DCU Comic Book Reviews

WONDER WOMAN #13

Mothers And Daughters

December 2007

Written by J. Torres

Pencils by Julian Lopez

Inks by Bit

Cover by Terry and Rachel Dodson

Synopsis

The war is over.  The Amazons are no more.  Diana of Themyscira realizes that she must now take control of her life.  Meanwhile, the Department of Metahuman Affairs continues its surveillance not only of Wonder Woman, but also Cassie Sandsmark (aka Wonder Girl).  At that moment, protesters are standing outside the Gateway City Museum where Helena Sandsmark, the mother of Wonder Girl, works.  At the museum, Wonder Woman’s presence scatters the protesters, but she arrives too late to find Helena or Cassie.  In Washington D.C., Wonder Woman checks in on the JSA as they help with construction efforts before going to Georgetown for the opening of a new school.  There, Wonder Woman meets a young girl who asks if Wonder Woman will continue to protect them.  Wonder Woman says she will.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

The current reboot of Wonder Woman has been a mess, with extremely late issues in the first storyline and then the next storyline getting caught up in Amazons Attack.  Attempts to connect this book with that mini-series were not very successful and, in a way, hampered any chance for Wonder Woman to gain any momentum or for a writer build her character since they were too busy making sure plot points were adhered to maintain continuity.  The good news is that writer Gail Simone is about to jump onboard and with her arrival also comes the hope that she can write strong stories that will help to strengthen Wonder Woman.  The bad news is that Simone’s first issue has been delayed and instead we get this mess.  I understand, editorially, the need to tie up loose ends and to find some emotional resonance to all that has happened to Diana since the series reboot.  Sadly, this issue doesn’t really do that great of a job of it.  The effort is there, but the story careens so swiftly from plot point to plot point that it feels less like an examination of Diana’s state of mind than a chance to remind readers that, yes, after the war there were consequences and, look, here they are.  The fact that the events that Helena and Cassie discuss actually occurred in other books (most notably Teen Titans) is even more distressing.  Yes, I get it.  The heartwarming conversation between Helena and Cassie thematically counterbalances Diana’s inability to talk to her mother, but neither Helena nor Cassie actually talk to Diana as a way to make that connection stronger.  As a result it feels like they are part of a different story, which I guess is apt since in reality they are.