Wonder Woman #40 Review

Written by: Meredith Finch
Art by: David Finch
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: April 1, 2015

Know Your Role

I will not hide the fact that I haven't been a fan of Wonder Woman since the Finch's took over.  At first, I complained that Meredith seemed to be stuck between honoring Brian Azzarello's run and making the story her own.  Since then, she's added her own elements and it's gotten better, but it's still far from great.  Including Donna Troy seemed like an editorial decision (and gimmick), but I have loved the interaction with the rest of the DCU, especially the Justice League.  With the Convergence Event hitting shelves, I was hoping this issue would end this first arc and get me excited for where the book was heading when it returns in June.  It did half of that.



The issue starts off with the continuation of Wonder Woman versus Donna Troy in the Rumble in the...Island.  Okay, I'm not great at rhyming, but David Finch's art sure is great.  I also like the back and forth between Wonder Woman and Donna Troy.  However, it brings up one of my main issues with this arc and Donna Troy in particular.  Why is she so evil?  I want to like her, but she is just so awful.  I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it certainly doesn't this issue.

The battle is stopped abruptly and we get an explanation from Derinoe on why it's happening.  Stop me if I'm wrong, but haven't we heard it all before?  Diana hasn't been around enough, She's responsible for bringing the men back to Themyscira, Donna Troy looks better in her armor.  Okay, I made up the last one, but that one's true.  I had to laugh that after that, Diana goes off with Superman to save some kids in a school bus accident.  You can take the girl out of the League, but you can't take the League out of the girl.

To prove the point, Diana heads with the Justice League back to that awful bug infested hole they've been dealing with off and on for issues.  The gangs all here and Diana and Batman have a nice little moment and Flash cracks wise.  When they get to the Bug Queen, Diana takes control and I loved it. This is what I want from this book.  Unfortunately, she finds out that a lot of the problems stem from her past actions.  Again, kudos to Meredith for putting her own spin on Azzarello's run.

Then it's back to Paradise Island to deal with another bit of the past...the Men of Themyscira.  Donna Troy doesn't like them.  How do I know that?  Because the issue ends with her killing scores of them. Again, what is the endgame to all of this?  I guess we will have to wait until June for the Wonder Woman Annual to find out.  Yea, that's right.  This issue doesn't end the arc.

Reading back what I wrote above, it must seem like I hated this issue.  That's not the case.  I actually liked it as a whole and really liked a few parts a lot.  I just want to know where this story is going, especially with Donna Troy.  The pacing and direction of this whole arc has been off, but I do find myself liking it more as it goes on.  I hope that June makes me love Wonder Woman again.

I do love David Finch's art.  Always have, always will.  Everything looks great from Diana and Donna Troy to the guest stars from the Justice League.

Bits and Pieces:

I liked this issue of Wonder Woman.  Sure, I have a bunch of questions about Donna Troy and what the hell is going on on Themyscira, but I still liked it.  Meredith Finch gives us a strong, determined Diana who is an Amazon, the God of War and a member of the Justice League.  David Finch's art continues to be great and is almost worth the price of admission alone.

7.0/10