“Artemis: Wanted” #1

See the apparent true conclusion to ‘Trial of the Amazons’ with this one-shot adventure!

Cover by Matteo Scalera
and Moreno Dinisio

Written by Vita Ayala
Illustrated by Skylar Patridge
Colored by Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Lettered by Pat Brosseau

After the events of Trial of the Amazons, Artemis is on the run from her sisters for her sins. She may say it was all in the name of peace, but not even Wonder Woman believes a word she says. Now the former member of the Bana-Mighdall is wanted by not only her people, but all Amazon tribes!

Is there a future for a warrior who has destroyed her past? Find out as Artemis travels the world searching for answers and a new path forward. She’ll need all the help she can get, and it may come from the unlikeliest of sources… the Gods!

Following the strange revelations at the end of ‘Trial of the Amazons,’ Artemis of the Bana-Mighdall tribe was left in an odd position with what some may perceive as inadequate justification. With “Artemis: Wanted” #1, Vita Ayala is given the task of both giving true closure on that event and paving the way for future stories involving the various Amazon tribes. This quest brings with it the ultimate question: is the result enough?

In short, this quasi-epilogue is… mixed, to put it lightly. First, it is so tied to those events that it is nigh impossible to look at without consideration of Ayala following up from ‘Trial of the Amazons,’ to the point that it may as well have had the event in the title somehow. As a direct continuation, it leaves newcomers at a loss for what is going on except where it is explicitly spelled out, or who these characters are. As such, Ayala therefore relies heavily on an existing readership and fanbase to care about the events herein.

Barring the story’s generalities, Ayala focuses extremely heavily on how “honorable” Artemis is, but does so more through conversations about said honor than by showing anything of the sort. Without much to balance current events against her past, Artemis’s rejection of the description, as well as Donna Troy’s own rage, both feel more justified than the statements of how much she embodies Amazonian goodness. Yes, the behaviors of Artemis show her guilt and may elicit some sympathy, but by leaning on words over actions, it becomes difficult to agree with the narrative.

In terms of Ayala’s pacing, the last parts of “Artemis: Wanted” #1 leave much to be desired. The supernatural threat feels more tacked on than actually threatening, with it being essentially an afterthought for the issue’s conclusion despite the significant buildup. Meanwhile, even if it had some reasoning, Donna’s complete change in opinion from rage to agreement came extremely suddenly, to the point that it feels as though the same general sentiment may have been more believable coming from Cassandra Sandsmark instead.

One character in particular, a self-imposed exile from Bana-Mighdall, has a rather prominent place in the narrative of “Artemis: Wanted” #1. Her role not only shows the ways in which “man’s world” may have an impact on an Amazon (from her priorities to her language and tone), but also gives an outsider’s point of view on Artemis herself. As someone who knows the eponymous Amazon but has been separate from her for quite some time, she seems to be an attempt by Ayala to serve as a look at a person who may have just missed recent events, as if a reader of “Wonder Woman” and related comics, but not one who has kept up with the most recent stories. This character, seemingly a quasi-one-off, is rather entertaining, and that kind of outsider-returning point of view could be welcome if returned to with later stories involving that particular Amazonian tribe.

On the subject of artwork, Skylar Patridge does a very good job with the tone of the story. Both close-ups and perspective shots are used to get a feel for how the situations truly are, be they calm or hectic. In particular, despite being on the run, Artemis’s scenes seem more depressed and somber than distressing, with attention given to her intense feelings of guilt. Facial expressions factor into these mood shifts, from Donna Troy’s justice-focused wrath to Cassandra’s sadness, and even to Artemis’s seemingly stoic grief and guilt.

The main shift is in Patridge’s design and usage of the supernatural monsters. With an appearance that is distinctly inhuman, coupled with a bit of a “blur” around them, they almost feel as though they do not fit into the world, making their limited use in the story itself make a kind of metafictional sense. They are more vaguely disturbing than outright scary, and while they are perhaps underused, Patridge makes the most of what time she has with them.

The other interesting piece is a small selection of images that show a single character surrounded by images of various pieces of their past. By using this format, Patridge is able to make up for the lack of direct explanation in some cases in “Artemis: Wanted” #1 and attempt to enhance reader concern for these characters in the one-shot.

The colors of Romulo Fajardo Jr. help to truly bring the story of “Artemis: Wanted” #1 together, at least in a tonal sense. On the darker side, we have not only night, but also quiet or depressing scenarios, ones without much to brighten them, be it literally or metaphorically. On the brighter side, we have not only daylight or fire, but also hope and kindness, a figurative light forward for better days as much as a more direct physical light.

Final Verdict: 7.0– Despite some issues with pacing and structure, the overall feeling of “Artemis: Wanted” #1 shines through.