Posted in: Comics, DC Comics, Review | Tagged: dc comics, diana prince, fantasy, justice league, Laura Braga, mayfly, Romulo Fajardo Jr, sci-fi, steve orlando, superheroes, wonder woman

Wonder Woman #51 Review: A Good Book Just Off the Mark of Greatness

Wonder Woman has arrived at Slabside, a maximum-security prison in the Antarctic made to house super-criminals. She has come here to visit the Mayfly, aka Moon Robinson, the supervillain with enhanced strength and speed which put a bullet in Diana's abdomen a few months ago. Diana wants to see the Mayfly rehabilitate, and so Wonder Woman makes repeated visits to Slabside in the months and years to come until she can get through to Moon.

Wonder Woman #51 shows the side of Diana I like best: her compassion and need to see people do better and get better. Diana gets nothing out of visiting Moon Robinson; she just wants to see this person heal.

Moon's story is easy to find sympathetic, and her hemophilia is an unfair disadvantage with which she was born into her life. Her parents weren't aggressively abusive, but they were neglectful and distant.

It's not an action-packed or high-energy issue, opting to show only Diana's visits and the developing relationship between her and Moon.

All of this said, I can't say that the book is any kind of revelation. While its intent is admirable and execution solid, I was never completely absorbed in the story. In fact, the turning point is far too on the nose for its own good.

Laura Braga's artwork is a bit of a mixed bag. The detailing and depiction of facial expression is solid, and I like how Diana's armor changes as the years pass. However, the figures are very spindly, with Diana often looking wiry as opposed to the strong warrior princess that we all know her to be. That said, I would say the art is more good than it is lacking. Romulo Fajardo Jr. keeps the color work balanced and uses heavier, deeper shades which suit this comic's tone.

Wonder Woman #51 is, in the end, good comic. It doesn't quite reach the level of great, as its story never reaches the emotional intensity it needs. The art is solid, if flawed. The book could have been more, but I will still give it a recommendation. Feel free to pick it up.

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