Fresh from Infinite Frontier #0, a whole new chapter begins for Wonder Woman, scion of the Greek Gods, in… Asgard? See a meeting of the myths in Wonder Woman #770, written by Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad, art by Travis Moore, colors by Tamra Bonvillain and letters by Pat Brousseau.
Cat Purcell: I’ve been reading Wonder Woman straight through, good or bad, since about 2014 and then sporadically before that. She’s been a favorite of mine since I was little. I’ve been ho-hum about the arcs recently, so I’m very excited for a fresh new take. I got into comics to begin with because of a middle school obsession with Edith Hamilton’s Mythology. So I’m stoked to start this new arc by Cloonan and Conrad. I also adore Bonvillain’s coloring. She has set the tone well with the cover.
Dan McMahon: So I am actually the opposite almost entirely. I have never been huge on myths, legends and all the fantasy stuff. I always lean towards horror and science fiction, so Wonder Woman has never been something I sought out. I honestly think my closest connection to her until now is Justice League Dark where I thought we got such an interesting side of her dealing with the magic side of her life. But this issue… I am sold. I want more. Side note: As a DC fan to my core, I am so excited to be writing about this here with you. Thanks for picking me up in the invisible jet.
CP: Aww, honored as well! I love your thoughtful pieces and I think this will be a great team up!
Cycles of Death
CP: We start off being welcomed to Asgard by a dashing man on the battlefield. The close first person viewpoint followed by the chaotic battle at the bottom of the page does an amazing job of immediately disorienting you like Diana. I loved how immersive the world felt right off the bat as Siegfried introduces us to the cycle of fighting, dying and drinking, and the way of life in Valhalla. What was your take on it, Dan?
DM: I know enough about Valhalla from pop culture and a few books here and there, but this is exactly something that hit me like a right hook with how stunning it all was. I don’t know a ton about how these characters from legends are supposed to look, but the designs on these characters are visually stunning. I love Travis Moore’s art and Bonvillain is one of the best colorists, period. The first page is disorienting because Diana is just dropped there, but the flow of the page is awesome because the paneling sets up that perfect “…welcome to Asgard” line so well. The lettering choice for Asgard by Pat Brosseau seems to fit the aesthetic in a way that is fresh but familiar. As a long time reader, how do you feel about being plopped into a very different pantheon?
CP: I actually love it. The aesthetic is dead on and made me think of all the hours I spent in Skyrim. The clothing choices seem perfect and I really like how the armor catches their individual attributes as well as the Viking theme. As a Gaiman dork who’s first love was American Gods, smashing Diana into Valhalla is a dream for me. Siggy explains, while deftly defending himself, the rules of this realm. They fight, they drink, they die and then it all repeats again. The basic premise is the same as Asgard’s from the tales. The best warriors are prepping for the eventual battle of Ragnarok even in death. But how did Diana get mixed up in this?
DM: So the last time we saw her was in Infinite Frontier, which is essentially taking damp paper and wiping off a white board. The stuff you want is gone but there’s still a bit of residue that you leave, but it’s the DC universe. She basically told a bunch of omnipotent beings that she didn’t wanna join because she had more to do… so now she’s here. Alone and without a full memory of who she is, it seems. I think this was the best place I could have started reading Wonder Woman. Do you think this Diana feels like her familiar self that you know so well?
CP: One of the things that has kept me reading Wonder Woman has been that throughout her many different writers she DOES have a core self that shines through. This Diana knows she is a bold warrior and has an innate need to know the truth behind things. She definitely seems confused about everything else, though. But before she can question too far, she’s found herself at the end of another life. Fade to black, an ominous figure speaking to her about how she’s in the wrong place and BAM!
Drinkin’, Fightin’ and Smoochin’
DM: After she returns to the land of the living, she walks, or comes back to life more accurately, in the halls of Valhalla. All of the champions from the battle are there drinking, eating and generally being rowdy. I have to say, this is something I love in comics. Just seeing heroes I like having a good time. It’s not every comic where a hero goes to the party. This one just feels so lively even though a lot of the people there must have died earlier the same day. What’d you think of the first glimpse of the night life of Asgard?
CP: Oh, I wanted to just step right into the page! It looks like the happy scenes that usually get skipped over in comics in the excuse for more fight scenes. The warm colors, the relaxed clothes and drinks aplenty. After a toast to Diana, Siggy informs her that the Valkyries brought her back. Now this threw me off a bit. Valkyries (not to be confused with the glorious ones on Pegasus … Pegasi? led by stunning Tessa Thompson) select half of those slain in battle and hang out with them in Valhalla. But it seems like here they’re pretty much just Uber drivers.
DM: And from the sounds of it, they’re disappearing. Partitioning actual Asgard and Marvel Asgard is very hard but I think this does it very well. It just has a very different flavor than Marvel’s. But I agree fully; pages like this drive home stories for me and we don’t see them enough. I love seeing heroes just interacting in a fun way. Everyone’s drinking mead and getting rowdy. There is also some smooching… are we yay or nay on Siggy?
CP: I’m just saying were I not a married woman, I would have done the exact same thing. Siegfried is a hunk. I’ll take all the beers and his plunging V-neck please! I was a little sad I hadn’t picked up a brewsky for this issue because this scene is the R & R heroes need! But after tumbling into bed with Siggy, Diana is busted again by this mysterious talking shadow. What do you make of these cycles, Dan?
DM: So something is calling out there to her. Trying to remind her of who she is. It’s clear that she’s not really supposed to be here and as she stays longer, she loses more of herself. I do like this as a recurring thing because it’s that one time of day where she has clarity into what may be her own reality. I think it’s a very strong first outing for this team because there is enough mystery that makes you want to come back. We gotta talk about the other mystery and show steal too.
Live. Die. Repeat.
CP: Yes and we have a lot of ground to cover, as does Diana as she somehow pulls herself away from that respectful hunk to try and solve this mystery. This bit made me feel like it was a huge call back to Gail Simone’s Ends of the Earth. If you haven’t read it, I recommend it! We see green behind the distant icy crags and learn that here, Diana cannot fly. Gorgeous streams trickle past and giants stroll through the trees, and down below we have a tiny, adorable, talking unicorn squirrel!! OMG are they not the CUTEST?
DM: I don’t know if this squirrel is a thing in real Asgardian myth but if so I think I found a new god. He reveals that his name is Ratatosk and he needs Diana’s help. Turns out Yggdrasil, the world tree, is sick. Now I vaguely know about this world tree. What do you know about it and how bad is it that it’s not doing so hot?
CP: Well. I’ll go into the myths around the world tree and we can all kind of speculate from there. So there’s this ancient poem, Prose Edda, from around the 13th century but based on stories most definitely told long before this was written. Ratatoskr (loose translation Mr. Drill Tooth) carries messages from the eagle at the top to the serpent at the bottom. He’s kind of like the Hermes of Yggdrasil. And the world tree is friggin huge, ok. It’s branches go so high you can’t see the end of them and the roots stretch so far into the ground they connect with the other 8 lands of the universe. The thing with these old poems though, is that what ends up happening is that…
*Spoiler for American Gods and The Fionavar Tapestry books and several other things but IS IT A SPOILER IF IT’S CENTURIES OLD?*
…Odin has to sacrifice himself to himself on the tree for a little over a week. There is some debate with what Yggdrasil translates as but essentially it’s known in old literature as the hanging tree. So…
*End possible ancient spoiler*
DM: Okay, you’re a nerd. That was a ride for me and Mr. Drill Tooth is incredible. This tree being sick is real bad then. We don’t see Odin in this issue but we do see Thor; it’s clear somebody is going to have to die for this tree and maybe the world? Typical superhero affair other than the wood bit. Soon after she goes to the tree though, she returns to her cycle of fighting, dying and repeating. But something changed this time…
CP: So this time Sig gives her a sword, and he mentions his own is named Gram, which is funny, but before we get into that, battle strikes and this time Thor is striding in on a giant, lighting blasting everywhere around him like the badass he is and this time death comes to Diana again. This time Siggy didn’t come back with her. This time not as many valiant warriors respawned. As we were told the Valkyries are disappearing. What do you make of this, Dan?
DM: Tree got em, tree is haunted I guess. But really… I have no idea what’s happening next, which is really nice actually. With some stories, you sort of have an inkling of what is behind something, be it an old villain or something but this… I don’t know. I don’t know enough about any of it to make any hard guesses but I like it that way. Blissfully unaware of whatever that spooky green smoke is!
CP: I might have a background in these Norse myths, but with Diana being thrown into the mix and missing Valkyries? I’m at a loss. I have loved everything that this new team has thrown at us and it makes me eager for more. It’s clear they’ve done their research and thrown a large enough wrench into the old stories to create some excitement. I’m eager to see what Diana discovers!
Wonderful Whims
- Gosh, this issue made me dig out my old Norse Mythology book and made me feel like I needed to cite my sources – CP
- Gram, not just a play on words because it ain’t a tiny sword, is a mythical Norse blade! Also seen in Castlevania and Adventure Time -CP
- Siggy ? -DM
Cat Purcell is a Career Services Librarian, cosplayer, artist, and massive coffee consumer.
