Its Joëlle Jones principal cover is so striking, DC’s Wonder Girl #1 is already a winner in my book.
However, the interior is a bit uneven and demands attention. For first-time readers like me, there is no time for blinking or skimming. It’s all about Yara Flor; her early days of trauma, and her subsequent return to Brazil from some rugged little place in the US where she became a young adult. But the tale is interrupted with scenes and flashbacks. Swashes of colour, blocking in figures as they fight. Stop motion, quick cuts. The early days, the storybook intro to Themyscira, the Mount Olympus tie-in, and so on. It’s like watching the six o’clock news with correspondents all primping for the camera. Stay tuned! What the heck??
Anyway, through this kaleidoscopic train tunnel of fractured panels and flipping pages, we finally emerge to present day, where Yara is in action, doing good. It’s so good actually, incredibly well drawn by writer/artist Joëlle Jones. The vivid expressions, the lithe movements, the subtle touches of humour, the care, colouring (Jordie Bellaire), and observation of the human form. Lettering by Clayton Cowles.
Although we’ve been tossed into Jones’ high-speed initiation ceremony with plot and characters, we’re now primed and rinsed, ready to upright ourselves and enjoy rereading this dense issue while we await issue 2!
DC Comics, Wonder Girl #1, $3.99 for 24 pages of content. Assume Teen
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