Comic Review: Wonder Woman: Dead Earth #4 (DC Comics)

It’s the end. Black Label. Wonder Woman Dead Earth, issue 4. Done deal.

Wonder Woman has awoken from a long sleep. Rip Van Winkle Wonder Woman indeed. But earth is no longer the cheery apple tree-filled place of the past. It’s a cinder, and it appears Wonder Woman has failed to save the planet. With her last energies, she must battle titanic monsters!

This is not your typical airbrushed tale of clear skies, clear skin, and blue-eyed Amazons. This story is dirty, the back of your neck getting hot and gritty. Hotter than a matchhead. Or even a nuclear flayrod, out of skew.

Daniel Warren Johnson pens this hardscrabble jarhead tale of fighting against all odds. It’s a remarkably visceral take on Wonder Woman, as I mentioned above. It ain’t no Snapchat filter queen, with expandable 9 piece wardrobe. Wonder Woman here is covered in dirt, exhausted and her hair is a mess! Goodness. Johnson keeps the heat on the kettle throughout, whistling through his teeth at danger and beyond. Johnson also illustrates this series himself, with colours by Mike Spicer. Johnson’s black lines are thick, and the battle lines are drawn crude and expressively. With passion. Between the two of them, Johnson and Spicer deliver a powerfully visualized apocalyptic future. It’s rando dangerous, filled with monsters, alcohol-binging Justice Leaguers, Wonder Woman’s mom, and flying horses.

If you like your Wonder Woman blended with Conan the Barbarian on Arrakis the Dune planet, this one is for you. Top rope wrestling moves, double-page spreads of massive attack scenes, bone-shaking colour that invades your skull, this is a powerful conclusion to a brave new tale.

DC, Black Label, Wonder Woman Dead Earth #4, $6.99 for 54 pages of content. Mature