Wonder Woman #63 // Review
“And now... for something completely different”. Issue #63 of Wonder Woman, written by G. Willow Wilson, with pencils by Emanuela Lupacchino, inks by Ray McCarthy, and colors by Romulo Fajardo Jr., acts as a nice palette cleanser after the previous, extremely heavy story arc about war. A trio of mythical creatures (a Minotaur, a Pegasus, and a Satyr) have been ripped from their home, and deposited on Earth with no memory of how they got here. With no apparent way back, and no place to go, Wonder Woman has taken responsibility for them. Much like another famous anthropomorphic animal guy, they’re “trapped in a world they never made”, and hilarity ensues.
Introduced in the previous arc only briefly, the stars of this issue are finally given the spotlight, and Wilson makes the most of it. A classic fish out of water story, our “heroes” bounce from place to place in man’s world, trying to figure out how they could possibly fit in, while wrestling with the idea that they might never get home. Much to Wonder Woman’s frustration, they fail in just about every attempt at blending into society, and to be fair, their appearance alone makes acclimation comically-impossible.
Wilson is surely building these characters up to be ongoing supporting cast for Diana, and this one-shot story was a great way to do that. The trio of creatures is immediately likeable, and they fit right into Wonder Woman’s world. As shown in the issue, this isn’t even the first Minotaur that Diana has befriended. In addition to Aphrodite, who seemed to be hinting that she would be sticking around last issue, plus the usuals, such as Steve Trevor and Etta Candy, Wilson is on her way to providing the best supporting cast this title has had in years.
The only bad thing that can be said about this issue is that Wonder Woman seems a little out of character with how she handles these poor, lost souls. Wilson, in her need to show that Wonder Woman is busy handling several things at once, seems to miss Diana’s compassion towards all beings. It’s not likely she would just abandon them in the middle of a city to fend for themselves until she returned, even if it does make for a comedic premise. It’s a minor gripe, considering the light-heartedness of the story, but since the whole set up hinges on her action of leaving them alone, it’s worth mentioning.
Lupacchino does a great job handling the lighter, comical aspects of this issue, from the interview at customs, to the dinner at a fancy restaurant. She does especially amazing face work when it comes to people reacting to seeing these mythical creatures in everyday situations. McCarthy and Fajardo Jr., on inks and colors, do nothing but bolster the already-excellent pencil work, adding up to the perfect art team for this issue.
Overall, if you missed this issue, you wouldn’t be lost moving forward, but you would also be doing yourself a disservice by skipping out on one of the most enjoyable chapters of Wilson’s run so far. Hopefully, there will be more of these one-shots to come in the future, as they provide a delightful breather between big arcs. Wilson seems to be having fun restructuring Wonder Woman’s world for a new era, and her attitude is contagious.
