Review: Wonder Girl #1 By J.T. Krul And Adriana Melo

Reviews

Wonder Girl #1

Written by J.T. Krul

Art by Adriana Melo

I questioned the necessity behind a Wonder Girl one shot when I saw it announced, only slightly more so than had it been an ongoing. I like Cassie, but she’s not really a character I can see carrying a book on her own. It’s one thing in a book like Young Justice or Teen Titans, with the team atmosphere even when she’s in charge she’s still note a sole focus point. Maybe it’s a detriment attributed to the fact that, unlike fellow teen legacy heroes like (Red) Robin, Superboy, and Kid-Flash/Impulse, Cassie debuted in Wonder Woman and more or less stayed there exclusively until Young Justice. She never had a chance to really bloom as a character on her own, and the stigma has sort of married itself to her character. This unfortunately means that for as much as I like the character of Wonder Girl, I don’t care about Cassie that much.

So with this issue I actually was ready to skip it, but then I went and gave it a little look inside the cover just out of curiosity, because I had totally forgotten who was writing. So I see J.T. Krul’s name in the writer credit, and the next thing I know I had another sweet iconic DC cover in my stack for the week, by Nicola Scott no less (another unfortunate is that she only did the cover). I’ve been a fan of Krul’s DC work, even the generally detested Rise of Arsenal, which I found to be brilliant in it’s own way, and his Teen Titans has been nothing if not entertaining, so yeah, this wasn’t a hard sell to me.

The basic plot of the issue revolves around Cassie going to England to see her mother at a museum, they have their mother-daughter tension, Cassie meets someone new, and they fight a bad guy. It’s a formulaic issue, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Cassie feels like a sixteen or seventeen year old girl who’s taken on a lot of responsibility, but not in the ways her mother wanted. Being a superhero instead of a student, using the powers she gained by being the daughter of Zeus instead of the archaeological mind of her mother. It’s typical, my dad and I have similar issues, I figure everyone has something they clash with a parent on in their life, so I can relate.

Solstice debuts in this issue, which is really the big deal about it to be honest. We saw a preview for her in the first issue of Krul’s Teen Titans, and she popped up last issue, but this issue (probably set before, or during the current Teen Titans arc given things that happen in the most recent issue) she gets a chance to be showcased. I can’t say I know anything about the villain, or her motivations for showing up, but it gave Krul a spot to showoff what Solstice can do before she joins his Teen Titans roster, so for that I give him props. Her powers are not fully explained, but it looks like light manipulation and flight.

It’s nice to see Adriana Melo get a job like this (even if the Nicola Scott cover is impossible to live up to), as I’ve been a fan of hers for a few years now (she did a miniseries when I first got back into comics that left fond memories). Actually, after reading this issue I kinda hope she can find more work filling in on Teen Titans if Nicola needs an issue off. The action is well handled, and I like the way she draws Cassie, but I absolutely love the design on Solstice, and I like the way her powers come across visualy. She could be a really fun character in Teen Titans, and I can’t wait for her to join the team.

The issue isn’t groundbreaking, and it really doesn’t bring anything new to the table, but it’s still a fine issue. It’s a one and done in a nice way, where there could be actual followup if Krul wanted to do it, but it’s not something that anyone would clamor for. It gives us an introduction to Solstice months before she’ll actually join the Teen Titans, and it also gives Wonder Girl a chance to shine on her own, which in itself is a rare occasion. By no means is this issue a must read, but there are far books to spend your $2.99 on.

Overall?

6/10

A lifelong reader and self proclaimed continuity guru, Grey is the Editor in Chief of Comics Nexus. Known for his love of Booster Gold, Spider-Girl (the real one), Stephanie Brown, and The Boys. Don't miss The Gold Standard.