Etta takes the lead.
Creative Staff:
Story: Andrea Shea
Art: Meghan Hetrick
Colors: Arif Prianto
Letterer: Travis Lanham
What They Say:
Etta Candy is captured leading a mission for A.R.G.U.S. in Russia! Can Etta sway one of her captors to her side and secure the package or will this be the end of Agent Candy?!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With a few of Andrea Shea’s stories in my pocket so far through the DC Giants, they haven’t been one of my favorite writers for the short-form storytelling. That changes with this installment since not only does she give Etta Candy the spotlight she does it in a way that makes me love the character even more. For this story, Shea works with artist Meghan Hetrick who delivers a great looking book with some creative pages, including a very fun “map” sequence that really leans into a lot of good action that you can practically storyboard from and adore all the more. With Prianto’s color work taking it further, it’s solid across the board – except for the white text on black narration boxes that frustrates these eyes of mine.
The premise has Etta as an agent of ARGUS having called in her old friend Wonder Woman to help out with a mission. A Russian scientist deep in gambling debts is selling off an EMP device to a terrorist organization and she intends to get the device and try to turn him into a useful player for ARGUS along the way. While she does that, Diana is expected to handle KGBeast who is running protection for the group that’s trying to acquire the device. That means we get some really good action moments as the two go toe to toe as well as seeing events unfold with Etta’s narration, providing the details in a very agent-like way. Shea covers a lot of details and basics through this so that you feel invested in the story and characters quickly and easily.
Where the bulk of the book focuses is on after things go bad for Etta with the terrorists getting the jump on her and hauling her away for interrogation. This puts her in a position of trying to turn one of the two people doing it and it just so happens that this is a very testosterone-driven group and one of them is a woman who is getting put down constantly. It’s fun to watch Etta try and turn her and to see how it unfolds, how the escape works, and the damage done along the way. Etta’s been a great character for a long time that I don’t get to see enough so watching her here as a really capable and confident ARGUS commander who likes to get into the field once a while is an utter delight, especially in playing off Diana.
In Summary:
The short-form material and other stories from the DC Giants can be hit or miss but at least they’re trying to do something different. Andrea Shea delivers strong here with a great Etta Candy story that includes Wonder Woman but isn’t about Wonder Woman. There’s a great bond the two share that’s explored in a really good way here while Etta gets down to the hard work. With Hetrick’s artwork looking great with some really dynamic scenes and a great way of illustrating the escape, it’s a very fun book that’s easily worth the price of admission and more to enjoy.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 12+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology and Kindle
Release Date: June 17th, 2020
MSRP: $0.99
