Wonder Woman/Tasmanian Devil Special Review

Wonder Woman/Tasmanian Devil Special

Writer: Tony Bedard
Penciller: Barry Kitson, Ben Cadwell
Inker: John Floyd, Ben Cadwell
Colourist: Lovern Kinozierski, Ben Cadwell
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Publisher: DC

A review by Amelia Wellman

Not since the twelve labors of Hercules has a Greek warrior faced as great a danger and as destructive a peril as the creature that Wonder Woman finds herself up against: the Tasmanian Devil! Follow Diana as she takes on a devil that might not be so bad once all is said and sung.

I have a huge Wonder Woman bias and was going to read the Wonder Woman/Tasmanian Devil Special crossover comic no matter what, the what being the huge variable of if the Princess of Themyscira would have any story to tell with the Tasmanian Devil. So how did this mash-up turn out? Praise be to the gods atop Mount Olympus because it’s amazing!

The DC/Looney Tunes crossovers are all following a pattern. The first story, which is the bulk of the comic, is the Looney Tune character in the DC world, and the shorter vignette is the DC character in the Looney Tune’s world. In the first story, “The Devil You Know”, Diana must defeat Circe the immortal sorceress after she’s turned all the Amazons to stone. In the second story, “Trojan Horseplay”, Diana entertains Taz with a Looney Tunes retelling of the fall of Troy.

The first story features the Minotaur’s Maze prominently and works in Taz’s involvement within this universe perfectly. There’s a tonne of action but also a lot of heart. This narrative brings in Diana’s often neglected ability to talk to animals and when Taz holds Wonder Woman’s lasso and says he’s not mad she tricked her, but sad about something else, I was ridiculously touched. I know I cry at pretty much anything, but reveals like that will mean something to everyone.

And the second story, with the Looney Tunes retelling of Troy, is pretty much just my favourite thing to ever exist! Daffy is King Menelaus of Sparta, with Taz as Paris, and ah do declare Foghorn Leghorn as Agamemnon had me giggling uncontrollably–uncontrollably I say! (Admit it, you read that in his voice!). Plus there’s Yosemite Sam as Achilles, Wile E. Coyote as Odysseus, Sylvester the cat as Ajax, and Elmer Fudd as King Priam, stylized with his speech impediment as King Pwiam! I’m way to into Greek mythology and crossing it with Looney Tunes gives new life to old lore! It just works brilliantly, and even the tongue in cheek references to the Bechdel test didn’t go amiss within this short comic.

The art of the Wonder Woman/Tasmanian Devil Special has two distinct styles. The first story is realistic but quite colourful, unlike the Lobo/Road Runner Special that was released side by side with this one-shot. There are lots of details throughout the many action scenes and Diana’s face is lovely and, more importantly, expressive. Empathetic people wear their feelings on their faces like an open book, and I’m glad that this Diana does exactly that.

The art of the second story is definitely the stand-out winner of the one-shot though. It’s so beautiful! It’s bright, colourful, and fantastically cute and whimsical with its cartoony charm. All the textures are soft and smooth and Wonder Woman herself is so gorgeous with her red lips and the swirling curves of her hair that speak to the classic style that Grecians painted on vases. I adore this art, Cadwell made something truly beautiful and memorable.

The Verdict
Buy it! The Wonder Woman/Tasmanian Devil Special is by far the best of these DC/Looney Tunes crossovers so far (I say “so far” because Elmer Fudd/Batman might yet win this strange race) and this one-shot needs to be read! The Looney Tunes element blends beautifully into a hybrid of wacky classic cartoon and Greek mythology, and the art is absolutely gorgeous. This is a one-shot look at Wonder Woman’s adventures that shouldn’t be missed!