REVIEW: Wonder Girl #1

When you’re sired from the loins of Zeus, life can be pretty complicated. Just ask Wonder Girl. Her mother, a mortal who bears an uncanny resemblance to a certain past Vice Presidential candidate, doesn’t approve of her daughter and her linebacker physique. What’s a girl to do? Find out… after the jump!

Writer: J.T. Krul
Pencils: Adriana Melo
Inks: Mariah Benes
Letters: Sal Opriano
Colors: Marcelo Maiolo
Editor: Rachel Gluckstern
Cover: Nicola Scott & Doug Hazlewood with Jason Wright
Publisher: DC Comics
$2.99

Lamenting the fact that her life is completely focused on being a member of the Teen Titans, Cassie makes a conscious decision to step outside the shadow of Titans Tower in order to take a much-needed break. Her journey takes her on a trans-continental journey to the shores of the United Kingdom for an archaeological conference attended by her estranged mother.

Girls Just Want To Have Fun

Within minutes of her arrival at the conference (three, to be exact), mother is already treading into familiar territory, critical of her daughter’s predilection to embrace her inner superhero. By page four, Cassie’s had enough of the tension and elects to extract herself from a tedious lecture regarding sifting techniques and flotation principles.

Krul has devised a compact character study on Wonder Girl, making the most of his allotted twenty pages. While he does deploy some traditional storytelling techniques, he’s efficient and presents an authentic depiction of Cassie’s personality and inner monologue. Some of the cliché moments include teaming up with another superhero to engage in an onsite battle against ominous forces. The resolution of the fight is not surprising and her mother’s final moment of clarity is a bit clunky, although admittedly emotionally satisfying.

Rocket Scientists Need Not Apply

The team-up with the new superhero Solstice adds another storytelling element to the tale. While Cassie’s mother is outspoken in her criticisms of her daughter’s crime fighting, Solstice’s parents are both on hand and embrace their daughter’s diversity. Couple this with the metaphor of archaeology and its inherent search for historical truth as a means of informing perspective, and we have some interesting character development at play. While it’s by no means subtle, the storytelling techniques are clearly stated and help nurture an overall feeling of charm and whimsy.

The artwork from Melo proves to be a good fit for Krul’s story. Both creators deliver this story with very straightforward efficiency. Just like the plot, the art doesn’t contain over-rendering or detailed panel construction. The words and art combine to deliver an uncomplicated Wonder Girl story and at the end of the day, that’s good enough. Wonder Girl #1 earns a respectable 4 out of 5 stars.

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