Superman/Wonder Woman #13 Review

Written by: Peter J. Tomasi
Art by: Doug Mahnke
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 20, 2014

First Time, Long Time

It seems that every time I turn around there is a new creative team on one of my favorite books.  They have been hit-or-miss as far as quality, but this book has my favorite one...Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke.  Tomasi is a master of pulling things from the whole DCU into his books which is a thing I also loved about former writer, Charles Soule.  Doug Mahnke has proven to be at his best when illustrating the Justice League so doing Superman and Wonder Woman should be a breeze.  While this first issue of their run wasn't the instant smash I was hoping it would be, I'll give the two a bit of time to settle into the book.  In the meantime,  I'll just sit back and enjoy the cool villains and the mysterious cliffhanger this issue gives us.



The book opens with a flashback of the Justice League forming during the Darkseid attack five years ago.  As Superman and Wonder Woman kick Parademon ass, Tomasi shows readers the differences between the two heroes.  Superman gets the upper hand in the P.R. department since Wonder Woman comes off as such an awful person.  I realize Tomasi is trying to push the whole tough Amazon thing, but it's a bit overdone.

We then head back to the present where Clark is trying to get an article done while Diana gets ready for their date.  Once Again, the scene stresses that the two are polar opposites, but Wonder Woman at least comes off better here.  Unfortunately, these two can't catch a break (or some "Me" time) and their date night is interrupted by Clark being a nice guy and trouble at the old Indian Point Nuclear Plant.

The Atomic Skull and Major Disaster are up to no good and a couple of sports talk loving guards (first time long time type of guys) are the first casualties.  Before Mike Franceca loses any more fans, Superman and Wonder Woman arrive on the scene.  It's a pretty one-sided battle in favor of the bad guys until a new Hero shows up and puts an end to the fireworks.  I have a theory of who it is and I can't wait to see if I'm right.

Peter J. Tomasi does an okay job on his first issue.  As I mentioned above, I love Tomasi's far reaching story telling and it's in full effect from page one.  I also think the idea of showing Superman and Wonder Woman as opposites is interesting, but in practice it makes them look like silly, little, bickering children.  It was disappointing to say the least.

Doug Mahnke's art was disappointing as well.  I usually love everything he does, but this issue didn't make that list.  The art is average and his character work, especially Diana, was just off to the point of throwing me out of the book.

Bits and Pieces:

I am a fan of this book and love both Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke so this should be an easy slam dunk.  Unfortunately, it got rejected by the rim.  Tomasi's story attempts to show how different our heroes are, but really manages to make them look horrible.  Mahnke's art isn't horrible, but it's not very good when compared to his previous work.  This issue is not the strong start I hoped for from this new creative team, however, the ending and cliffhanger have me looking forward to next month.  I hope Tomasi and Manke come through.

7.0/10