REVIEW: ‘Wonder Girl’ Issue #1

Wonder Girl #1 is written and drawn by Joëlle Jones, colored by Jordie Bellaire, lettered by Clayton Cowles, and published by DC Comics. Taking place within the Infinite Frontier reboot, Wonder Girl #1 is the first issue of Yara Flor’s ongoing series. This issue opens with Yara Flor heading back to Brazil. While she was born there, she’s been living in the United States for most of her life. But she hopes that returning to her birthplace will help her reconnect with her past and understand who she is. Yara’s story in Wonder Girl #1 begins with a tragic moment from her past. Jones interweaves dialogue from that moment with dialogue from what the flight attendant is saying on the plane Yara is on. It’s a great way to hook the reader into the story from page one. 

A lot is going on with the story in Wonder Girl #1. Jones puts 4 storylines together that follow Yara, Hera, Nubia, and Faruka. While these characters don’t interact, Hera, Nubia, and Faruka are aware of Yara’s presence the moment she lands in Brazil. And they aren’t happy. It’s clear that Jones has big plans for all four, but it doesn’t play out well in Wonder Girl #1. Each of these three characters has a different way they want to use Yara be that as a weapon to gain more power, or killing her to stop her from being used as a weapon. But because this is a normal-sized single issue the pacing feels rushed.

There’s too much going on for one comic. It’s overwhelming at first trying to keep track of what’s going on as the perspective shifts from character to character. Had this been an oversized issue the pacing would’ve been better, and it may have helped with the plot. 

As it is, Jones only has the space to give each character a quick introduction to explain who they are and what they want with Yara. Yara herself doesn’t even feel like she gets enough attention in the story. It seems like Jones wanted to explore Yara in contrast to Hera, Nubia, and Faruka. Unfortunately, due to the limited space, it didn’t work. 

Jones’ art is stunning. Jones has a style that flows well. Making use of creative panel layouts and characters moving dynamically across the page, the eye naturally follows along with Jones’ art. One example of this is a two-page spread where Yara is surrounded by various other characters from the DC universe. Posed as if they can see her at the moment, each character looks concerned or curious, waiting for Yara’s next move.

Bellaire does a magnificent job of coloring this story. Bright and saturated, the colors add to the energetic feel of the comic. And fitting with the various locations introduced in the comic (Mount Olympus, Themyscira, and Bana-Mighdall), Bellaire colors each of them slightly differently. And each location has a different color scheme to where Yara is, solidifying that these are different places. Cowles’ lettering is easy to read, and it’s clear which order the speech bubbles should be read in. Cowles creates elaborate designs designating which setting. And similarly to the colors, each location has a slightly different design that fits with its setting.

Wonder Girl #1 has grand ideas, and magnificent art, it suffers from the rushed pacing and a plot too involved for a single issue. Despite these issues, Wonder Girl has great potential. Yara is an interesting character and the art team is talented. Hopefully, as the series continues, the pacing and plot problems will be worked out. 

Wonder Girl #1 is available now wherever comics are sold and online through ComiXology using our affiliate link.