Nubia: Queen of the Amazons #2 is published by DC Comics. Written by Stephanie Williams and illustrated by Alitha Martinez, the creative team includes John Livesay and Mark Morales collaborating on inking duties with Alex Guinmares handling colors while Becca Carey handling letters for the comic. This second issue continues the second mini-series of Nubia’s adventures after she’s left Themyscira on an important mission and finds a new enemy and a new agenda against her.
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After being injured at a protest in Brazil, Nubia soon wakes up in a hospital to the council of her sisters and the reactions from the rest of the world. As a writer, Williams reminds us of the type of circus the media can become when its lens moves to women leaders in real life as well as fictional ones. When Nubia recuperates and is caught up to speed on current events by her sisters, she learns that turning on the television reveals news anchors and hosts sharing their spin on the attack she was injured in. Spoiler: none of it is good! How these men on air share their surprise and disdain at Nubia’s audacity of coming out to the world is telling and surely art imitating life, unfortunately.
Some of my favorite pages in Nubia: Queen of the Amazons #2 are the warm-toned pages of one of Nubia’s past lives as a beloved princess who is on the cusp of taking the next step of being a royal. These pages of seeing her at home, comfortable in her own skin in another life are gorgeous and worth looking back over with all the fine details. Seeing her embraced by her parents and seeing her training with weapons are all really heartwarming. Interesting glimpses and the artwork doesn’t disappoint either. Just the coloring and detail of the clothing and jewelry alone make this part of the issue pages to drink in again and again. I love the filling on the backstory of Nubia. In the last mini-series, I really fell in love with Nubia ‘s queer adventures in 1970s America.
You know what never disappoints me reading an issue of Nubia comics? I know that I am going to open up a comic and be delighted by this focus on these women and how they rally for each other. It’s sisterhood with big ride-or-die energy but no one truly has to die. Hawkgirl of the Justice League joins in on the action with the Amazonian sisters and it is glorious. The Amazons may not always see eye to eye but when they are a united force, they are a force to be reckoned with. Lastly, Wonder Girl is always a treat with her funny one-liners. I would have her on my team of fictional fighters just for that.
Strong continuity and smart writing greets readers in Nubia: Queen of the Amazons #2. Nubia shows us once again that she’s a character that won’t go down easy in a fight and her allies and convictions move her and us along for the ride. The pacing of this issue feels a tiny bit rushed but still kept me invested to the last page. It’s handling by a Black woman writer like Williams is a pretty solid choice that continues to ground her as a character worth looking forward to at the comic book store.
Nubia: Queen of the Amazons #2 is available where comics are sold.
Nubia: Queen of the Amazons #2
TL;DR
Strong continuity and smart writing greets readers in Nubia: Queen of the Amazons #2. Nubia shows us once again that she’s a character that won’t go down easy in a fight and her allies and convictions move her and us along for the ride. The pacing of this issue feels a tiny bit rushed but still kept me invested to the last page. It’s handling by a Black woman writer like Williams is a pretty solid choice that continues to ground her as a character worth looking forward to at the comic book store.
