‘Wonder Woman # 67’ (review)

Written by G. Willow Wilson
Art by Cary Nord, Mick Gray
Published by DC Comics

Wonder Woman has an uneasy alliance with Giganta as the two ladies take on nature and Titan-sized rock beasts threatening a small Colorado mountain town as they seek the missing Themyscira and the home of immortals Mt. Olympus.

Giganta is being paid to use her towering height to help Diana, so it’s not exactly a World’s Finest team-up. Even though the good Dr. Doris Zuel, a.k.a. Giganta, is on a paid mission that does not mean the two strong women are at each other’s throats.

They seek to understand each other, though the Suicide Squad team member Giganta can be a little rough around the edges at points. Elsewhere in the forest, Maggie and Eirene are seeking refuge for more of the mystical creatures now stuck in this realm.

This heroes’ journey leads them to a lake where the Arthurian legend takes a modern turn. I think it’s a trap, personally, and obviously no way to set up a system of government. Maggie discovers a sword in the lake and holds it aloft! No watery tarts anywhere to be found but next issue’s title “Lady of The Lake” portends her appearance.

One of my favorite comic book podcasts, iFanboy, references the work of Remender and Scalera as so incredible that when Black Science is discussed, they are at a loss for words, meaning that they have already talked about what makes the book great month after month, and this is the challenge this writer faces each month writing reviews for Wonder Woman.

Wilson and Nord are at the top of their game and there is something special about this book…mystical even?

I do find myself comforted by reading this book, as I know it to be clear, competent, entertaining and fun each issue. Nord getting to draw gorgeous, but not overly sexualized women makes for beautiful pages with fun fight scenes. Wilson equally makes the character arcs and story arcs progress on a satisfying pace, learning about Diana’s motivations without redefining her with a clean reboot.

This modern Bendis Superman run is complex, based on years of lore and Easter eggs and is honestly so damn fun to get caught up in the Kryptonian lore of it all. What we get from Wilson’s run here is nice clean storytelling with Wonder Woman’s rogues and friends with a fresh new attitude and it never gets confusing or bogged down in historical abstractions.

She’s a master storyteller that can leave a last page mic drop that will have you wanting more. There is also a positive and hopeful tone, an archetype of the character that leaves the reader with a nice feeling. Though I’m not entirely running out of words encouraging people to pick up Wonder Woman, it is getting close. This book fires at a level that most books on the shelf could only hope to achieve. There was a time, my personal ‘golden age’ of comics in the 80s and 90s that Byrne, Simonson, Claremont and Nocenti gave us this level of work. Can we go back in time, please?

I, for one, am glad to have G. Willow Wilson taking on this iconic DC hero. The question is, did she get her pencil from her very own lady of the lake, or is it that she is just undeniably a great and masterclass comic writer? I will have to explore the scrolls of her back catalog to find out, and report back!