By Gail Simone (writer), Terry Dodson, Ron Randall (pencils), Rachel Dodson, Ron Randall (inks), Alex Sinclair, Pete Pantazis (colors)
Gail Simone’s first story arc on Wonder Woman concludes this issue. Last issue, the Nazis invaded the Hippolyta’s island and nearly killed her. Simone wastes little time resolving things. Within two pages, Wonder Woman single-handedly defeats all the Nazis and shows them off the island. I understand that Simone’s trying to get us to the real confrontation, but this all feels a bit rushed. The real fight begins when she confronts The Circle.
Now there’s some glaring inconsistencies that happen when she fights these women. They shoot Diana with magical arrows, causing her to be wounded. Yet, in the following panels her wounds are magically gone, only to show up again a few panels later. It’s awful editing that is very distracting. Much like the Nazi fight, this confrontation feels rushed, but even worse, it’s awkwardly paced and skips around.
Ron Randall covers the flash backs with The Circle conspiring to kill Diana as a baby; these portions of the issue are quite strong. Terry Dodson does all the events currently taking place. There’s no denying that Dodson can draw good characters, but like Simone’s script, his storytelling falters when Diana fights The Circle. It just doesn’t work.
The first two issues did a great job at building this story line up. Unfortunately, it comes crashing down with this issue. I wish I could say I enjoyed it, but it’s a heck of a let down. A 36 page issue would have fixed the pacing and story, but as it stands, Simone just crams too much stuff into 24 pages and it doesn’t work. (Grade: D)
– J. Montes