Written by: Steve Orlando
Illustrated by: Laura Braga
Colours by: Romulo Farjardo Jr.
Letters by: Saida Temofonte
Cover by: Stanley Lau
Published by: DC Comics
Spoilers
This issue starts with a flash back to Wonder Woman #28, first published a year ago, to the face-off between Mayfly and Wonder Woman. This marks the dynamic and focus for the rest of this comic, the relationship between these two characters. Throughout this issue Steve Orlando delves into the idea of what actually create a villain and whether or not they can be entirely blamed for where they ended up.
The themes of Nature Vs. Nurture and the creation of villains and heroes is a common exploration in DC Comics. I recall particular instances of it occurring in Batman comics in particular, looking back into the lives of villains to see what could have caused their turn to evil. This comic is no different and in the first few visits which Diana makes to see Mayfly we discover the hurt from Mayfly’s past.
In particular we see a parallel between the hero and the villain, illustrated wonderfully
But unlike the majority of Batman comics, where we see the somewhat sympathetic backstory of the villain who then gets locked up in Arkham, we see an attempt to make a change in Mayfly’s life. The plot of this comic is very simple, yet it spans several years, as Diana makes regular trips to visit Mayfly at Slabside Prison. Each time Diana tries to show Mayfly the attention and respect that she was neglected of as a child and, slowly may I add, this begins to crack Mayfly’s hard exterior.
What I really liked about this comic is how recovery is represented, as a long journey with ups and downs. While the first few visits are detailed, for example we know the 18th visit occurs two years after the visits start, we begin to lose track of the time through the visit. I like that they don’t put an exact time frame on her rehabilitation, but we know it took a long time. In fact it takes Mayfly seven visits to stop trying to kill Wonder Woman every time she visits.
For such a simple comic it is powerful, serving as somewhat of a fable as to how people could change if we showed them the respect they deserved and understood that not everyone has the best start in life.
A wonderful Wonder Woman comic, it perfectly illustrates not only Diana’s physical strength but also reminds us that her true strength comes from her compassion and patience – something we could all strive for.
Overall: 9/10
Victoria Wilton spends the majority of her time writing and creating anything to do with comics, books and art and records her journey of being a wannabe comic creator on her YouTube channel, Twitter and Instagram (@toriteaturtle). In her free time Victoria enjoys comics, movies, video games, being outdoors as well as spending quality time with her partner and two pet rabbits.
