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njdarkish's review
1.0
Well, this was disappointing.
I usually enjoy when a new writer takes the reigns on Wonder Woman-- it often means that we'll get some fun, fresh material. That wasn't the case here. This was a tired story that has been done in one way or another in pretty much every super hero series at one point or another. The art was awful to boot-- the cover art was ugly, the internal art looked amateurish and heavily influenced by shojo manga, which made everybody just look silly and cutesy instead of being the powerful, interesting characters they normally are.
It was just bad. All the bonus stories were dumb, too.
I usually enjoy when a new writer takes the reigns on Wonder Woman-- it often means that we'll get some fun, fresh material. That wasn't the case here. This was a tired story that has been done in one way or another in pretty much every super hero series at one point or another. The art was awful to boot-- the cover art was ugly, the internal art looked amateurish and heavily influenced by shojo manga, which made everybody just look silly and cutesy instead of being the powerful, interesting characters they normally are.
It was just bad. All the bonus stories were dumb, too.
geekwayne's review
3.0
'Wonder Woman, Volume 5: Heart of the Amazon' brings in Shea Fontana. Anyone following Greg Rucka is going to have big shoes to fill.
Bad things happen at a wedding for Etta Candy's big brother. Wonder Woman finds out she was the target. When she finds out why, she agrees to what they are ultimately looking for: her DNA. She realizes that what she has could help countless multitudes. Unfortunately, the ends are not as altruistic as Diana thinks. This leads to Wonder Woman being hunted by a whole pack of people who want her for her genetics.
All this, and a Tim Seeley story about Steve Trevor and the Oddfellows, Charlie, Sameer, and "Chief" who I last saw in the Wonder Woman movie. It's good to see these characters in action again.
The stories are about average. Not great, but not terrible. The art varies, but the quality is good overall. It will be interesting to see where this character goes next.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Bad things happen at a wedding for Etta Candy's big brother. Wonder Woman finds out she was the target. When she finds out why, she agrees to what they are ultimately looking for: her DNA. She realizes that what she has could help countless multitudes. Unfortunately, the ends are not as altruistic as Diana thinks. This leads to Wonder Woman being hunted by a whole pack of people who want her for her genetics.
All this, and a Tim Seeley story about Steve Trevor and the Oddfellows, Charlie, Sameer, and "Chief" who I last saw in the Wonder Woman movie. It's good to see these characters in action again.
The stories are about average. Not great, but not terrible. The art varies, but the quality is good overall. It will be interesting to see where this character goes next.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
themyskira's review
3.0
2.5 stars for the main story, which is well-intentioned but poorly written and not particularly coherent.
4 stars for Wonder Woman Annual #1, which should more properly be collected in Volume 4 as it was published as a part of Greg Rucka's run. It features a lovely Rucka story about Diana's first encounter with Clark and Bruce, a delightful kaiju tale from Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, and stunning artwork from Nicola Scott, Stephanie Hans and Claire Roe.
4 stars for Wonder Woman Annual #1, which should more properly be collected in Volume 4 as it was published as a part of Greg Rucka's run. It features a lovely Rucka story about Diana's first encounter with Clark and Bruce, a delightful kaiju tale from Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, and stunning artwork from Nicola Scott, Stephanie Hans and Claire Roe.
jordannedunn's review
3.0
I received this book from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Minor spoilers, just to do with character appearances but if you read the list of creators, it kind of spoils them anyway?
Disclaimers
I haven't read the first four volumes of this series or any Wonder Woman in general, but I've been wanting to ever since I saw the movie. This perhaps might be a good thing as, to my knowledge, this volume is the first one of Fontana's run on Wonder Woman following what is said to be a pretty fantastic run from returning writer Greg Rucka. As I have not read his run, I can't really compare the two in my head.
It's also worth mentioning that due to my limited previous reading in this genre if you think I'm being too harsh or too generous with my assessment of writing or art, it's probably due to my limited frame of reference and there isn't a lot I can do about that.
Writing Quality - 5/10
The main arc of the volume is a pretty interesting concept, though I wasn't quite as interested in reality. I don't know if it's me or the writing itself, but I didn't really feel the stakes of the story. There are also a couple of short adventures at the end of the book written and drawn by different creators that were fun short reads even if they didn't add anything.
Image/Illustration Quality - 7/10
I quite liked the art in this but found it felt a bit inconsistent at times? Just certain shots and angles just seemed ... off to me. Overall it was quite good, but most of my rating is down to the last few stories which I found much more visually appealing, the styles just spoke to me more.
Character Development - 5/10
I don't really feel like I got to experience a lot of this, though in the vein of 'characters' I did really appreciate that the book incorporated the characters in the movie adaption. I'm not sure if these same characters had already been introduced before the movie and the incorporated or (like often happens) they were created in the movie and were so popular they were incorporated into the books to draw in readers. Either way, the Oddfellows side adventure was fun (if a little weird).
Favourite Moments
and I thought that had a nice ring to it.
Issues
Overall - 6/10
So overall, it wasn't bad but I wasn't wowed and more than anything, reading this made me want to go back and read more so I could get a greater appreciation for the characters.
Creator's Thoughts
Minor spoilers, just to do with character appearances but if you read the list of creators, it kind of spoils them anyway?
Disclaimers
I haven't read the first four volumes of this series or any Wonder Woman in general, but I've been wanting to ever since I saw the movie. This perhaps might be a good thing as, to my knowledge, this volume is the first one of Fontana's run on Wonder Woman following what is said to be a pretty fantastic run from returning writer Greg Rucka. As I have not read his run, I can't really compare the two in my head.
It's also worth mentioning that due to my limited previous reading in this genre if you think I'm being too harsh or too generous with my assessment of writing or art, it's probably due to my limited frame of reference and there isn't a lot I can do about that.
Writing Quality - 5/10
The main arc of the volume is a pretty interesting concept, though I wasn't quite as interested in reality. I don't know if it's me or the writing itself, but I didn't really feel the stakes of the story. There are also a couple of short adventures at the end of the book written and drawn by different creators that were fun short reads even if they didn't add anything.
Image/Illustration Quality - 7/10
I quite liked the art in this but found it felt a bit inconsistent at times? Just certain shots and angles just seemed ... off to me. Overall it was quite good, but most of my rating is down to the last few stories which I found much more visually appealing, the styles just spoke to me more.
Character Development - 5/10
I don't really feel like I got to experience a lot of this, though in the vein of 'characters' I did really appreciate that the book incorporated the characters in the movie adaption. I'm not sure if these same characters had already been introduced before the movie and the incorporated or (like often happens) they were created in the movie and were so popular they were incorporated into the books to draw in readers. Either way, the Oddfellows side adventure was fun (if a little weird).
Favourite Moments
- Diana got Etta a Friends box set (one of my all-time favourite shows!) - they even referenced one of my favourite jokes, loved it!
- There's a quote of Steve's I really liked:
"I'm the guy who found paradise ... and brought a piece of it back."
and I thought that had a nice ring to it.
- The Oddfellows
- The Last Kaiju artwork by David Lafuente
- Some interesting female opponents
- The fact that the crative team was predominantly female : "A female creative team is something of a rarity for Wonder Woman comics. The character was originally created by William Moulton Marston, and many of her most famous storylines were penned by male authors like Rucka and George Perez." (CHRISTIAN HOLUB, Entertainment Weekly)
Issues
- The varying depictions of Diana - being ripped and muscley is fine, as is being more wiry and slender (and still presumably very strong), but please just pick one and stick to it I guess.
- I would have liked to see some more interaction between Steve and Diana but I guess constantly being interrupted by saving the world is kinda their thing?
- The gang they fight towards the end broke into STAR labs for a drug 'they believed to make women subservient'. Now, I like it when comic books are topical but i personally, like to look for the underlying meaning myself - or you know, at least have it not so blatantly rammed down my throat, to me this scene just said "Wonder Woman vs. sexists" and my reaction was "well, duh".
Overall - 6/10
So overall, it wasn't bad but I wasn't wowed and more than anything, reading this made me want to go back and read more so I could get a greater appreciation for the characters.
Creator's Thoughts
“Having worked on DC Super Hero Girls for the last few years, I have a great sense of Wondy, a teenage Wonder Woman in a high school setting, and it's an honor and an adrenaline rush to be writing her now 'all grown up,'” explains Fontana. “Many of her core characteristics continue to remain routed in peace, justice and equality, but as an adult she’s seen a lot more war and tragedy, and is dealing with her world from a wiser, more experienced point of view.”
Shea Fontana, DC
gothamshire's review
2.0
Such terrible art, and so terribly dull compared to earlier volumes. The running plot was just dumb and could have been resolved in about two issues rather than five.
criticalmiss's review
5.0
A plot against Wonder Woman, she needs to protect humanity but at what cost? The strength of her friendships protect her in her time of need.
Great story plus the bonus one off stories at the end were very enjoyable , especially the Kaiju one. Super cute
Great story plus the bonus one off stories at the end were very enjoyable , especially the Kaiju one. Super cute
zombiecupcake29's review
3.0
***I received a copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
I was thrilled when I was approved for this because I have been a long time love of graphic novels and comics. Loving all things Marvel and DC I quickly sent in a request for this title when I saw it on NetGalley. Unfortunately, I wasn't so thrilled reading it. The main story did not really flow well and seemed like it wasn't thought out thoroughly before they put it into action. I realize that I had very large expectations going into this and I shouldn't hold it up to other Wonder Woman things that have come out in the past year, but it was kind of hard not to. The illustration was pretty decent in this graphic novel and I was completely let down by it. I really wanted to give it more than 3 stars and wish I could have.
I was thrilled when I was approved for this because I have been a long time love of graphic novels and comics. Loving all things Marvel and DC I quickly sent in a request for this title when I saw it on NetGalley. Unfortunately, I wasn't so thrilled reading it. The main story did not really flow well and seemed like it wasn't thought out thoroughly before they put it into action. I realize that I had very large expectations going into this and I shouldn't hold it up to other Wonder Woman things that have come out in the past year, but it was kind of hard not to. The illustration was pretty decent in this graphic novel and I was completely let down by it. I really wanted to give it more than 3 stars and wish I could have.
kacibookishkingdom's review
4.0
The overall story was good, and I really liked the art done by Mirka Andolfo in the first half of this volume. Wasn’t a fan of all the side stories at the end though (especially the last story with the Kaiju - it looked like Wonder Woman was fighting a Pokémon).
ericawrites's review
3.0
Outside of the annual included here, which should've been with Rucka's other books, it's more like 2 stars. Fontana's issues are extremely hit or miss.