A Wonder Woman in Gotham City.
Creative Staff:
Story: Caitlin Kittredge
Art: Scott Hampton
What They Say:
The streets of Gotham are dangerous at night, but not for Diana of Themyscira. When she sees Echidna, Mother of Monsters, attacking a local thug, she jumps into the fray-though she never expected to take Echidna’s side!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With the recent focus on more traditional stories, Sensation Comics launches into a two part storyline with the 36th and 37th installments of the series. Written by Caitlin Kittredge with artwork by Scott Hampton, what we get is a fairly gritty approach to it that largely fits the Gotham lifestyle, as she spends time there as part of fundraising event as Diana Prince. That’s not something that lasts long though because bad things are always happening in Gotham, and when you go walking around late at night by yourself, you’re bound to run it it. Which isn’t something that bothers Diana in a way, because she knows the low level thugs she’ll find aren’t going to be a problem, and she even gets to shame some guys a bit for their crass come-ons.
What the book wants to do is to place Diana alongside the character of Echidna, a creature of Greek mythological descent that basically has that humanoid/monster blend to it that definitely works well with Hampton’s work – whereas I don’t think his Diana clicks right. Diana initially comes across her roughing up a soup kitchen volunteer guy in the alley, but it turns out he’s part of a kidnapping ring going on the area that’s grabbing kids and selling them off out of country. Echidna’s children were taken and she knows he was a part of it, so she’s shaking him down for information. It takes Diana a bit to catch up on it all, but she puts things together quickly, particularly since he’s got an untraceable weapon on him and comes across as pretty shady as it goes on. Unfortunately, fleeing for him ends up causing his own death through an auto accident, leaving Diana and Echidna with only so much to go on.
This puts Diana and Echidna on the same side and starting to work with the clues they do have, after a little bit of bonding that feels more real world than one might expect. What the night turns into gets a bit more complicated though, as another kidnapping surfaces that draws Diana in when Harley Quinn kidnaps the DA’s daughter and Batgirl shows up trying to get Diana to help, since Diana is a bit out of her element in Gotham. These characters all feel a little bit off, but part of it is that the book feels like events take place earlier on in their careers overall – Diana’s included – so there’s a touch of uncertainty and wariness about them all. The story does eventually reveal more of the villain side, bringing in Professor Pyg unfortunately, as he’s one of the worst creations out there, but it manages to bring things to a close well enough while also connecting Diana to Batman a bit that it manages to work.
In Summary:
The two part storyline here isn’t one that really excites in a big way, but more something that gets the job done and shows a slightly different side of Diana. Location is important in what it brings out in a character, and with Gotham being as big a character as most of the people that populates the DC Universe, it definitely takes on that role here alongside Diana. I liked the idea of the guest appearances from Batgirl, Harley and eventually Batman, but something about it just felt like it didn’t have the right tone, that the characters didn’t have the right voice or flow to it, to make it feel like it was cemented in it. The interactions with Diana just felt kind of stilted, and because I’m left unsure of a “continuity” placement, that just exacerbates it.
Grade: B-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: May 28th & June 4th, 2015
MSRP: $0.99
