[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artists: Liam Sharp & Laura Martin
Summary
Wonder Woman and Cheetah take on Urzkartaga in order to save Steve Trevor.
Positives
I love the cover by Liam Sharp and Laura Martin. It actually depicts a scene from the book which is rarer than it should be and I love it. Urzkartaga has a really cool design that is showcased. I like that he is somewhat of a demonic tree. It’s effectively creepy. I guess I’m scared of trees.
The art is by Sharp with colors by Martin. Both do wonderful work. Sharp can draw expressive faces very well especially eyes. For example, Cheetah threatens a soldier and the soldier’s response is to give Diana a “I told you so” look. It is such a small moment but I love it so much. It’s a nice flair of personality when an artist can communicate through the characters’ expressions. The colors are also great and add to creepy mood nicely. Martin does a good job of making green a very creepy color.
I love the pay off dealing with lies. I don’t want to give it away but there is a nice parallel made between Diana’s origins and Cheetah’s. It works really well and makes me more excited about “Year One.”
Diana is really using her brain here which is great. She’s too often just muscle. Greg Rucka writes Diana as intelligently as most would write Batman. She is able to take a step back and analyze the situation in order to save the day. And of course, truth is what wins the day. Diana is able to see through the lies. I love how much Rucka plays with the idea of truth and how Diana uses it almost as a weapon. Considering her main weapon is the lasso of truth, that would seem obvious but it is often over looked.
Verdict
This is a really strong issue and a nice conclusion to the story. It’s incredibly engaging and tense with some cool action. The characterizations are terrific and the art is fantastic. I highly recommend reading this issue.
