Wonder Woman/Conan #2
Writer: Gail Simone
Penciler: Aaron Lopresti
Inker: Matt Ryan
Colorist: Wendy Broome
Letterer: Saida Temofonte
Publisher: DC Comics/Dark Horse
Review by John Dubrawa
Let’s get the one negative out of the way right now: no, this issue doesn’t feature Wonder Woman and Conan teaming up on an underwater adventure to take on some surly sharks. It’s a tragically misleading cover, but in no way should that deter readers away from Wonder Woman/Conan #2.
In many of the same ways the first issue proved this crossover is one worth having, the second issue further cements that case. Gail Simone is weaving a fascinating mystery between these two characters while putting them in increasingly dangerous scenarios, and frankly I can’t get enough.
Whereas the last issue teased a showdown between Wonder Woman and Conan inside a Colosseum-esque fighting pit, this second issue delivers on that promised fight. I dare not spoil who emerges victorious, but I will say their clash is used to fuel the fires of both character’s lost memories.
Conan’s childhood memories of a friend who shared all the same traits as Diana (except her name), coupled with Diana’s own admission to not knowing the truth about her past, is a fascinating mystery that Simone is slowly unraveling. Where the two characters travel together and who they tangle with in the present is mere window dressing at this point.
Once again, penciler Aaron Lopresti and inker Matt Ryan come together to draw the absolute heck out of both Wonder Woman and Conan. As the two characters square off, it’s refreshing to see a complete equality in the way both characters are depicted. Each looks like a towering titan compared to the ancillary characters they share the page with, giving both Wonder Woman and Conan a myth-like stature.
Saida Temofonte’s letters give the issue a similar look with Conan’s flashback narrations presented as if being read off of a scroll in some ancient text. For as much as Simone is doing right by these characters in her dialogue and story, the art team of this book is doing just as right by them.
Verdict
Buy! If you enjoyed the first issue, then buying the second issue is pretty much a must just to fulfill that promise of a Wonder Woman/Conan showdown. Granted, the cover promises something it doesn’t deliver but that’s okay because the story Simone is telling between these two characters is fascinating thus far. Besides, we might end up getting those sharks in the next issue, fingers crossed.
