Wonder Woman and Big Barda, from Jack Kirby's Fourth World, is an interesting pairing. Where Diana is an Amazon, Barda is a super-Amazon. Amazon times space god. Diana loves to fight, yes indeed, but Barda lives to fight. She's not terribly interested as to why metal monkeys are swarming a museum, she's just happy to have something entertaining to hit. This leaves room for Diana to be the voice of reason, rather than the battle-happy soul she's presented as all too often these days.
With current continuity swept to one side in Sensation Comics, we can enjoy the Diana and Barda of pre-New 52, happy heroines not constantly oppressed by outside forces. They have time to relax after a training session on Apokolips, time to share a hot dog. It all makes for 20 pages of smiles, helped greatly by a running gag that doesn't outstay its welcome. As for the surprise baddies, shall I spoil it? Nah, it's only 69p/99c for a fast-paced, hugely fun story, so go see.
Writer and artist are both unfamiliar to this too-mainstream fella, but after this I'll be popping across to Monkeybrain Comics to check out more by the wonderfully named Adam P Knave. Tight plotting, smart action, characters who feel right ... say no more. And let's not overlook letterer Saida Temofonte, who does a fine job, and the warm colours of Rex Lokus, which are just right.
Looking at Matthew Dow Smith's Wikipedia entry, it seems I have seen some of his work, but he looks to be a bit of an artistic chameleon, meaning I didn't recognise him here. Figures are a little stiff at times, and there's not much sense of motion, but his storytelling is strong and the blocky, lumpy style fits the cheery script.
While I wish Sensation Comics didn't include so many guest stars - oh for a simple Wonder Woman story featuring Wonder Woman villains - it's tough to argue with a confection as tasty as this. So don't, just read it.
Writer and artist are both unfamiliar to this too-mainstream fella, but after this I'll be popping across to Monkeybrain Comics to check out more by the wonderfully named Adam P Knave. Tight plotting, smart action, characters who feel right ... say no more. And let's not overlook letterer Saida Temofonte, who does a fine job, and the warm colours of Rex Lokus, which are just right.
Looking at Matthew Dow Smith's Wikipedia entry, it seems I have seen some of his work, but he looks to be a bit of an artistic chameleon, meaning I didn't recognise him here. Figures are a little stiff at times, and there's not much sense of motion, but his storytelling is strong and the blocky, lumpy style fits the cheery script.
While I wish Sensation Comics didn't include so many guest stars - oh for a simple Wonder Woman story featuring Wonder Woman villains - it's tough to argue with a confection as tasty as this. So don't, just read it.
A fun read from start to finish, really enjoyed this, and what a contrast to the regular ongoing WW comic.
ReplyDelete