It’s a pair of stories in this month’s Sensation Comics. First, Wonder Woman is stopped by an unusual woman who begs for help in saving her children. In the second story, Wonder Woman guides Superman through a day in her life outside of the Justice League as she helps deal with an international crisis for the UN.
The Positive
In “Echidna” Wonder Woman is in Gotham at a fundraiser put on by Bruce Wayne. She is attending under her non-super identity of Diana Prince. Of course, an Amazon can only take so much of a stuffy fundraiser dinner before she needs to head out. While out she stops an unusual woman from attacking a man. This sends her down a path to find the woman’s missing children. It’s a well-written story as Wonder Woman tracks the missing kids through Professor Pyg and Harley Quinn with help from Batgirl. I always enjoy seeing Wonder Woman in Gotham because she deals with things so much differently than Batman.
The second story “A Day In Our Lives” follows Superman and Wonder Woman after cleaning up an invasion from a parallel reality. The story follows Wonder Woman when she is not a member of the Justice League. The leadership of an unnamed Siberian country is in question and she is there to assure a peaceful transition. Superman is along for the ride and watches her deal with these non-supervillainous problems. Just as before it’s a really well-written story that shows Superman and Wonder Woman relating in a way that only super powered friends can. We see a level of superpowers at work that aren’t usually displayed in a Wonder Woman comic.
The Negative
While I really enjoyed the writing in both stories, I really did not enjoy the art in either story. The art style of Echidna is a unique style. Unfortunately, most of the characters are severely off model, so much so, that I wasn’t sure which Batgirl was in this story. I hoped it was Stephanie Brown, but there is nothing that says one way or the other. The art in “A Day In Our Lives” is a more traditional style, but it did not work for me.
Echidna left me with one nagging question throughout, who is this weird woman that Wonder Woman is helping? She calls her Echidna at one point, but it’s not clear if this her actual name or not. I wasn’t sure if they were a family of sewer mutants or if they were part of a traveling circus. It’s never very clear.
The Verdict
Both stories are written well with a strong message. That has been the hallmark of this series all along. However, the art styles were a difficult hurdle to overcome. Both stories showcase Wonder Woman as a hero whose words and heart are just as powerful as her fists.
