Wonder Woman Black and Gold 2026 Special #1 – Tom King, Alyssa Wong, Steve Orlando, Jordie Bellaire, Writers; Mitch Gerads, Karen S. Darboe, Rossi Gifford, Paulina Ganucheau, Artists; Kendall Goode, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Much like the Superman: Red and Blue series, this acclaimed anthology is returning for an oversized annual, with four tales of the Amazon wonder.
“Decent Docent” by King and Gerads is a fun slice-of-life story that finds a little girl attending Wonder Woman day at the local museum. While Diana’s going to appear to everyone, she’s won a one-on-one with her hero. Penny gets some company from a kindly curator named Coy as she waits for Diana to arrive, but Wonder Woman keeps on getting waylaid by one bizarre crisis after another (which Gerads clearly has a lot of fun drawing). This story really highlights how good King is at writing lighter stories as well.
“Last Flight” by Wong and Darboe takes place in current continuity, following the death of Steve Trevor, and finds Diana calling on a favor from her fellow superhero and master of the magical arts, Xanthe. This creation of Wong is a guardian of the spirit world, and that gives the creative team the chance to show off some truly fascinating and disturbing creatures on their journey. As Diana searches for Steve in the spirit world, she nearly falls prey to a sinister being, but the story also has some fascinating dialogue about the nature of life, death, and immortality. Some very interesting hints about Steve here, as well.
“The Truth Unreal” by Orlando and Gifford finds Diana heading on a boat to a mysterious island – one ruled by a cult leader named Anton Unreal. She’s undercover with many of the people headed to the island, and when she gets there, it becomes clear that this mysterious occultist has everyone under his spell. This is a pretty quick read, and it’s clear that Orlando has a lot on his mind when it comes to the implications for our world. Overall, it’s an effective read with a great line at the end.
“Peach Thief” by Bellaire and Ganucheau takes us back into the world of Young Diana, from the popular backups. Themyscira is facing a crisis – the island’s enchanted peaches, complete with an associated myth, have gone missing, and this threatens Diana’s beloved annual cobbler. So she volunteers to pull off a stakeout and uncover the thief – which turns out to be a lot less menacing and a lot cuter than anyone expected. This is a fun way to end the issue, and this series continues to be a great little addition to WW’s mythos.
Overall, this didn’t quite blow me away like the Superman anthology did, but all four of these creative teams have a great grasp on Diana and her world.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
