Sheena: Queen of the Jungle #1 (2017) –
Dynamite Comics
Written by Marguerite Bennett & Christina Trujillo
Art by Moritat & Dimi Macheras
Colors by Moritat & Casey Silver
Letters by Thomas Napolitano
Cover by J. Scott Campbell & Sabine Rich
Earlier this week, Deadline broke a store about a reboot of Sheena: Queen of the Jungle coming to the big screen. I’m paraphrasing here, but studios are apparently looking for the next (or at least their version of) Wonder Woman. In a case of spectacular timing, Dynamite Comics is bringing Sheena back to comics on September 13th. Let’s see if she really is Queen of the Jungle.
This book is set in modern times, and we know that because of something that happens within the first couple of pages. From there it is very much as the description says, Sheena is protecting the Amazon from anyone and anything that may threaten it. This is not a spoiler, since it’s in online previews, but a team of mercenaries threatens her village and accuses her people of a horrific act. So Sheena sets off to prove the innocence of her village, but also find out more about exactly what they are there for in the first place. We get to see a bit of what Sheena can do, outside of brute force, which is a nice change of pace and shows good balance. That does lead her to something, but that’s about all we know in this first issue. We are not really given a cliffhanger or a wow moment, more of a “we’ll pick up where we left off” moment.
While I did enjoy the way that Bennett and Trujillo wrote the character, there is one thing that I found it hard to get past. This is a story that we have seen before, or at least a very familiar premise. I’m not saying it’s one that it is one that has been worn out, but I certainly would have welcomed something different. The other problem is, we’re not really given much of a reason to believe this will be any different. Maybe that is part of the nostalgia that Dynamite is so good at, or maybe it just is what it is. Sheena is a solid character, with a lot of great potential in this day and age, but Wonder Woman she’s not. I don’t think that Bennett and Trujillo intend for her to be, and I really hope that’s not the bar we’re setting. If the next issue gives me a new spin on the premise, I could see this being a really great series. The art is very good, and they do have quite a bit of talent on covers and variants. So my caution bulb is lit on this one, but I’m definitely willing to stick around and see where it goes.
RATING: PICK UP