Review: Future State- Wonder Woman
Quick Summary
Pros: All of the stories in this book end up being entertaining. The characters in this book are written well and are all great to see. The artwork looks nice throughout the book, especially in a few chapters.
Cons: Some of the stories start out rough before improving later on.
Overall: This is one of the most consistently entertaining collections in the Future State event. Its major successes come from compelling stories, fantastic characters, and a capacity to utilize these features together. It also contains some beautiful visuals, with a few chapters that may be the best-looking in the whole event. Readers who enjoy any take on Wonder Woman or who are looking for solid Future State stories may want to check this book out.
Story
Future State: Wonder Woman is the shortest of the Future State collections but it makes up for this deficiency with quality. All of the stories within this book are compelling and entertaining. This starts in a suspenseful adventure with Nubia, continues in an incredibly fun odyssey with Yara Flor, continues again in a standard but well-executed Jon Kent/Yara Flor team-up, and concludes in an epic finale starring the original Wonder Woman. Each of these stories has something that makes it interesting but, together, they present an array of awesome Wonder Women exploits.
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Future State: Wonder Woman starts out with a Nubia story, by L.L. McKinney. This is the most tense story of the batch, as it has Nubia struggling to understand what is going on around her and how she should respond. Despite the tense situation, her fearlessness in the face of these problems is inspiring and her ultimate victory is great to see.
Then, the focus shifts to Yara Flor. Yara is introduced through a solo story, by Joëlle Jones, that immediately grabs attention. Yara is hot-headed and humorous in a way that is endearing while also being dedicated and filled with passion. Her introduction story utilizes these features to tell a story that combines action, comedy, and emotion in a wonderful balance. Her later team-up with Superman, by Dan Watters, is a bit more standard and generic. However, the characters themselves are written well and the story ends up being fun.
Finally, Future State: Wonder Woman closes with a story, by Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad, about the original Wonder Woman facing down the end of existance. The first half of this story mostly consists of a few quick and ultimately meaningless fights and, thus, is just alright. However, the narrative redeems itself toward the end. In the final few pages, Wonder Woman reflects on the nature of perseverance, revenge, hope, and life itself. Then, this final story closes with an explosive burst of renewal, a fitting end to this volume and the full Future State event.
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Art
The artwork in Future State: Wonder Woman ranges from good to great. The collection starts with some solid work from Alitha Martinez in the Nubia story. The artwork here is bold and dynamic in a way that assists the action and intensity within the storytelling. Later on, the Superman/Wonder Woman story, by Leila del Duca, achieves similar success. Here, the artwork is just as dynamic but contains some cool and creatively designed concepts that add to the experience.
However, the artwork in Future State: Wonder Woman goes to the next level in the other two stories. Jen Bartel’s work on the Immortal Wonder Woman chapters is beautiful. It contains fantastic depictions of several DC characters and has a gorgeous approach to colors. Meanwhile, Joëlle Jones’ work on the Yara Flor story is the most visually impressive piece of the collection and maybe the entire Future State event. These chapters are beautiful and detailed, making every character expression and the environment as a whole feel alive. All in all, the visuals in this book are impressive to say the least.
Continuity
Future State: Wonder Woman, like all Future State comics, flows from the Multiverse altering events taking place in Dark Nights: Death Metal (Review) (Reading Order). However, understanding Death Metal is not necessary to understand this volume.
The larger narrative surrounding the stories contained here is told through the rest of the Future State event.