[Editor’s Note: This review contains no spoilers.]
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artists: Nicola Scott, Romulo Fajardo, Jr.
Summary
Wonder Woman’s Year One begins here. The beginning of the origin is told here with Diana and Steve Trevor living their lives before their fateful meeting.
Positives
The cover by Scott and Fajardo Jr. is amazing. The arch featuring the statue was a really nice touch. It makes the cover a lot more dynamic. I also like the use of space and perspective. It’s a cool image.
The art itself throughout the book is great as well. Fajardo Jr.’s colors really stand out. They’re vibrant and bring Themyscira to life. I quite like his use of blue throughout. There’s a peaceful feeling with that color choice that I think represents the Amazons well. I also like how grey is used when something is obviously going wrong. How many artists can make grey evocative and not just dull? Not very many but Fajardo Jr. can.
Scott’s pencils and inks are also strong. There’s a great level of detail in the architecture of Themyscira and in simple nature as well. It looks like a fully fleshed out world with history. It’s really impressive work.
I like how Rucka parallels Diana and Steve before they ever even meet each other. They have similar personalities and points of view that echoes each other’s lives. It is kind of sweet. I enjoyed reading through their lives. This isn’t a part of the story we get to see too often. Normally, writers will start with Steve’s plane crash. It was nice to get some history on him before that happened.
Negatives
I have reservations about this Year One story. Wonder Woman’s origin seems like a common place to go and I don’t know if it’s completely necessary to go there again. Especially considering Grant Morrison’s take on Diana’s origin just came out, The Legend of Wonder Woman was a major recent book about the origin and the upcoming movie starring Gal Gadot will also tell the origin. There are nice moments in the issue but it’s not that interesting because it’s a story I’ve seen several times before and will see again very soon. I think the issue ends up being somewhat dull because of it.
Verdict
Overall, this is a decent start to a Year One story for Diana. The art is fantastic and there are some sweet moments with the characters that I really appreciate. They’re small ones but they matter. However, so far, this feels a little too familiar to the point where I’m questioning why it’s necessary to tell another story based around the origin of Wonder Woman. It is worth a read mainly for wonderful art but I would recommend waiting for the trade on this one.
