Written by Mariko Tamaki, Che Grayson,
Stephanie Williams, Tillie Walden, Rachel Smythe
Art by Jamie McKelvie, Corin Howell,
Ashley A. Woods, Tillie Walden, Rachel Smythe
Published by DC Comics
After the heavy lifting that the first issue had to achieve, in laying before us many twists and turns of Wonder Woman as a character, the second issue of Wonder Woman: Black and Gold gets to fly from the first page.
Wonder Woman is a story of Olympic gods and goddesses, with all their capricious and awesome power that leaves them adored and feared. Humanity and divinity stand forever locked in a battle of wills. The people look to the gods to keep their will inspired, but some gods wish to dominate and control them instead.
That’s where Diana steps in, emissary of Themyscira’s Amazons, tasked with defending humanity.
“Without Love” by Mariko Tamaki and Jamie McKelvie breathes in that mission.
Diana’s mission of love faces a new challenge: the world suddenly goes without love in it, and humanity’s connections shut down. Music stops playing. People stop talking to each other.
Wonder Woman tracks down the reason why love has gone missing in the world: Eros, the god of love, has plucked out his own beating heart.
But it’s a trap laid by the culprit Eris, the goddess of chaos, strife and discord. Without love to bring people together, they will turn to hatred instead. War will swallow the world, and Eris will run free.
The lack of love and nurturing can build a path to lifeless vengeance that will consume everything it touches. So goes the moral of “A God with No Name” by Che Grayson and Corin Howell.
As Queen Hippolyta lay ill, Diana goes to the goddess’ temple to pray for her. But the warning goes, be careful of the god who answers in the dark.
The First Born has appeared on Themyscira! He’s an imprisoned god given no name by Zeus and sent away for fear of a prophecy that says his first born would kill him and replace him on Olympus’ throne. Warped by a witch who spared his life, the First Born is imbued with dark, deathly magic.
But Diana is full of magic, too – that of light and love, combined with her fierce will and skill.
It’s a story in which even the First Born had to choose what he did with his life. He chose vengeance and desire to dominate, but he didn’t have to.
Don’t get me wrong: these Amazons of light and love are as human as us, too! They don’t all get along. Ask them about the different factions of Amazons: those who fled to Themyscira, and those who stayed in man’s world as the Bana-Mighdall.
“A Common Motivator” by Stephanie Williams and Ashley A. Woods frames its story around a game of capture the flag hosted by Queen Hippolyta. But she has invited Artemis and the Bana-Mighdall to compete against Diana and … Nubia?!?
I love that Nubia is getting more play in recent comics. More, please! She’s such a rad character, as Diana’s even-more-fierce sister.
“Homecoming,” written and illustrated by Tillie Walden, is a wordless dream in which Diana travels across many scenarios of the life she lived before entering man’s world. At the heart of that life remains her mother, Hippolyta, who calls to her.
As someone coming up on seven years since my father died, there are nights I wake from a dream of him that felt similar to this story.
This masterful issue is capped with “The Acquaintance” by Rachel Smythe, giving us some true Batman: Black and White realness as well as a story that pulls back the curtain on the month-to-month grind of Wonder Woman as a character, story after story.
Similar to Neil Gaiman and Simon Bisley’s famous story depicting Batman and Joker as Hollywood actors on set, “The Acquaintance” shows Diana and Circe as equals not necessarily here to fight. Instead, they talk, demigoddess to demigoddess, about what they have in common and how they feel about it.
This version of Circe is less an evil witch than a mischievous meddler in man’s world who enjoys breaking from her solitude from time to time. Sure, it’s by turning mortal men into animals, but who doesn’t enjoy that?
Wait’ll you see who the guinea pig is.
