Scan barcode
A review by justinlikescomicbooks
Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons by Kelly Sue DeConnick
4.5
This is a really great three-part comic! The only problem is that the first issue is so head-and-shoulders above the rest, so transcendent of the comic book form in every element, that it leaves the second two issues (which are merely brilliant, as opposed to revolutionary) feeling like a return to the old ways.
In a just world, that first issue would be a paradigm shift in the way we think about comic books. I realize this seems like hyperbole, but the intersection of DeConnick's grandiose writing and artist Phil Jimenez' deeply detailed art feels nearly religious. The visual comparison between comic art and ancient pottery on the third page is a Babe Ruth-level called shot—but it's fully backed up in the 60 pages that follow. It's not just the art itself that elevates it, but the page layout that breaks convention, leading the reader to feel slightly lost yet encouraging them to find the flow of the page. The storytellers are having a conversation with you, the reader, and with the history of the form, as they tackle the abstract motivations behind millennia of patriarchy.
Early on, some of the decisions made by the characters I couldn't necessarily relate to, and found them difficult to wrap my head around—but this isn't a story about relatable people. It's a modern myth, interrogating the social influences that led us to where we are through characters that represent ideas rather than humans, unpacking our flaws but showing empathy for how we got here. And in the end, the characters solve their problems through declaring war; it's a comic book after all, and it would undermine it all if it seemed ashamed of what it was.
The second and third issues are a little more conventional, but even they constantly experiment with new ways to tell the story. As it gets closer to more established DC characters, the storytelling falls into more familiar patterns, and even then it's pure excellence—but I want more of the maximalist overload in the first issue. DeConnick has said that Jimenez would return for a ninth issue, if DC lets them finish the series. It would be an absolute travesty if they don't get to finish this story together.
In a just world, that first issue would be a paradigm shift in the way we think about comic books. I realize this seems like hyperbole, but the intersection of DeConnick's grandiose writing and artist Phil Jimenez' deeply detailed art feels nearly religious. The visual comparison between comic art and ancient pottery on the third page is a Babe Ruth-level called shot—but it's fully backed up in the 60 pages that follow. It's not just the art itself that elevates it, but the page layout that breaks convention, leading the reader to feel slightly lost yet encouraging them to find the flow of the page. The storytellers are having a conversation with you, the reader, and with the history of the form, as they tackle the abstract motivations behind millennia of patriarchy.
Early on, some of the decisions made by the characters I couldn't necessarily relate to, and found them difficult to wrap my head around—but this isn't a story about relatable people. It's a modern myth, interrogating the social influences that led us to where we are through characters that represent ideas rather than humans, unpacking our flaws but showing empathy for how we got here. And in the end, the characters solve their problems through declaring war; it's a comic book after all, and it would undermine it all if it seemed ashamed of what it was.
The second and third issues are a little more conventional, but even they constantly experiment with new ways to tell the story. As it gets closer to more established DC characters, the storytelling falls into more familiar patterns, and even then it's pure excellence—but I want more of the maximalist overload in the first issue. DeConnick has said that Jimenez would return for a ninth issue, if DC lets them finish the series. It would be an absolute travesty if they don't get to finish this story together.