Creative Staff:
Story: Rob Williams
Art: Tom Lyle
What They Say:
A Thanagarian menace returns to Earth, and you won’t believe what Diana has to do in her battle with Byth! “Attack of the 50-foot Wonder Woman” part 1 of 1.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Having really enjoyed the last several installments of Sensation Comics with its creative approach to dealing with the character as it enjoyed the freedom of not being bound by anything, this installment is a bit more traditional in a way. It still adheres to a simpler tone and style that reminds me more of a lot of books from the 70’s and 80’s, which is a good thing because it keeps it quite accessible. Rob Williams and Tom Lyle give us a largely big old action fest here as we get Diana at a height of about 500 feet tall or so as she deals with protecting what is her new home. One of the things about the character has always been her being like other topline heroes in that she’s of two worlds. We see a little of Themyscira at the beginning here when she was a bit younger as her teacher makes it clear that she doesn’t truly belong to this world. And she really has found her place in the world of man, and in Gateway City specifically.
Which is a good thing for Gateway City in the present, which is where the bulk of the story takes place. Reasons are not needed, all we need to know is that Byth, a chameleon like Thanagarian, has come to Earth and has take on a massive form to cause trouble, destroying everything in sight. With the help of the Atom, along with some assistance from Hawkman and Hawkwoman, Diana has been given a height adjustment to go toe to toe with the beast. Byth largely keeps to this one shape during the fight and it’s fun to see the two of them wrangle across the cityscape and to see Diana realize her true home is in her heart, which allows her to create an impressive magic lasso on the fly. But what we get the most here, the important lesson, is that as big and strong as Diana is, it’s her empathy and wisdom that really defines her and what Amazons are all about. There’s some really good stuff with Byth here as they get down to it and it’s all so nicely reminiscent of the easy solves of the past, done without anger or intensity, that it does leave you smiling.
In Summary:
For better or worse, I didn’t expect Sensation Comics to stick to the kind of stories it was doing recently. I knew we’d get back to this kind and that’s not a bad thing as what we get here is pretty fun overall with what it does. Williams gives us a smooth story with a classic feel and Tom Lyle handles the art chores well, though some of the facial designs for Diana didn’t appeal all that much. What the book does is to just have a good time and to imbue a lesson or two along the way without beating us over the head with it. It’s smooth and fun to follow and doesn’t really require anything else to enjoy. It’s simply good, clean fun and that’s what I want out of Sensation Comics. Though a few more like the last couple of issues with some fun re-imaginings won’t hurt either!
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: October 16th, 2014
MSRP: $0.99
