Wonder Woman #774 Review

 

It's Greek to Me

Writer: Jordie Bellaire, Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad

Artist: Paulina Ganucheau, Andy MacDonald

Cover Price: $4.99

Release Date: June 22, 2021

Like many books post-Future State, I was interested in Wonder Woman initially but have drifted from it with each new issue.  While seeing Diana in Asgard sounded cool, it all took too long to resolve but somehow still had a forced ending.  Diana got her memories back just because and giving the Valkyries a drinking day fixed almost everything.  Now it's off to Olympus to see what's going on and hopefully get this book back on track.  Let's jump into Wonder Woman #774.

The issue opens with Wonder Woman standing in the ruins of Olympus.  Deadman had pleaded for her to get there, but even he didn't know it was this bad.  Now, there is a little aside here concerning the gods.  I know this is Infinite Frontier territory so things may differ from last saw them, but the Olympian gods have been dead or missing for years now. So without actually seeing them back, it is not a wow moment to see them gone again.

Just like in the Asgard story, the pacing of this issue is way off.  It all comes to a crawl when they find the sole survivor and eventually get some information.  Plus, it isn't that intriguing. First, Diana finds out why she didn't go to the Olympian afterlife and why she went to Asgard. After that, it's all a bit boring until we find out who killed the gods and how they did it.  Then it gets hilarious.

Wonder Woman wonders aloud how the gods died when she knows the God Slayer sword is protected (though how would she know that now), she finds out the God Scaper did it.  You know, the thing that was just thrown in here and hardly explained but decimated Olympus.  It just reminded me of Coming To America...

"I'm McDowell's.  They got the Golden Arches, mine is the Golden Arcs. They got the Big Mac, I got the Big Mick. We both got two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions, but their buns have sesame seeds."

The God Scraper?  At least come up with a better name!

The issue continues with Diana interrupting Boston Brand's card game, and then after some recap and meandering, the issue ends with Diana heading into the Graveyard of the Gods.  The problem is, this just felt like the Valkyrie deal again, just more Greek this time.  We still are getting the young Diana backup by Jordie Bellaire, which is cute, but not much else. 

 

This book is starting to be a slog to get through.  Instead of getting excited for this next leg of Diana's Magical Pantheon Tour, I quickly grew bored and checked the page count three times while reading.  The art also takes a step back, but it's the pacing and lack of an interesting story that's got me down the most.

Final Thoughts:

Diana getting to Olympus should have elevated this book, but instead, it felt stale and uninspired.  Whether it's wow moments we've seen for years or new things that appear out of nowhere, nothing in this issue felt as big as it should.  Wonder Woman fighting through the afterlife sounded cool at first, but I think I am ready for her to get back to the living.

5.5/10