WONDER WOMAN #7

Love And Murder, Part 2

early June 2007

Written by Jodi Picoult

Pencils by Drew Johnson

Inks by Ray Snyder

Cover by Terry and Rachel Dodson

Synopsis

Special Agent Tom Tresser (aka Nemesis) of the Department of Metahuman Affairs has been taken hostage by Circe.  Wonder Woman comes to his rescue, although Circe is able to get away.  After she takes him for medical treatment.  He tells her how he had been kidnapped and the two decide to investigate.  At the Villains and Vixens Bar, where Nemesis had been abducted, Wonder Woman encounters Circe, who once more gets away.  Then the DMA arrive to take Wonder Woman into custody.  Later, Sarge Steel tells Wonder Woman that she will remain locked away indefinitely unless she provides details on Amazonian technology, specifically the Purple Death Ray.  Meanwhile, Circe visits Paradise Island and extinguishes the eternal flame resting before the grave site of Hippolyta.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

“You ever get, like, bugs splattering on your face and stuff when you do this flying thing?”

Picoult’s second issue is an improvement on her first issue, although that is not saying much.  Somewhere within this comic book there are some good ideas, but they are being buried in a narrative that meanders to where it wants to go.  Perhaps this is a sign of Picoult’s relative newness to the comic book medium.  For instance, the opening pages feature Wonder Woman tracking down Circe and then the witch leaving via a mirror.  This sequence is then repeated later in the book.  Sadly, the second scene really does not add anything to the issue, other than to take up additional space and add the Catwoman joke.  The entire sequence with Nemesis and Wonder Woman also seems to meander along without much focus.  First, we get the cute joke when Diana drops him after his “dessert” comment.  This doesn’t seem to make much sense when a page later she comments about his loss of blood. Sure, Diana, drop a mortally injured human.  That makes sense.  But not so much why Diana sticks around to help someone who is trying to put her in prison.  Why can’t she drop him at the hospital and then fly away?  Why must she personally tend to his wounds?  Putting that aside, Nemesis mentions at one point that he is not being told everything.  Um, okay, what exactly happened to make him reach that conclusion?  And why would he want to work with her.  It seems like Picoult is pushing forward plot points with disregard for the overall story. 

All of these complaints aside, I did like the ending.  At least the reasons for the DMA’s arrest warrant for Diana makes sense now and it certainly likes like it is laying the groundwork for the Amazons Attack mini-series coming up.  I would like to think that some of the meandering in these two issues was primarily just the set-up to real plot of the story, but we’ll just have to wait and see. 

Is there any reason why there are going to be two issues this month after getting two issues last month?  If DC wants to make sure there are 12 issues within the calendar year, then we should be double dipping at least once more before the year is over.

PREVIOUS ISSUE	Main		Page	NEXT ISSUE