Broken Frontier

Diana Prince continues to grapple with the turbulent path her role as Wonder Woman has taken, and to make matters worse an old enemy turns up seeking vengeance.

With this issue, Jodi Picoult becomes the third writer to chart the destiny of Wonder Woman post Infinite Crisis. She’s also been given the daunting task of filling the shoes left behind when Allan Heinberg exited the series two issues previously. Of course Jodi’s other career as a novelist should help to raise the profile of this historic character, and she gets off to a very good start here by focusing on Wonder Woman’s displacement with the mundane world around her.

Now perhaps this approach is more character specific, but it surely makes for some great entertainment. The funniest moment is watching Diana adjust to things like not understanding how to pump gas and pay for it at a gas station. Then there’s a funnier bit where she can’t figure out how the turnstiles in the subway work, and she even suffers the indignity of misunderstanding the lingo used to order a certain size of coffee. So when you get right down to it, Diana’s truly a fish out water, and that’s juxtaposed with the disturbing knowledge that her alter ego is wanted for questioning in the death of Maxwell Lord. To further add insult to injury, Diana is charged with bringing her in, but how can she bring herself in and not expose her dual identity to the world.

Now that’s truly a major dilemma for Diana to find herself in, and in a world where Wonder Woman isn’t welcomed this makes great fodder for writer Jodi Picoult. In fact I rather enjoyed her approach here and it’s nice to find a little humor permeating through. Of course humor is always effective and used properly it can definitely add layers to character development, and in this case Wonder Woman is a true fish-out-of-water super-heroine. I was also delighted to find Jodi following the direction that was left with Heinberg’s run and it will be interesting to see how she expands upon his original premise. So far I am generally pleased with her approach, and this issue runs the gamut of humor, action and intrigue done to perfection.

My only complaint though lies with the artwork of Drew Johnson. Now it’s not that I don’t think he’s capable enough as an artist, but I didn’t find some of his panels as prolific as much as they probably should have been. Perhaps I have the Dodsons etched in my brain, since they gave us solid artwork throughout the first issues, and Drew’s work just pales in comparison.

The most important thing to remember once you read through the issue is that we’re going to be seeing this title back on track with a consistent publishing schedule again. That’s what bothered me about Allan Heinberg’s run and it’s frustrating to long term readers like me who revel in the continuity aspect. Beyond that though, Jodi seems to be a great replacement, and if this issue is any indication of what she is capable of then we’re all in for a treat. So far she’s got me interested and I am looking forward to watching Wonder Woman cope with her dwindling image, and what she does next to combat this is anyone’s guess. I guess only Jodi knows for sure.