunctioning – repeating Dickens quotes ad nauseum as he fights. This story is a little more straightforward than King’s usual issues, even in this title, and it’s odd to not see any of the characters from the main series like Cheetah here, but it’s interesting to see how the two stories intersect and how the harsh lessons Diana learned in the previous ten issues have carried over.
The backup, though, is once again the highlight. Lizzie is a young teen again here, and Jon and Damian are taking her to a concert – for Black Canary, who is essentially the Taylor Swift of the DCU. I’m not sure if this is the Black Canary we know, because she seems rather young and I can’t see Dinah singing kitschy JLA-themed songs, but this story does an amazing job of poking fun at the Swiftie phenomenon. The ending is one of the most absurdly silly things I’ve read in a DC Comic in some time, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
