Wonder Woman #69 // Review
Wonder Woman #69, kicks off the “Love Is A Battlefield” story arc, written by G. Willow Wilson, with art by Xermanico, and colors by Romulo Fajardo Jr., in which love, as one might expect based on the title, leads to violence. Previously, the residents of Olympus were dumped onto Earth in various locations for unknown reasons. This lead to Wonder Woman taking in Aphrodite, and befriending several creatures from the mythical land. Along the way, Diana also met a young woman named Maggie, who discovered a Themysciran sword that seems to have attached itself to her. Now, with Aphrodite in tow, Wonder Woman and Maggie have set out to find the purpose of the sword, and what it wants with her...which leads them directly to a lust-crazy town overrun by Cupids.
G. Willow Wilson continuously finds new ways to bring the readers quirky takes on old concepts from Greek mythology, and it’s honestly the best thing going on in her Wonder Woman run. This issue is no different, as Diana and friends find themselves bombarded by rabid, blood-thirsty Cupids, forced to fight off the little, winged babies, or suffer a fate best not thought about. All of this comes from Wilson’s ingeniously-simple set up she dropped into the book in issue one, which guarantees that she can jump from one greek mythological concept to the next, from arc to arc, for as long she wants, constantly reinventing each piece of the lore in any unusual way she wishes. And, guess what? It’s totally paying off for her. Wonder Woman in search of twisted, and mad, Greek mythology is a fun read.
Of course, jumping from concept to concept by arc can wear a little thin after a while. Even if each story is tied together by the overarching plot of Diana trying to track down the missing Olympians and Amazons, it can start to feel like a “case of the week”-style show after a few go-rounds, with the significant story, merely being an excuse to bring in the next threat with each story arc. Hopefully, Wilson won’t stick purely to this formula moving forward, if only to keep the fans on their toes.
Xermanico returns this issue, and not a moment too soon. He provides the best art this book has seen in months, offering up something a little more slick, and stylish than recent issues, and it is very welcome. Especially, when it comes to the odd subject matter of toothy cupids attacking Wonder Woman, which he pulls off with great humor and horror, simultaneously. Fajardo Jr., consummate professional that he is, has become the rock of dependability on this book’s art team. Artists come and go, but Fajardo always remains, providing his unique palette of colors. May he never leave the title, or we’ll all suffer for it.
Overall, this is the start of what seems to be a light, fun arc by Wilson, which is fine, because she does that kind of thing well. But, mixing up the tone of each arc would do a lot to give her story more stamina in the long run. Arc after arc of light and airy stories, with no little-to-no emotional weight to be found, could start to lose its charm, and very soon. If Wilson can manage to steer back towards more solid substance for an arc or two, it could really make a difference towards the positive in the story as a whole.
