Review: Wonder Woman Annual #1

by Sean Blumenshine
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[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]

Writers: Greg Rucka, Vita Ayala, Michael Moreci, Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing

Artists: Nicola Scott, Romulo Fajardo Jr., Claire Roe, Jordie Bellaire, Stephanie Hans, David Lafuente & John Rauch

 

Summary

In the first story, Wonder Woman meets Batman and Superman for the first time. In the second, Diana defends King Shark in an unfair trial. In the third, she must help an old friend of Steve Trevor with a curse. In the fourth and final story, Wonder Woman faces off against a Kaiju.

 

Positives

The cover by Nicola Scott and Romulo Fajardo Jr. is gorgeous. It’s a nice portrait of the Trinity. Fajardo’s colors are pretty as usual and I like the sunlight as the background.

The interior art features a lot of great talent. The first story features art by Scott and colors by Fajardo Jr, the second features art by Claire Roe and colors by Jordie Bellaire, the third features art by Stephanie Hans and the fourth features art by David Lafuente and colors by John Rauch. My favorite is Scott and Fajardo’s section. It’s just really nice looking; these two have been a solid team for the past year and they do great work. The characters are drawn well and the colors enhance that. The other teams do great work as well giving the book a nice variety of style.

I love anthologies in comics. I usually enjoy annuals quite a bit because they contain several self-contained stories. Comics need more of this in my opinion. I love that there are four stories in this. My favorite is Greg Rucka’s story which deals with Diana meeting Clark and Bruce for the first time. It’s simple but a lot of fun. Rucka really nails the voices of the Trinity down and there are standout moments that I love. An example is Superman deciding to watch the base with Batman because doing it alone would get lonely. That’s hilarious.

The other stories are good too. I like that each one challenges Diana in some way. The Kaiju and King Shark stories show a compassionate side of Diana that is willing to help all beings. However, Michael Moreci’s story deals with Diana having to take a life. There’s compassion there; it isn’t something she wants to do and is tragic. I like having that darker story with the other three lighter ones. The annual displays the different sides of Diana well.

 

Negatives

This is still the New 52 continuity, technically, so Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman should all meet during Darkseid’s invasion. I could be wrong but I thought they all met for the first time in that story. It doesn’t matter to me but people with more affection for continuity might be confused or irritated by that.

 

Verdict

Just in time for the film, this is a celebration of Wonder Woman. It’s fun, creative and features a variety of talent both in the writing and in the art. I like how the different styles compliment each other as well as how they contrast. I highly recommend reading this issue.

 

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