Etta is not here for this mess…

Wonder Woman #29
Writer: Shea Fontana
Artist: Inaki Miranda
Colors: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Letters: Saida Temofonte
Cover: Jesus Merino & Allen Passalaqua; Jenny Frison
Editor: Brittany Holzherr; Chris Conroy
$2.99
Publisher: DC Comics

We pick up where we left off with Diana and Etta battling it out with a small army of bounty hunters. A few, such as Plastique and Cheshire, are not only there for the money but because of their own personal history with Diana. The others? They just want to get paid. However, like many, many fools before them, they hadn’t counted on Etta Candy and her ability to kick arse and take names. This issue – for all its focus on Diana’s very real dilemma of the good her DNA could do versus the perception that her body is, in any way, there for public consumption – really belongs to Etta.

People tend to forget that Etta Candy is a military commander and a four-star badass in her own right. Afterall, it’s easy to look past her when you have Diana, in all her Amazonian glory and Steve Trevor, the epitome of the All-American cliche, standing beside her. In a way, it works to Etta’s advantage as it leads to her being underestimated time and again by those around her. On the other hand, it’s also incredibly annoying and brutally real, for both the character and the reader, that the woman of color who’s earned, through blood, sweat and tears, her status is so easily dismissed as a non-entity, unworthy of consideration in the grand scheme of things. Shea Fontana tackles this issue subtly and smartly, picking up seeds that Greg Rucka had scattered throughout his run, and giving them room to grow in hers. It’ll be interesting to see how far Fontana takes this particular path going forward, but I’m definitely here for it.

Inaki Miranda’s artwork is just similar enough to Dave Messina’s style that it’s not as abrupt a change as you would think having another artist on the run, while being different enough that you definitely notice. The all-out melee that occurs is clear and distinct, something that often goes by the wayside when you have this many characters in play over a limited number of panels and as always Romulo Fajardo, Jr.’s colors pop and emphasize every movement. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Saida Temofonte’s lettering here, as it really does help sell the battle and the massive destruction being wreaked in a private neighborhood.

This issue confirms my suspicions about who, exactly, is literally out for Diana’s blood while doing great character work.

Five crushed cars out of Five.