Review: Wonder Woman v2 #168-169

            All too often, a writer will be assigned to a comic book and will ignore all the preceding events in order to push their own agenda. Thankfully, Phil Jimenez was not one of these writers. Following up his spectacular Batman team-up on Wonder Woman’s title, Jimenez took us back to the Amazon Princess’ home island of Themyscira just in time to witness a brutal civil war and, in the process, paid homage to all the writers who came before him.

            The two-part “Paradise Lost” was a culmination with Jimenez picking up on the underlying tensions that had been bubbling under the surface of Wonder Woman’s title for quite some time. Queen Hippolyta had been spending most of her time in Man’s World gallivanting with the JSA leaving her island practically ungoverned allowing the conflict between her Amazons and the Bana-Mighdall Amazons to foster. Having been introduced way back in George Perez’s iconic run, the Bana-Mighdall tribe were once a hidden group of Amazons who lived in Egypt and were characterized by their violent tendencies and their willingness to embrace modern technology. They were eventually brought to Themyscira by the witch Circe and had since maintained an uneasy alliance with Queen Hippolyta’s Amazons. However, the Bana-Mighdall Amazons had largely been ignored by nearly all subsequent writers. Jimenez remedied that problem by placing them back into the spotlight with “Paradise Lost” as a minority on the island whose voices had gone unheard by Queen Hippolyta and this disrespect bubbled over into a bloody civil war between the Amazon tribes. Several revelations were made during this arc and Jimenez made some bold moves but it was his keen characterizations that stood out the strongest. His willingness to explore the discord between Wonder Woman and her mother is admirable as it brings an alternate dimension to their dynamic. Furthermore, the dialogue between Diana and Donna throughout is incredibly well-written. Through their words, they come across as true sisters and their chemistry is both believable and relatable. Unfortunately, his writing is not free of faults. He introduces the character of Fury into the arc but she is given absolutely no backstory. As such, the reader becomes lost as to who she is and why she’s in the story.

            While Jimenez got to draw more abstract settings and gritty buildings in his previous arc, he indulges in the gorgeous architecture of Themyscira in these two issues. He shows off his skill at drawing the island paradise in his opening page and continues to impress throughout. Despite the emphasis placed on dialogue, Jimenez manages to pack plenty of action into this two-parter as well and reveals himself to be quite adept at drawing carnage. The brutality of the civil war is terrible and he should be applauded for showing Wonder Woman’s reaction to be heartbreak and sadness.

            “Paradise Lost” set the stage for the numerous events that would reverberate throughout the Wonder Woman universe during and even after Phil Jimenez’s run. It is a story with great impact and it emphasizes the brutality of war and the necessity for peace between people.

Grade: B+