An ancient evil rises.
Creative Staff:
Story: Amanda Connor, Jimmy Palmiotti
Art: Daniel Sampere, Juan Albarran
Colors: Hi-Fi
Letterer: Travis Lanham
What They Say:
Wonder Woman must rescue Lois Lane on an expedition to the treacherous mountain K2! Lois is hot on the trail of a missing group of female climbers who are hoping to conquer the peak. But what dangers lurk in k2’s snow-covered caverns – and can Princess Diana keep the Daily Planet’s intrepid reporter safe?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
As much as I enjoyed the opening installment of this series as Diana paired up with Harley Quinn, I’m glad that wasn’t going to be a regular thing. Amanda Connor and Jimmy Palmiotti both write very well for a lot of other characters as well and that’s what I wanted to see, especially someone like Lois Lane. This issue brings in the fantastic team of Daniel Sampere and Juan Albarran who delivers a great looking range of locations, some delicious action material, and just great portrayals of all of the characters. I’m definitely digging their work through the various stories they’ve been involved in with the DC Giants so I’m glad to see more and more of it.
The premise takes us to the Chinese-Pakistan border where a group of climbers have disappeared while mounting a climb at K2. Weather has been problematic and Lois Lane has booked a prop plane to get herself there, though that has gone horribly awry as a flock of geese have caused the plane to crash and her pilot to die. Luckily for her, a woman is walking by amid the blizzard on the mountain and Lois follows her thinking she’s a local that’ll be a help, but it’s just a lure to the real problem. An ancient creature born of violence in lifetimes long passed has been freed and is ready to consume human flesh again. It doesn’t matter who they are as revenge doesn’t always have to make sense, especially when you hunger for human flesh. Suffice to say, Lois knows exactly how to find herself in really bad situations.
Lucky for her, Wonder Woman is in the Philippines helping out with a local natural disaster and ends up seeing the surprisingly instant news about Lois’ plane going missing. It’d make more sense if it was about the climbers but Lois just adds urgency since she knows who she is. That brings her face to face with the creature and we get a good sequence of her battling an ancient evil while trying to figure out the trick that will allow her to give it true eternal rest. But it plays out well because you see Lois being active in helping out the surviving climbers, understanding what happened, and working to keep everyone alive until Wonder Woman can do what’s necessary. I’ve always loved the proactive Lois and how she handles herself under pressure – and how she lets out the tension later – and this is no exception.
In Summary:
There’s a lot to like here with both story and artwork, just like the previous issue, but I really enjoy the pairing of Diana and Lois more than with Harley. Taking us out of the familiar and putting everyone in danger with an ancient evil keeps things moving fast and fluid here. Sampere and Albarran put together a great K2 with all the ice and inclement weather while also providing for a really strong Diana in costume and action. Lois handles herself perfectly throughout all of this as well and the team did a great job of showing just how solid she is in balancing her capabilities with the heroes who swing into her life on a regular basis. A good story and great artwork that has me looking forward to more.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 12+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology and Kindle
Release Date: April 29th, 2020
MSRP: $0.99
