Friday, April 1, 2016

Wonder Woman ‘77 Chapter #20 Review and *SPOILERS*



Don’t Go Chasing Charybdises

Written By: Amanda Deibert
Art By: Staz Johnson, Wayne Faucher, Kelly Fitzpatrick
Letters By: Wes Abbott
Digital Price: $0.99
Release Date: March 28, 2016

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

I watched Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice this week, and I have to concur with the unanimous feeling that Gal Godot as Wonder Woman was completely and totally freaking awesome. Sort of reminded me of another version of Wondy, one I’ve grown quite fond of: the very Diana Prince found in the digital pages of Wonder Woman ’77! I don’t want to spoil too much, but like the character in the film, 1977’s Diana Prince kicks so much butt. So let’s not fool around with rambling introduction paragraphs and dive right into the story! Read on for my review!


Explain It!:

Last issue had Wonder Woman in her Diana Prince identity, going further undercover as wealthy socialite Mrs. Bunn in order to get aboard a particular yacht. So it’s like she was double undercover, which is no big deal when you can bust costume changes just by spinning around. Now she, Steve Trevor acting as Mr. Bunn, and Some Guy have been captured by the yacht’s captain and Ambassador Posner, who has directed the other boats in this ‘round-the-Tierra-del-Fuego race straight into the path of the mythical whirpool monster, Charybdis. Comics, ladies and gentlemen! I would put the weirdness level of this story at “average to low,” relatively speaking. 

Now the previous two-chapter installments of this series I’ve reviewed have followed a simple, satisfying formula: chapter one is setup, chapter two is balls-to-the-wall Wonder Woman winning, and this one is no different. So Posner is in control if Charybdis somehow, and tells the ambassadors on the other ships caught in the cyclonic grasp of the giant leech monster to contact their home countries and say how cool he is. While he’s crowing, Diana slips away and turns into Wonder Woman, and then you know it’s on and popping. The captain pulls a gun on her, which is probably somewhere in the top five stupidest things you can do when confronted by Wonder Woman. I think attacking her in any fashion is probably number one, but trying to shoot her specifically is definitely a few notches down. She deflects his bullets, of course, and one hits him in the hand with the gun and the captain is easily apprehended after that. They come upon Ambassador Posner, who is holding Steve Trevor and Some Guy at gunpoint, asking about Mrs. Bunn, so Wonder Woman lassoes the gun from Posner’s hand and flicks it into the ocean. Some Guy complains that it was his weapon, and Diana apologizes; she doesn’t like guns. Steve Trevor subdues Posner, and now it’s time to Wonder Woman to handle Charybdis!


She whips into her completely fantastic Water Woman outfit and dives right into the rushing ocean water. First, she saves some guy who fell off his boat by flinging him right back on deck, then she swims straight toward the gross, spiky maw of Charybdis herself! Wonder Woman throws the lasso around its neck, and eventually subdues it and rides it around like some kind of not-sucky Aquaman! Then there’s an epilogue, where whatever treaty or agreement Posner was trying to thwart is unthwarted, and Wonder Woman tells Steve she’s sent Charybdis to the Amazonian Public Zoo. Steve asks about Diana Prince, and Wonder Woman literally walks behind a curtain right in front of his eyes, and then emerges as Diana! It was such an awesome, stupid scene and I loved it. The book ends with a winking punchline and I am just swooning like crazy!


So this second chapter wasn’t so much Wonder Woman throwing missiles around and punching kaiju clay monsters into paste, but it was no less enjoyable. I just have a heck of a lot of fun reading this series, and I’m glad I jumped onto it. Only problem with this issue is that some of the art is a little too loose—looks like maybe the pencils were loose and the inking did nothing to tighten it up. But the action is still all there and the writing was splendid. If you like to see a fun Wonder Woman that wins, then you should be reading this book! Come on! Ninety-nine cents a chapter will bring you ten times the joy of the current DCU series. Yeah, I said it. Again.

Bits and Pieces:

Once again, the second installment of a two-part Wonder Woman '77 story involves Wonder Woman taking charge and saving the day. She acts almost like a hero or something! The art looked a little rough in these chapters, but the story is great and very satisfying. Not unlike a Snickers bar. But unlike a Snickers bar, this thing costs only ninety-nine cents. Have you seen what they're charging for candy these days? It's a crime I tell ya! Anyway, buy this book or be an idiot, see if I care.


7.5/10

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