Review: Trial of the Amazons: Wonder Girl #2

Review: Trial of the Amazons: Wonder Girl #2
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Writer: Joelle Jones
Art: Joelle Jones and Adriana Melo
Colors: Jordie Bellaire
Letters: Pat Brosseau

Reviewed by: Matthew B. Lloyd

Summary

Cassie Sandsmark reveals Hippolyta’s killer while Donna, Yara, Diana and Philippus escape from the bowels of Themiscyra! This is Trial of the Amazons: Wonder Girl #2

Positives

There are a lot of good things to say about this issue, and what stands out the most is the storytelling by Joelle Jones and Adriana Melo.  This issue carries three plotlines that Jones and Melo depict concurrently on each page until they merge at nearly the end of the issue.  It’s a really creative way to present all three plotlines.  Normally, we would see the plotlines alternating sequences throughout the issue.  However, Jones and Melo give us a line of panels at the top and bottom of the page that resembles a traditional newspaper comic strip and then another set of panels in the middle of the page. 

The top and bottom plotlines continue the story from last week’s Wonder Woman #786 chronicling Diana, Donna, Philippus, and Yara’s escape from beneath Themiscyra.  At the end of that issue, Diana had been separated from Yara, Donna, and Philippus.  Diana’s story continues at the top of the page and the plot with the other three unfolds at the bottom.  The center of the page spotlights Cassie Sandsmark, the other Wonder Girl, as she delivers the results of Hippolyta’s murder investigation to the Amazonian hegemony.  This is an example of how the comic book format is a unique form of storytelling- no other medium provides the same opportunities for innovative, concise, and coherent storytelling.  The creativity doesn’t end there, however.  The three parallel plotlines all move at their own pace.

Positives Cont’d

The art from Melo and Jones is just as fantastic.  They’ve worked together on Wonder Girl before and it’s great to see it again in Trial of the Amazons: Wonder Girl #2.  Both artists excel at communicating  facial expressions and  devising interesting layouts.  Even though these artists’ styles are not identical, their approaches are similar enough that they easily combine to create a cohesive whole.

Cassie’s breakdown of the murder investigation is fun and engaging.  This mystery has been at the heart of “Trial of the Amazons” and it’s great for Cassie to take the spotlight.  “Trial of the Amazons” is giving all the Wonder Girls a chance to shine in their own way.  The surprise reveal of the murderer is somewhat unexpected, but the killer remaining tight-lipped about her motivations seems destined to be the subject of a subsequent storyline or series.

Negatives

Overall, this is the strongest single issue of “Trial of the Amazons.”  It’s hard to find a negative in this issue.  

Verdict

Trial of the Amazons: Wonder Girl #2 is a standout issue of art and storytelling.  It also has the honor of revealing one of the crucial plot resolutions for the Amazonian event.  There’s a lot to like in the issue and can be enjoyed out of context of the rest of the series as well.  It may even be the issue that will get readers to go back to the previous chapters if they haven’t been following the storyline all along.