Wonder Woman #765 Featured Reviews 

“Wonder Woman” #765

By | October 30th, 2020
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

A good place for newcomers as well as those returning fans who like to see the eponymous Amazon in situations she rarely encounters!

Cover by David Marquez and Alejandro Sanchez
Written by Mariko Tamaki
Illustrated by Steve Pugh
Colored by Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Lettered by Pat Brosseau

The invisible jet is going down-look out below! On a mission to the heart of super-villain-occupied Zandia, Wonder Woman is stopped dead in her tracks by a turf war that’s turning deadlier by the minute. After a heated consult with the Justice League, Diana finds herself on her own with the supposedly reformed Max Lord to complete her mission-and to make matters worse, each side is using Lord Industries’ stolen tech to turn their forces into mind-warping super-armies! Who shot down Diana’s stealthy ride? The answer will make you dizzy…

Commonly, writers of a Wonder Woman story, like those for any other character-titled superhero comic series, would concentrate focus on, if not established characters close to Diana of Themyscira in one way or another, at least those that have a connection to elements of her story, such as gods or other mythological beings. They would possibly tread familiar ground, go to places to go along an established, well-worn track. With “Wonder Woman” #765, ‘What Happens in Zandia!,’ Mariko Tamaki shows that while she is comfortable with the common storytelling, she is not in the least bit adverse to spicing up the formula with elements from beyond the recurring set-pieces or rogues gallery of the famous Amazon. In a sense, “Wonder Woman” #765 is not just a Wonder Woman story, or at least not a typical version of such a tale. Rather, Tamaki writes a plot about for a wider DC Universe that just happens to focus in on characters closely connected to the eponymous character as viewpoints, and actually has some of the most entertaining moments take place from the perspective of Max Lord, not the eponymous heroine.

Whether overtly or not, superhero stories, including those in the DC Universe, tend to set bars of what kinds of people are a threat to one hero or another, to one villain or another as well. These threats, while not always balanced out, do seem to set distinct levels of power, implicitly giving the idea that some villains are either beneath someone’s concern or are otherwise the problem of someone else better equipped to handle them. In this international adventure, Tamaki sets aside that implied barrier between different series, including visiting the villain-occupied country of Zandia and taking on a villain from another hero’s usual concern altogether; someone who, despite his symbolic power, is still far from the divine or magical issues that Wonder Woman usually handles. Through these creative choices, Tamaki manages to fulfill a variety of purposes at once: making these villains feel more like a threat, broadening Wonder Woman’s own figurative “jurisdiction,” and even introducing said entities to fans who may have never really focused on those parts of the wider DC Universe before.

Even aside from the unusual focus, Tamaki makes sure that “Wonder Woman” #765 is very inviting for both returning fans and newcomers both, very enlightening rather than confusing in spite of the sheer amount of elements brought to the table which were not in the story beforehand. The exchanges between Wonder Woman and Max Lord are amusing and intriguing, the former’s interactions with Superman just as easily a reference to actions from years past as to those in a prior arc, and not particularly important to the overall story one way or the other. All information that anyone needs to know for the plot set out is explained within the pages of “Wonder Woman” #765 itself, without ever seeming to be overwrought “infodumps” of massive exposition, instead trusting readers to understand what is going on for anything not explicitly needed to be spelled out. While Diana of Themyscira may seem at times (though not always) overly stoic in comparison to the rest of the cast, it somehow works for her anyway, showing not coldness, but rather composed compassion for anyone, even her enemies.

Steve Pugh works his best on “Wonder Woman” #765 when he is concentrating on close-ups. The intensity in Wonder Woman and Max Lord’s faces are clear to see from the outset, no matter how calm the latter’s words may seem. The faces are smooth and easily draw the eye, much in the same way that the rougher visages of the people in Zandia do, though the latter being more out of revulsion than anything. Unfortunately, his focus deteriorates the further away an image is, with faces looking perhaps a bit… “off” if a bit too far back or around too many others at the same distance from the reader. However, the effect is not too bad, and is only really noticeable if readers know what to look for or are actively searching for flaws. Conversely, intense detail and well-utilized shadows work together in closer imagery, whether for major characters or one-offs, to give quite a lot of depth to everyone’s emotions, especially when in conflict with one another as in the case of a fight between villains in Zandia itself, and can have a sizable amount of humor when put at a bit of range but without anyone or anything else to distract.

Pugh lays down the framework, but Romulo Fajardo Jr.’s colors are really what makes the artwork in “Wonder Woman” #765 pop out. From bright lights to deep shadows, each piece is lain out marvelously to give the maximum emotional impact, especially during combat. At times, the shading differs at least partially to move focus around the page, such as keeping a massive amount of people in shadow and one in light to make the former seem relatively unimportant next to the latter, much like how the backgrounds in some scenes are relatively muted and devoid of much in the way of definition to keep concentration on the foreground. At the same time, an almost “divine” glow from an open doorway can cause a darker figure to appear in relief, causing a similar focus on that darker coloration. The colors of individual people are, in general, vibrant and exciting, regardless of species or affiliation, overall showing that the DC Universe is a wild, wide open place filled with many interesting characters, even if not all of them are immediately important to the current narrative.

Final Verdict: 7.0– At once a straightforward tale and an interesting one that expands far beyond what is commonly considered “Wonder Woman” situations.


Gregory Ellner

Greg Ellner hails from New York City. He can be found on Twitter as @GregoryEllner or over on his Tumblr.

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