Wonder Woman Black and Gold #4 // Review
It’s staggeringly difficult to truly honor a character who has been adventuring in many different forms of fiction for over 80 years. The fourth issue of Wonder Woman Black and Gold does an admirable job of sampling from various eras of Diana’s past, including the 1940s, the 1970s, and more. Though the fourth installment of the series has some weak points in it, some of the series best moments hit the page in an issue that manages to coax unique appeal out of every story. Including notable works by writers Andrew Constant, Sherrie L. Smith and some beautiful visuals by many artists, including exceptionally breathtaking work by Colleen Doran.
Wonder Woman moves through four different stories in the fourth installment of the anthology. She aids a gryphon in its passing. She saves a little girl’s life while helping her through trauma. Aid to an old friend comes with a loss of power in a couple of different forms. A villain is tangled with through the power of the mind. The issue ends with a stunningly stylish airborne adventure in the 1940s.
Writer/artist Paul Azaceta’s “Amazing” is the subtly intricate story of Wonder Woman saving a little girl’s life and then helping her through the trauma by inspiring her. Azaceta’s tale of a little girl and her brother is stunningly simple in its complexity. Sina Grace weaves an interesting story summoning Diana back to the era in which she ran a mod clothing boutique. She’s there to help a friend in one of the more deeply moving stories in the entire series thus far. As with an earlier issue in Black and Gold, Grace’s story sheds a little bit more light into an under-appreciated era in Diana’s history that never quite met its potential. The best in the book this time around is probably Sherri L. Smith’s “Wing Woman.” A World War II W.A.S.P. may be able to hold her own against a nazi fighter pilot of the coast of New Jersey, but it’s going to take a miracle for her to survive the damage to her P-51 mustang. That miracle comes in the form of a silent, invisible jet. The woman piloting that jet helps out a little too...
Some of the art is a bit more difficult to appreciate. Andrew Maclean’s “Love Failed” is a remarkably concise and well-written story involving the complexities of love and manipulation. Maclean’s 1990s-inspired design-heavy indie comic art style compromises the intensity of his own script. Art for Smith’s “Wing Woman” story is positively gorgeous, with blacks and grays contrasting against the beautiful gold sky in a story brought vividly to the page by artist Colleen Doran.
There are only two issues left to go in what has been a thoroughly satisfying anthology series showcasing a wide range of different perspectives on one of the most enduring characters in pop fiction. More celebration is on its way as the year draws to a close, with several one-shots that will be arriving in the months to come.
