The unrest surrounding Nubia’s ascension is rising fast! The politics of her new role and responsibilities as guardian of Doom’s Doorway have led to rumblings that she isn’t quite ready to lead. How can she prove her worthiness? As any monarch on Paradise Island would…an Amazon fight club!
What I thought
Story-Medusa continues to possess members of the Amazon tribe as she tries to locate her head on the Island. The Queen communes with the patron gods of the Amazons and is gifted a stone lion head. She continues to have deja vu with one of the newest Amazon’s, Andromeda. The Victor’s Circle is introduced and right at the end Andromeda gets possessed by Medusa’s spirit.
Art- Alitha Martinez is on art duties and she, as always does a good job. I especially liked that the Amazons were not just the thin model types of yesterday. Martinez tries to make each woman unique in her own way. Some are thin, some plump, others muscular. This is the way that characters should be drawn because the typical unrealistic bodies have left many with a high level of Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), or body dysmorphia. Martinez also deserves praise for how she handles black hair. Nubia’s all natural mane evokes the imagery of a lion. When she later battles Andromeda her hair is braided. Phillipus sports African locks, Bia is just sporting short natural hair. I am loving this De-colonization of black hair taking place. Kudos all around!
Gods and Mortals- When Queen Nubia communes with the gods they say that the difference between her and her predecessor are that Nubia is Distinguishing, while Hippolyta was knowing. Knowing is static, referring to discrete facts, while to distinguish is to discern, which means to perceive or recognize the way something differs from what’s around it. Distinguish also means to separate yourself out from the pack, usually in a good way. I’m sure the choice of words was deliberate and will play out in the coming issues.
Overall a pretty solid book, with art, action and story synthesizing well.
