Wonder Woman Nears the End of her Multiversal Journey

In Afterworlds part 8 Diana, Siegfried, and Ratatosk find themselves back on Earth, but is it their Earth? Wonder Woman #777 is written by Michael W. Conrad and Becky Cloonan, pencilled by Emanuela Lupacchino, inked by Wade Von Grawbadger and colored by Jordie Bellaire and Letters by Pat Brosseau.

And in Afterworlds Part 9 Diana, Siegfried, and Ratatosk are hurling through the multiverse to catch up to Janus as she rips through multiple realms. Wonder Woman #778 is written by Michael W. Conrad and Becky Cloonan. Art by Travis Moore, Colors by Tamra Bonvillain and Letters by Pat Brosseau.

Cat Purcell: Wonder Woman #777 one packs a big punch, perhaps the biggest since we first opened with this new team. Diana’s time on Earth-11 is filled with action, and Janus remains one step ahead of her.

Andrea Ayres: I. I don’t like Earth-11. Honestly, I know this is kind of silly but Marsha Martian? Wonder Man? I can’t explain why I find these names annoying. That’s so freaking petty, but so be it. As you said, Janus certainly seems to have Diana’s number. The plot to take Deadman captive certainly seemed to work swimmingly, huh?

Enter Wonder Man — Art by Emanula Lupacchino

Earth-11 Tries a Bit Too Hard

Cat: As our trio walks the streets of Earth, Diana sadly doesn’t have time to give them a tour. It’s straight to business for these folks. I know, I know, they have a murdering God on the loose, but I would have really enjoyed a romp around town. I love a good fish out of water plotline and am a little sad we didn’t get to see Siegfried in this role to be the endcap to Diana’s introduction into Asgard. Despite the vast differences in the world of Earth-11, I expected Wonder Man to be even worse than Gaston, but instead, he came off more like a goofy LeFou. What did you think, Andrea?

Andrea: That is precisely how Wonder Man reads. I don’t think Wonder Man comes off as particularly compelling, and because of that, it ends up undermining the gender-bending of Earth-11. It all just feels like it’s trying a little too hard. I guess if this storyline is supposed to be updating Diana’s story for this century, it feels a little too steeped in 90s gender constructs and thinking. Is that too harsh?

Cat: No, I think that nails it. It definitely reads like it was written by people who blissfully don’t have to regularly interact with misogynistic men, and I’m quite happy for them. It’s a point in Cloonan and Conrad’s character’s favor but makes his threat seem cheesy and cheap. I’ve been asked if my husband enjoys me getting a little job out of the house. I’ve had men follow me in a car while I ran to ask where I would get out of breath for them. I’ve had “civilian” men ask me if I chose my cosplay because I liked the character or because the outfit was sexy. This was the level of creep I expected. But I do think this is part of why we’ve also all fallen for Siggy so hard. His love and admiration for Diana comes through as genuine because I think THAT’S the writer’s strength here. I did buy that he’d be easily swayed by Janus’ cause, though. What did you think of the ensuing battle at the JLA?

Andrea: First of all, Gross! I’m sorry that you have had to deal with that. To get to your question about the battle, I mean, it’s okay? For the most part, the work of Lupacchino, Von Grawbadger, and Jordie Bellaire save Wonder Woman #777. It keeps the prose feeling more vibrant and compelling than it actually might be.

I think I’d be more forgiving of #777 if the previous issues’ fights didn’t play out in much the same way. We’re in our eighth chapter here, and I feel these action sequences rely too heavily on the same formula. The stakes don’t feel consequential enough, and it ends up making Wonder Man feeling cartoonish. I did enjoy how the women united in common cause. It would have been a fun dynamic to explore more, but we are only in these worlds for a short time.

Cat: I think you laid out why these fight scenes have started to bore me. They have fallen into the same place with the same escape at the end by Janus. It was refreshing to see how quickly the women of the JLA we’re eager to help Siggy, Ratatosk, and Diana track down Janus. They’ve faced resistance in so many other realms. I also was glad to see Ratatosk join in the fight this time. While we’re still not entirely sure of his motives, his actions still show he’s eager to lend a hand… or a bite… to Diana’s cause.

Andrea: I do have to admit that my favorite panels of the issue are on pages 17 and 18. I guess I just have a soft spot for Ratatosk. If he turns out to be a foe, I’m going to be so hurt. I will be personally injured. Okay, maybe not. But that little dude has grown on me more than I want to admit. Oh, and when they nuzzle cheeks at the end? My cold heart melted a little bit.

A Trip to a Strange New World (Or Two)

Andrea: Now, THIS was an issue. Gorgeous art by Travis Moore, and Tamra Bonvillain’s colors never cease to astound. I was flabbergasted. For everything I didn’t enjoy about #777, #778 seems to right this proverbial ship. It’s intentionally silly and leans into it with appearances like Bat-Mite. We’re also finally getting a pay-off for the fairly drawn out conflict with Janus and Wonder Woman. I’m happy we see some ratcheting up of tension at this point because it was beginning to feel flat for me. What’d you think?

Cat: About the same as you! As much as I feel like the word ‘dynamic’ is overused in comics, this issue was truly the example: full of energy, new ideas, with lots of constant change! Another example of where I could have spent more time in the Phantom Zone and Gemworld was that the fast-paced realm changing upped the stakes for our Wonder team and kept me flipping pages. But then the team-up of Bonvillain and Moore again made me flip back to actually take in these gorgeous colors and striking inks. The introduction battle with Xa-Du and Aethyr was fun but I would love to learn more about your reactions to Mite world. This sort of stuff, like Spider-Ham, is usually where my limit for silly comics is drawn.

Andrea: I wanted to hate Mite world a lot because that’s usually just not my jam with comics. Of course, Into the Spider-Verse taught me better to simply write off silliness wholesale. If anything, Mite world showed me I am taking myself just a LITTLE too seriously. By that, I mean a lot, a lot too seriously. There’s a bit of narration about the joy of using your imagination and letting go, and I thought, “I have been called out.”

What does it mean to let go and be taken along for a journey? Sometimes, this series has shown me how a fun story can make you forget yourself. Young people are great at letting their imagination have at it. I miss that. The pandemic has seemingly rotted my brain even further. Although I’m not usually a fan of explicit callouts to use my imagination, the adult in me was like, “Oh yeah. I don’t have to be pragmatic all the time.” What did you think?

Cat: That’s how it felt to me as well. I used to run around my neighborhood literally doing what’s happening in this series. My friends and I would jump from pretend world to pretend world, saving the day as scrawny 9-year-olds. And it was what I still consider to be the golden days of my life that carried most of those friendships over into adulthood. We were honest about our fears, worried like Bat-Mite was that Batman wouldn’t want him for a sidekick, and got out our sillies (coming up with ridiculous names like Integrity Squad) with each other.

It also reminded me that not every story has to be for me. There are obviously a lot of people that appreciate stories like Bat-Mite and Spider-Ham and who am I to rain on their fun romps through the multiverse?

Anyway, now that we’ve waxed philosophical about our silliness in taking ourselves too seriously, our troop has found Janus and an unconscious Deadman. She lays out that her plan is to just burn everything to the ground and start fresh. As much as I didn’t want to, I related to Janus there. Did you, Andrea?

Andrea: You mean, did the concept of trying to live up to the expectations others have for you, which you graft on to until they become a prison, resonate? Oh, just a little bit. What I like about the Janus/Diana dichotomy is how Janus represents chaos and Diana is order. It’s the light and the dark, the shadow self we believe no one should see. Janus is shame, guilt. Janus is desire, rage, anger. The chaos of Janus is what we deny, and the more we deny its existence, the more power it has. How do you unite chaos and order? You don’t. The goal isn’t always unification. It’s learning that one doesn’t have to completely smother the other to survive and thrive in life (or death).

Cat: Beautifully said, Andrea. It really is a balance and one we all have to try to keep inside ourselves as well. It’s so interesting that though Janus is the other half of … Janus, she had been Diana’s foil this whole time. It makes me incredibly curious to see how Cloonan and Conrad will resolve this! Especially as Deadman has awakened and Janus hopes to use him to get to their Earth as they slip yet again into another realm.

Thick (and Thirsty) Thighs

Andrea: If there’s one thing I love, I love seeing strong women do strong-ass-shit. Is that allowed? Are we allowed to swear like that here? We get a few panels in particular in Wonder Woman #778 where Siggy is impressed (even aroused?) by Diana’s strength. I love that. He delights in it, which is so refreshing.

Cat: I hope so because this prehistory look both our heroes are wearing is damn hot! And Siggy getting swept away literally and figuratively by Diana is adorable. Funny that Diana was just telling Janus she needs to remember the past to make the future better, and the past is exactly where she tried to escape to next.

Andrea: The latter third of Wonder Woman #778 is striking. We spent so long with pastels and jewel tones, we move to these earthy browns and then, the austere nothingness. Sometimes, the most frightening place to be is with yourself. The final panel on page 21 sees Diana wondering if this is the end. Something is intoxicating about the nothingness—the blank space. Maybe we don’t have to worry, try, and feel obligated to everyone; that is not Diana. Thankfully. Here is where the issue sings. Wonder Woman is still present and fighting. If this journey through the afterworld has taught us anything, it’s that we can’t predict the future. The only thing we can know is how we will act now, and through our present actions, we can try to create the future we want. It’s a hopeful thread.

Cat: The reveal that Janus had led Diana to what I can only guess was the same place she would return to while killed in Valhalla sent chills down my spine. I was also surprised by the reveal that Siegfried is the narrator! I hope this all ends with him telling this story to his friends back at the hall, and everything wraps up nicely. I can hope anyway, especially with Moore’s fierce intensity in Diana’s face on page 22. I truly believe she will see Janus through to the end, which hopefully won’t be death.

Andrea: Yes! Thank you for mentioning Siegfried as the narrator! I, too, hope for a happy ending for Siegfried, but now I’m worried. Especially considering we are in the Afterworld. Oh, dear. The emotion you cite as Diana holds Deadman’s seemingly lifeless body is painful to see. It’s visceral and crushing. I can’t imagine where we are going from here, but I am excited to find out. Okay, excited and a bit trepidatious.

Cat: Although I’ve consistently said each issue is one I want more time in and one that has excited and moved me, this issue really stands above them all so far. Shockingly, even the Jill Thompson one. It’s action and heart at its best in comics with all of the writers and all of the artists absolutely shining. And Pat Brosseau killed it with his lettering. From the giant “NO!” at the end to each of our characters’ personalities being felt in their bubbles. I really can’t wait to see more from this team and am waiting on pins and needles for its conclusion.

Andrea: Is the series perfect? Of course not. What the hell is? I’m still having a blast with this series. Conrad and Cloonan understand Diana; that much is clear. What minor quibbles I have are exactly that, pretty small. Wonder Woman #778 has an outstanding balance between action, pacing, and whimsy. This one made my week.