A little bit of history to get things underway.
Creative Staff:
Story: Renae De Liz
Art: Renae De Liz, Ray Dillon
Colors: Ray Dillon
What They Say:
Diana, Princess of Themyscira, is caught between her mother’s expectations and her own desire for freedom!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
As I find myself a bit disinterested in getting into the mainline Wonder Woman stories these days, I’ve enjoyed the past year of Sensation Comics in a range of standalone tales. With that series finished, DC Comics has now kicked off this nine issue series from Renae De Liz with Ray Dillon that deals with the story of Diana’s childhood and origin to her becoming Wonder Woman. It’s not exactly unexplored territory, but it’s something that can definitely be welcome to have as we close in on the live-action film going into production and something that’s compact and easy shareable. With De Liz talking about it as her 270 page story, it’s something that has a beginning, middle and end to it. And it’s certainly an interesting beginning.
The opening installment is less about Diana proper and more about stage setting for who the Amazons are and their place in the heavens when it comes to the gods. Working through creation and showing what they’ve accomplished and why they’re so well regarded and rewarded by Zeus is well executed here because it captures the scale of it all wonderfully. Whether fighting a Titan or dealing with other threats, it’s made clear that the Amazons have been there for thousands of years to do what’s needed. A lot of that stems from the early days when those that helped lead them gained immortality to help guide their people. This is shown mostly through Hippolyta, which gives us a connection to the very early days through to the present. That kind of constant presence is something that adds its own layer of security for the Amazons, especially the many mortal ones that grow up with her as an always strong guide.
Where the book got my attention a bit more is with a particular focus on Hippolyta in her desire for a child. While that’s been a part of the lore for some time, the depth of her desire has varied. Here, it’s a pretty intense thing that causes her to seek mortality at various times and to engage in some risky situations in an effort to do so. The consequences are high at one point and you see how it humbles her so, expecting her death upon her return home and knowing it would be justified, if not almost welcoming it to give her release in some form so that she can’t feel the suffering anymore. So that magical aspect of Diana being born of clay is certainly interesting, though I had hoped it might establish a deeper reason for the why of it happening than it did. But the purpose is served, launching us truly into Diana’s story towards the end, as we’re introduced to this very serious young girl that knows something is afoot on Themyscira.
In Summary:
As an opening installment, this is all about the foundations and background, a history lesson of sorts. De Liz and Dillion present it very well, though it does come across more as splash pages early on as it works the digital format a little too strongly. I really liked the style as it revealed itself with the curves and colors that gives it a distinctive look all its own, something that embraces the design rather than goes for something more traditionally “superhero” and male in its presentation. I’m also interesting to see what we crack open with the young Diana herself as it goes on, particularly with her mother. There’s a lot of material brought out here yet not much character in truth until the end with Diana. But what we do get of Hippolyta through the narration that unfolds is certainly interesting and could, if delved into a particular area, make for an engaging work on its own. With just nine issues for the run this is an easy commitment and looks to be put together by a team with a whole lot of talent and definitely a lot of passion to build this narrative and story. I’m looking forward to seeing what they have in store.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: November 12th, 2015
MSRP: $0.99
