Wonder Woman #5 –
DC Comics
Written by Greg Rucka
Art by Liam Sharp
Colors by Laura Martin
Letters by Jodi Wynne
We have spent a lot of time talking about the immensely successful DC Comics Rebirth initiative both on our podcast and here on our website. We have given you reviews of a lot of #1 issues, but we all know, true success is not measured by one issue. So this week, I decided to enter the jungle with Greg Rucka’s Wonder Woman series and see if the story is still going strong.
Issue 5 is following The Lies storyline (Rucka has been telling another story in even issues with Nicola Scott doing the art) where Diana is trying to discover why she cannot find her way back to Themyscira. Along the way she encounters Cheetah and is now on the trail of a madman named Cadulo, who just happens to be holding Steve Trevor hostage. What I really love about this particular story is the interactions between Wonder Woman and Cheetah. The depth and realism that has been brought, not just to Cheetah, but her relationship with Diana is incredible. It also shows the amazing strength of Wonder Woman who, even though she is dealing with her own crisis of mind and character, sets that aside to assist those that she cares about. Rucka lets her carry several burdens and once, and she handles it beautifully. In reading this arc, you know Cadulo isn’t the one pulling the strings, but we do get a bit of a bombshell dropped towards the end of this issue. Someone is revealed as being part of the bigger pictures that will definitely complicate things going forward. Then right after that, we get a great cliffhanger over what the fate of Steve Trevor will actually be.
It’s easy to focus on how much depth Rucka has created here, and the layers that he has given to these characters. Liam Sharp deserves a great deal of credit for setting a mood and really allowing Rucka to drive his story home. This is especially true with Trevor where Rucka is throwing jabs, while Sharp still captures the seriousness of the dire situation that he is in. Even though there are different stories being told in this ongoing series, Sharp and Scott both bring a winning style to Wonder Woman that allows her to return to form as one of the flagship characters of DC Comics. If you were searching for a Wonder Woman comic to love for the last few years, this is it. It’s a story in which Wonder Woman herself is actually trying to find out who she really is, where she belongs and what has really been going on in her life. Don’t wait for the trade, get the back issue and put this in your pull box now.
RATING: PULL