Wonder Woman Vol. 1 — Outlaw, Tom King and Daniel Sampere take Wonder Woman into a new era
If we think about Wonder Woman’s stories, there aren’t many eras that have left a significant space in the memory on the reader, especially when compared to her counterparts in DC’s trinity. This is because the company has prioritized those other two major icons. It shouldn’t have been this way, but it has. It’s a shame because Wonder Woman is a character with a very rich universe, with much to explore, as demonstrated by the impressive Wonder Woman: Historia or the reimagining of what the character represents by Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette in Wonder Woman: Earth One.
Now, Tom King and Daniel Sampere have arrived to shake things up and turn Wonder Woman’s and the Amazons’ world upside down. To do this, the creators have chosen to pit the heroine against a state controlled by an invisible force. They have set up a scenario in which she is going to end a conflict caused by a massacre committed by an Amazon. This puts Diana in a difficult position where everything is gray, even though she is clear about her stance and remains inflexible.
What is proposed here is a story of Wonder Woman against the world, which places the character in morally ambiguous territory and forces her to make risky decisions. Much like in Civil War by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven, the concept of heroism is pushed to the extreme, reaching a point where it makes you question which stance is the correct one. This goes to the heart of the genre and deconstructs it. This new phase goes beyond being a mere action-adventure to explore deeper themes.
Tom King is one of those writers who tries to layer social and/or personal themes into everything he does. Here, he seems to aim at creating a dystopia about state violence against minorities and how these minorities need heroes who rise up, stand up, and declare that this is unjust. In the spectacular manner of this genre, it is a Kafkaesque story about how the individual is devoured by the system based on something absurd. The protagonist is dragged into chaos and war without being the instigator of the conflict.
Another aspect he examines is how easy it is to put all the resources of the state into solving a problem that it created itself. And how easy it is for the media to make public opinion support the changes they want to establish, no matter how dangerous they may be. King delves into conspiratorial territory and introduces novel and groundbreaking concepts for the DC Universe. There are truly stimulating ideas here that seek to give a twist to the political system of this universe.
And all this is achieved without sacrificing the more operatic sequences. Everything is larger than life. Entertainment is, and should be, the first priority, and in Wonder Woman and Steel’s disputes, we find the main conflict of these issues. Their enmity reaches a very tense and interesting point, and the characters and their dialogues are carefully crafted. The pacing is also impressive and very balanced. The dramatic layer provided by the narrator and their musings is the cherry on top. While this voiceover might be a bit heavy-handed in articulating themes, it gives an air of a Greek tragedy narrative that works very much in favor of this story.
But even with its frenetic pace, the story knows when to pause and delve deep into the emotions of the fan. Issue #3 hits the brakes and pays a heartfelt tribute to the legendary story The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man. In this comic, Wonder Woman visits a fan who has cancer and, as if that weren’t enough, has doubts about his identity. Wonder Woman, away from the cameras, stops her fight to focus on what is most important: making a child happy when he needs it most. This is a commendable gesture from the creators, and it comes when you least expect it. To top it off, there is an exemplary use of parallel editing that advances the main story and provides a remarkable contrast with this touching chapter.
Sampere’s art is undeniably deserving of an Eisner nomination. It’s evident that the artist’s commitment has been total, and he manages to maintain a narrative rhythm that is always firm and agile without exhausting the reader. His splash pages have an iconic spirit and linger in the memory. His action scenes are simply overwhelming and perfectly composed. There is a very tense atmosphere in an apparently serene setting and very expressive characters. Not to mention his work as a cover artist. But above all, he succeeds in conveying all the light that Diana should have. All of this is enhanced by the very bright coloring work of Tomeu Morey. It is a work destined to mark a before and after in the character’s aesthetics and in what one can expect from a Wonder Woman comic.
Wonder Woman Vol. 1 — Outlaw, which includes the first six issues of the collection along with the special Wonder Woman #800, is a truly promising and powerful start that leaves the reader wanting more, which should be the goal of any good serialized story. It is designed for anyone to jump on board and also expands and enriches the heroine’s universe. If it maintains this overwhelming strength, we might be witnessing a new golden age for the character. It was needed.
