REVIEW: ‘Wonder Woman,’ Issue #751

Wonder Woman #751 is published by DC Comics, written by Steve Orlando, art by Jan Duursema, colors by Romulo Fajardo Jr., and letters by Pat Brosseau. Previously, fans of Wonder Woman were treated to a 96-page behemoth love letter that celebrated the Amazonian warrior. Now, in a new town, Diana must prove to the local police force that her presence in their town will not negatively impact the population.

Wonder Woman #751, under the watchful eye of Orlando,  begins its newest story arc. In this issue, Diana is being held at gunpoint by her neighbor, and employee of the Boston Police Department, Nora Nunes. Nora has been tasked with making an assessment of whether Diana poses a threat to the citizens of Boston. The detective quickly makes reference to the destruction caused by Wonder Woman’s previous towns. The court has ordered that this assessment happens over a single day.

Diana agrees to this observation, stating that if she’s to build a home here, it needs to be one built upon the foundation of trust. Meanwhile, a winter rainstorm rages on in the background, but uncharacteristically lightning smashes to the ground. A detail that doesn’t go unnoticed by Diana.

Nora follows Diana, and Etta Candy as they provide aid to the citizens who have been most heavily affected by the storms. The aid work continued up until lightning directly strikes Diana, who catches the rod. Feeling the trace of magic in the electricity, the Amazonian warrior traces it back to the source. There she finds a trio of evil from a dark dimension with a warning of things to come.

Orlando has set up an intriguing story as Diana has to overcome not only magical enemies but must also assure that her presence will not be a detriment to the people of Boston and the local law enforcement. This will create a difficult balancing act for Diana to navigate as she is constantly caught between different objectives.

There’s a very interesting concept near the end of the book of a topic that is often not addressed. Nora notices that when Diana offered help to the citizens, and they pushed back, instead of pushing the matter Diana stepped back to listen to their concerns and hear their feelings. The Amazonian states clearly, “I have ideas of how to help people, but the ideas that matter more… are of those being helped.”

I was not wholly taken with the illustrations and coloring from Duursema and Fajardo Jr. during the first few panels. Given this is the beginning of a new arc I was expecting to be awed with some visual that sets the tone for the series. But rather it all felt very safe. As the issue progresses the images do improve and I was particularly taken with the lightning scene. Overall it felt fine, but it didn’t leave me with any sort of lasting impression.

In regards to the colors, the opening panels have contrasting colors that are rather jarring. As the characters converse in the dark their tones are intensely bright, as if the darkness hasn’t affected them at all. This continues for the first several pages, and even Diana herself seems to emit a glow. This does improve as the issue moves forward. I bring this to light because those opening panels are pivotal for hooking a reader in and it’s hard to shake that taste as you progress through the story.

The lettering from Brosseau was brilliant. The placement of the dialogue was well balanced, and the use of onomatopoeia with the font style really lifted the visual storytelling.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and I’m curious to see where Orlando will be taking this arc with Wonder Woman. There were some stories mentioned in the final few pages I am not covering to keep it spoiler-free, but this definitely opens up some really interesting issues moving forward.

Wonder Woman #751 is available in stores now.