Wonder Woman #791 // Review
Diana hasn’t got much time to deal with sudden and dramatic news. She quickly finds herself heading off on a dangerous investigation in Wonder Woman #791. Writers Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad direct Diana into a covert operation in Brazil with the aid of artist Marguerite Sauvage. Somewhere in Diana’s youth, she comes face-to-face with a creature of great power in another encounter captured for the page by writer Jordie Bellaire and artist Paulina Ganucheau with gorgeous color by Kendall Goode. Two different stories play to opposing ends of similar themes in another well-balanced issue.
Diana is visiting the shrine of her mother in Themyscira when she gets some good news. Good news isn’t always a relief, as Diana is quick to find out from someone very near and dear to her. It doesn’t last long, though. A vision from one of her Esquecida sisters leads her to Brazil to investigate the harvesting of a dangerous poison. Young Diana’s mother continues her confrontation with an itinerant Amazon somewhere in the past. A mysterious creature of great power appears in the lightning storm, which could change everything in a very important turning point for the young hero.
Conrad and Cloonan rush Diana into danger on a delicately-woven script that manages a bit of interpersonal development for Wonder Woman while she moves into investigative intrigue. The recent flurry of action in the series hushes a bit into a more nuanced danger in another well-constructed chapter in the life of Wonder Woman. Bellaire has been slowly building to the crescendo that she reaches in this month’s Young Diana chapter. Her ability to work a sophisticated story with minimal space continues to impress. Diana doesn’t get a whole lot of space to herself in the chapter, but her presence makes quite an impact.
Sauvage’s execution of action feels a bit stiff. This isn’t really a problem for the issue, though, as the action in question is only a short burst. The drama and intrigue of the chapter fill page and panel as Diana finds herself in a massive lab in Brazil. Sauvage deftly captures the atmosphere from jungle to gleaming high-tech facility. Ganucheau’s primal simplicity carries itself admirably through the storm of the Young Diana story. Goode’s colors are particularly electrifying in the evening’s lightning storm. The cool radiant pastels of the creature she encounters serve as potent punctuation to a satisfying issue.
Conrad and Cloonan’s walk with Diana has taken her through various incarnations of conflicts that have been with her for the past eight decades. They’ve found a reasonably novel approach to the re-introduction of Dr. Minerva with their latest installment. She may not show up until the end of the chapter, but she makes quite an impression once she’s revealed. Bellaire’s contribution feels deep and resonant in bringing wonder to this issue of Wonder Woman as so much of the rest of it deals with an ominous set-up to conflicts that will become more apparent in future issues.
