What would it be like if we had to deal with mythological gods and demi-gods in our current world? Well, the current folks on Wonder Woman are focusing on just such an idea. And it’s not pretty.

WONDER WOMAN #71

Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Artist: Xermanico
Cover: Rachel Dodson, Terry Dodson
Published by: DC Comics
Cover price: $3.99

SOLICITATION: Aphrodite’s son just might know the secret to reuniting Wonder Woman with her long-lost family and home on Paradise Island…but even if he does—and is willing to tell her—would she be able to survive the journey?

WONDER WOMAN IS THE VOICE OF REASON

I have to say that I’ve been worried about Wonder Woman lately. She’s very moral and upright, always making the “right” decision. That reminds me very much of Superman, who has been struggling when it comes to attention and sales. With Diana dealing with things by being the voice of reason, well, that may not translate to the printed page all that well.

However, the current creative team is dealing with her by focusing on her roots to the mythological gods. And it’s been extremely interesting.

Diana has been working with Atlantaiades, a demi-god who thinks that humans should simply follow their own secret desires to be happy. The bad news is that there are consequences for such actions, and Atlantaides is learning first-hand how unhappy humans can be in those situations.

Fortunately, Diana is in the right place at the right time to be able to talk people out of their craziness. But not everyone wants to listen.

Maggie is a new friend of Wonder Woman’s, and trouble happens when Maggie comes across a colossus that no human could possibly stop.

Of course, Wonder Woman has long been a symbol of the strength of women, and she’s mostly surrounded by females in this adventure. That’s good, in my opinion, because Diana can work with those she inspires very well. It’s just that not everyone looks up to her, which can lead to serious problems.

The one important element in this comic’s writing is that there’s more drama than action in each issue. I’ve often said of friends of mine who believe female leads should be more maternal and talk through problems with others. Diana does get to throw punches every once in a while, as in the case of the colossus, but what she says seems more important than what she does, on some levels.

That can be something of a difficulty when it comes to comics, which are a visual medium. Movement and action are visually more interesting than dialogue, but this book does a very good job of making the discussions more interesting to read than many comics have in my time. I’m sure this book can be very popular with the ladies like my friends. I just hope there are enough of them (and other fans) buying it to keep it going.

Diana is wise, but when demi-gods are around, they seem to be able to influence others, and not always in a good way. She feels some attraction to Atlantaiades, something the latter uses to influence Wonder Woman. We’ll see how this all works out in future issues.

GREAT ART

I always judge art in comics based on two things: 1) Action, and 2) Expressions. I feel the art team does a great job in both areas, with emotions being very clearly portrayed. Also, the action sequences are very strong—an example being Diana taking on the colossus. It made me go, “Whoa!” when I saw it.

My only concern was that sometimes it was a little tough to tell if the person in the panel was Diana or Atlantaiades. They do look very similar, but most of the time we saw enough of what they were wearing to know the difference. Not always, though.

BOTTOM LINE: Demi-Godly Storytelling!

It’s good to see that gods and demi-gods don’t always get their way or are so wise they know what should happen next. We get that like crazy in Wonder Woman!

The storytelling is strong, leaving me wondering what will happen next. The balance of action and drama just may attract a goodly number of female (as well as male) readers. I certainly hope so!

If you haven’t been reading this series, I recommend it, especially if you are a fan of Wonder Woman. Since we’re in the middle of a storyline, you might want to check with your local shop and see if they have the previous issues. If not, I’d suggest comiXology, if you can do that. I believe it will help you get the most out of this current storyline.