Written by: Renae De Liz
Art by: Ray Dillon
Publisher: DC Comics
With the mainline Wonder Woman book a shadow of its former self, I have feared that the character would be shoved to the sidelines perpetually. Fortunately, this does not appear to be the case. Between Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette’s upcoming Wonder Woman: Earth One and this mini series, The Legend of Wonder Woman, DC is actually attempting to push the character. Which, for fans of the character such as myself, is a welcome change in strategy.
However, it would all be meaningless if the books weren’t good, or didn’t explore new territory, but The Legend of Wonder Woman wants to do both of those things. While it is steeped in Greek mythology, as previous runs have been (most recently Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang’s time with the series), we see Diana through a new light. Despite referencing Wonder Woman in the title, Wonder Woman doesn’t appear once. Instead, the character we are introduced to a quarter of the way into the issue is Diana, Princess of the Amazons.
As far as I know, there haven’t been a ton of comics that deal with Diana’s childhood. Sure, we’ve seen her on Themiscrya before, dealing with the characters that inhabit the island, but we’ve rarely gone this far back in the character’s timeline for an extend period of time, and it seems like that is the intent of this series. While not necessarily a new take on the character, The Legend of Wonder Woman is certainly a fresh perspective. In addition to seeing Diana as a child, the opening issue tells her origin, along with the origin of Themiscrya, and hints at subtexts of the island’s politics.
Most of this is in the beginning of the issue and handled succinctly. Retelling Diana’s origin never once feels tedious, and Hippolyta’s story moves at a brisk pace. The mythology behind it all is interesting as well, and one of the reasons that Wonder Woman comics have remained interesting. Even if the writing didn’t ensure that this was the case, Ray Dillon’s artwork more than justifies it: The artwork is truly gorgeous. There are a couple of pages in particular that, honestly, I wouldn’t mind owning the original artwork of. Dillon’s aesthetic may not be entirely unique, but it just looks better than the work most of his contemporaries are doing.
As for the portions of the book set in Diana’s childhood, well, those are equally good, if not better. Diana is immediately set apart from the other Amazonian children, an angle that I hope is explored more later in the series. The same goes for Diana’s disinterest in following in her mother’s footsteps. Right now, these arcs are just being set up, as is to be expected of a first issue. The set up doesn’t meander though, as it feels as if De Liz and Dillon are eager to move on to the bulk of the story and have no interest wasting time in its early stages.
There’s not a ton to critique about the first issue of Legend of Wonder Woman. It’s not perfect, but it’s a fresh take on the character, so fans will surely appreciate that. For those just coming to the character, this seems to be as good an introduction as any, speaking both in terms of quality and chronology.
