‘The Devil You Know’ is a fun, action-packed tribute to two icons of fiction, with a healthy dose of magic.
Written by Tony Bedard”Cover
Illustrated by Barry Kitson and Ben Caldwell
Colored by Lovern Kindzierski and Ben Caldwell
Lettered by Dave SharpeNot since the twelve labors of Hercules has a Greek warrior faced as great a danger and as destructive a peril as the Tasmanian Devil! And the bonus Looney Tunes backup story features DC characters with story by Tony Bedard and art by Ben Caldwell!
Although the mix of Wonder Woman with the Tasmanian Devil may seem to be the odd pair out in the summer one-shots between Looney Tunes and DC Comics, Tony Bedard manages to mix the stories with a sense of Greek mythology that fits Taz, as he is often called, into the stories of Themyscira very well.
In order to adapt Taz to the world of DC Comics, Bedard makes an interesting shift on the legend of the Minotaur’s Labyrinth, enhancing its mystique. By placing Taz into the mix here, a sense of magic can easily work into a more natural creature (with the exception of the character’s signature ability to create twisters at will by spinning very quickly). Rather than just a wild animal, Bedard re-imagines Taz as one of several guardians of the Labyrinth, both explaining his seemingly supernatural ability with spinning and giving him a reason to exist in this world. Wild yet intelligent (to a point), Bedard’s take on Taz is true to the original character, not to mention very amusing and full of heart. The use of images as dialogue is unusual, yet welcome in such a fantastical story to distinguish Taz from the other characters, not to mention the other members of his own Looney Tunes crew.
Bedard also shows Diana of Themyscira, the eponymous Wonder Woman, rather well. By giving a glimpse into a Themysciran coming-of-age ritual, he manages to show both a teenaged Diana’s cunning along with a more matured Wonder Woman’s compassion. The entire tale seems to split between a Greek myth (her adolescence) and a superhero story (her adulthood), and both sides are shown with a lot of room for a fun time. Even the rather overly colloquial method by which Diana speaks can be forgiven in light of the nature of this issue’s overall friendly tone.
Barry Kitson’s pencils sometimes seem a little off in terms of faces, especially for the teenaged Diana, but these moments are only really noticeable if one looks closely. On the whole, his artwork is very good at showing both the immense Tasmanian Devil and the humanoid Amazons in equal detail, keeping a sense of wonder about the story. Due to the need for an artist to even write out Taz’s dialogue, Kitson fits well there, with somewhat less detailed imagery to allow for fast paced reading mixed with an unusual method of both showing and telling without causing any real harm to the story as a whole.
Kitson opts for softer lining for heroes and helpers, and sharper ones for antagonistic forces. Taz in particular changes during the issue, beginning sharply drawn as if realistically depicted as a true monster, but softens into his classic look as a cartoon Tasmanian devil as the story goes on.
Lovern Kindzierski’s coloring does a lot to help the artwork that Kitson starts, especially with regards to faces. Circe in particular, our antagonist of the issue, is rendered in rather disturbing color when demanding Wonder Woman’s presence, with Kindzierski rendering her with glowing eyes and a face darkened by shadow, befitting the evil she is up to in this tale. His darker, more serious coloring fits well with Kitson’s pencil in determining friend from foe.
‘Trojan Horseplay,’ the followup story illustrated by Ben Caldwell, seems to trade the focus on the DC side of the crossover for the Looney Tunes side, and does so with gusto. Ignoring much of the canon (such as the fact that the Tasmanian Devil does not normally speak) for the sake of a funny telling of the tale of the Trojan War, the story brings together a variety of classic characters including Daffy Duck to portray a relatively adult take on the characters in a similar spirit to that of older Disney animated films, mixing in adult comedy to a slapstick story. This kind of tale is what could be called a “palette cleanser,” more or less, as it helps to ease readers out of the relatively serious ‘The Devil You Know’ and bring the whole thing to a satisfactory conclusion, without having the action-packed nature of the first story.
On the whole, the “Wonder Woman/Tasmanian Devil Special” #1 was a fantastic story, albeit not without its faults. It can remind readers of older Looney Tunes cartoons, while also drawing an interesting connection to a famous superheroine.
Final Verdict: 8.7 – An exceptionally fun take on both Wonder Woman and the Tasmanian Devil that brings a healthy dose of nostalgia for both while telling a great one-shot story.
