This week, DC Comics released the Wonder Woman 75th Anniversary Special in honor of the Amazonian princess herself, Diana of Themyscira. The special is filled with writers and artists, many of whom have crafted Wonder Woman yarns in the past, paying tribute to the long and wide history of the Maid of Might.
Fabio Moon, best known for his collaboration with his twin brother Gabriel Ba on Dark Horse’s Two Brothers and Image’s Casanova, provided his own contribution to the celebration of Princess Diana with the three-page tale “The Age of Wonder.” Therein, we see Wonder Woman contend with a three-headed dragon that is terrorizing an urban center, hoping to stave off the beast’s rampage. As Diana squares her shoulders, elsewhere ordinary citizens don the colors and insignias of the hero, running toward the danger, inspired by her example.
Art by Fabio Moon
While Moon’s storytelling prowess is as mighty as the heroes whose journeys he guides, one of the best tools in his skillset is his ability to elevate the seemingly ordinary. There are no pieces of dialogue in the tale, but only narration that details why Wonder Woman is an inspiration to everyone she encounters.
She’s a symbol.
She reminds us we can be more.
Do more.
While Wonder Woman is mighty, Moon suggests that one of the princess’ greatest gifts is her ability to inspire goodness and virtue from each of us, no matter how mundane we see ourselves to be. The Wonder Woman shirts the bystanders wear in the story aren’t just novelty piece of apparel—they’re armor that remind them of their potential for greatness every day. Moon’s art reminds me much of his work in Two Brothers, which served to take the disarmingly ordinary and show why they are extraordinary. Wonder Woman’s fans might not have her strength or stature, but Moon’s facial expressions and postures nod to the fact that the hero awakens something else in her admirers that’s far more valuable: confidence and wonder.
The Wonder Woman 75th Anniversary Special is on sale now from DC Comics.