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| Front cover of Wonder Woman Earth One volume 3 |
Score (out of 5 Capes)
A disappointing conclusion to an innovative new take on Wonder Woman's origins and foundational mythology.
My Review
With book three, the remarkable new vision for Wonder Woman and her origin story as told by Grand Morrison and drawn by Yanick Paquette reaches its conclusion.
Diana is no longer the princess, after the death of her mother she is the Queen of the Amazons. She bears the weight and responsibility of uniting her people and leading them in the battle that descends upon Amazonia, on Paradise Island.
And what a spectacular battle it is! The remote-controlled battle suits of Maxwell Lord's division of the United States military pack a considerable punch. Especially when he takes personal control of the giant, experimental A.R.E.S Mark 2 suit.
Unfortunately, like that giant battle suit, this story is ultimately brought to its knees by the sheer volume of the scattered plot threads.
Morrison has brought to these pages so many elements from different eras of Wonder Woman's long and storied history. He presents many of them with a new twist. Elements like the evil Nazis; tensions from both involvement and conflict with the military and other agencies of the United States; Doctor Psycho as a master manipulator; Maxwell Lord mind-controlling attack androids through technology; Etta Candy and Steve Trevor in recognizable roles but with a unique new angle; and most of all the Greek mythology.
He succeeds in his efforts to reinterpret and rearrange these elements, with a surprising dose of new and contemporary ideas and issues.
Where it falls flat is the overall coherence of the story. It is a challenge that I noted back in my review of book one, but it reaches a critical crescendo in this final volume. The sequencing and collisions between the plot lines was so sloppy that at one point I wondered if my copy had been bound with pages out of order.
The work by artist Yanick Paquette remains astounding. These are some of the most beautiful superhero pages you'll find. Paquette packs so much detail into foregrounds and backgrounds yet none of it feels superfluous. His images work together front to back. They flow smoothly from panel to gorgeous panel. His battle scenes burst with energy. His Hades scenes are appropriately spooky, even horror-tinged.
These three books have been a fun and visually fetching read. They are imaginative, beautiful, filled with intriguing new takes on so much of the Wonder Woman universe. If only the pieces were less scattered; sadly, the whole is less than its individual parts.
What I loved
The three books of this graphic novel series pull in so many themes and characters from Wonder Woman's history, as described in the main review above. Author Grant Morrison then reimagines and reinterprets them. Some work well, others fall a bit flat.
One of them stands out above all the others. Morrison's new vision and portrayal of Wonder Woman works best when it leans fully into its Greek mythology roots.
From Hippolyte battling and defeating Hercules in the first pages of book one, to Diana wandering the dark paths of Hades as the series climax approaches in book three, and a dozen times in between, the nods to this rich mythology are many and they almost always land the punch their creators intended.
Best of all, Morrison presents these sections in a way that rarely needs the reader to have much previous understanding of these ancient characters and their stories. With the possible exception of the Fates, whose pseudo-poetic snide commentary falls flat on occasion, this blending of Greek mythology is a standout feature and adds depth and texture to the tale.
What I didn't love
While Morrison takes so many elements throughout Wonder Woman's long history, reimagines them and recombines them into a creative whole, several elements do not work well together, or go astray.
None more so than the ending of the conflict, a silly twist in which Amazonia or Paradise Island uses advanced technology from a parallel universe to remove their island completely from the earthly oceans.
A nod, sure, to past multiple-earths elements in DC books and Wonder Woman history, but one that ultimately undercuts much of the tension between the world and Amazonia, or between men and women, with the equivalent of a magical snap of the fingers.
For this review, I read in part from my Compact edition that collects all three volumes of this series. DC Comics has done well with this new format, making its works available in an accessible and affordable book.
I can see why they are so popular; they are a great value, packing lots of comic book adventure into an affordable package.
But I am not enamoured by them. The page quality is medium at best, with the darker printing and extremely flat finish reducing the thrill and sparkle of the art - although in this book, Paquette's brilliance still shines through.
The binding quality of the book is also very low. The glue holding the page signatures in place let go on both the top and bottom of the book, so now the pages are almost falling out before the end of the first read through the book.
Related Reviews
Wonder Woman Earth One volume 1
Wonder Woman Earth One volume 2
Quick Reference Details
Writers: Grant Morrison
Artists: Yanick Paquette
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: March 9, 2021
Parental Rating: Teen
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| Back cover of Wonder Woman Earth One volume 3 |
