Wonder Woman #24 is written by Tom King and published by DC. Artwork is by Daniel Sampere colours by Tomeu Morey and letters by Clayton Cowles. Main cover art (left) is by Daniel Sampere and Tomeu Morey.
Wonder Woman #24 is available from today, in print and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology UK right here.
Synopsis
Wonder Woman’s appearance on Mouse Man’s island has led to disastrous consequences for our hero as she becomes a fugitive on the run. With locals too afraid to speak, will she ever get the answers she needs to find Etta and Emilie? Can she do it all with a screaming baby strapped to her back?! That’s right, the young daughter of Wonder Woman is along for the adventure!
Review
We’re returning to Mouse Man’s Island today for a brand new issue of Tom King’s Wonder Woman. With Trinity strapped to her back, Diana is digging deeper in to Mouse Man’s complex society. But with his forces on her trail, time is running short and a clash with the island’s tyrannical leader looms…
Last month Tom King leant in to something different, moving away from traditional dialogue on the island. That shift put more focus on Daniel Sampere’s artwork to convey what life is like under Mouse Man’s rule. Returning this month we’re learning a bit more about how all of that works for both the people and the military forces on the island. The structure of Mouse Man’s forces hint as a hierarchy of control and with that there are hints of wider language use. But it’s still a unique way to approach introducing this isolated group of people.
King doesn’t fall in to any of the traditional tropes in using this approach to the island. We left Diana having met the young girl through whom we were introduced to this society. The two spend much of this issue paired. Diana continues to ask questions of her new ally. But despite those questions there’s no hint of language outside of “Mouse Man knows”. It could have been easy to have the character break the habit and suddenly spill the beans using normal English.
So once again we’re relying heavily on Sampere’s visuals to show us what’s going on. Thankfully there are plenty of visual cues to pick up on throughout the book. For starters we quickly learn that Mouse Man’s forces are ranked using a number. The lower the number, the higher the rank and the more freedom there is with language. This leads us to our first glimpse of Mouse Man, not seen since his tussle with Diana in Wonder Woman #22. It certainly seems he’s been hitting the gym since Diana first put a stop to his wacky schemes…
There’s plenty more action for Sampere to dig in to this month. Diana gets to face off with a giant mouse, a reminder of that first encounter from issue #22. There’s also an energetic standoff with a group of Mouse Man’s armed forces. All of these moments play in to Sampere’s energetic style. As always his ability to tap in to character emotions through facial expressions really helps to connect the reader when the dialogue is so alien.
Of course this all happens, once again, with Trinity strapped to Diana’s back. It’s no wonder Diana’s daughter grows up to be a warrior like her mother given she’s seen so much action already. It’s also incredible just how much hand-to-hand combat Diana can get herself into without being restricted by her precious cargo. As for “The Island of Mice and Men (Part Two)”, it really begins to open up this world and remains a unique storyline in what is never a typical Wonder Woman book.
Verdict
Wonder Woman #24 begins to open up Mouse Man’s island, bringing the reader in to this unique society. It neatly furthers an intriguing plot through dynamic use of language and lively artwork. With plenty more conflict this month this is certainly a more exciting chapter for “The Island of Mice and Men”.
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