Review: Wonder Woman #78
[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Artists: Tom Derenick, Trevor Scott & Norm Rapmund
Colors: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Letters: Pat Brosseau
Reviewed by: Sean Blumenshine
Summary
Her fabled bracelets shattered, her will broken, Wonder Woman; defeated? The wrath of Cheetah has been unleashed and, armed with the fabled Godkiller sword, even Amazons will fall before her!
Positives
Jesus Merino and Romulo Fajardo Jr.’s cover is cool. Cheetah destroying Diana’s bracelets is a very enticing image and it looks great.
I like that Diana has to turn to Veronica Cale. Greg Rucka created an interesting relationship between the two during Rebirth and it’s fun seeing that further developed by G. Willow Wilson. There’s a fun tension between them as they work together.
Negatives
I’m not a huge fan of the interior art. The proportions look strange to me and it isn’t detailed enough. The book says that Diana looks like hell multiple times but never shows. She’s kind of sad and missing her weapons but she looks fine. The art really could have showcased how dire this situation is but doesn’t quite get there.
Something is off with this issue. I should be amazed by a lot of this. Cheetah has not only brutally defeated Wonder Woman but she stole the lasso of truth and destroyed Diana’s bracelets. This is epic stuff but I’m mostly under whelmed. I’m not invested in the way that I should be; I think the issue is kind of boring.
The pacing is weird. Cheetah utterly demolishes Wonder Woman only to take her lasso and leave. Cheetah doesn’t do anything for the rest of the issue. She could have killed Diana but didn’t for some reason. Everything feels slow and not much really happens in this issue.
Verdict
I didn’t love this issue although I feel like I should have. But I’m not invested in these events. Part of that is because of the art. I can’t see Diana’s hardship the way I would like to and that takes a lot of the power away. I’m told she looks like hell but she looks fine. Another part of it is that I’m still not sure about the death of love taking away Diana’s powers. That threw me off at the end of the last issue and I’m still unsure about that choice. The pacing is weird and I think the issue is dull.
