REVIEW: Wonder Woman: Warbringer (Graphic Novel) by Leigh Bardugo

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgally and DC Comics in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary


Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, fashioned a daughter out of clay, and the goddesses gave the girl life and many powers. Some of the Amazons don’t trust Diana, or what her existence might mean for the the island and their people. But Diana is determined to prove herself to everyone – the doubters, her mother and herself – by winning an epic race.

An accident occurs during the race, and Diana breaks one of the most basic rules of Themyscira – she rescues a human named Alia and brings her to the island. This sets off a chain reaction that endangers Diana’s home and all who live there. The girl she saved is a Warbringer, a young woman like Helen of Troy who leaves war and destruction in her wake simply by existing. If Diana lets the girl die, Themyscira will go back to normal. But Diana is determined to save everyone – her family AND Alia. Which means she must make a quest to the human world to overcome Alia’s destiny as a Warbringer.

Review


This was terrific! I think this format worked for the story even better than the full prose novel which published in 2017, the first of the DC Icons books. While I enjoyed the full novel (♥♥♥♥), it felt long at times. I enjoyed the graphic novel format for this so much. This has a Percy Jackson feel with the gods and goddesses, an oracle, and a quest to fight monsters and save the world. I loved the contrast of the Themyscira stories and New York stories when Diana and Alia go to the human world. The art in this is incredibly well done, and it was easy to follow the characters and the story.

I enjoyed the identity pieces of this story. All of the teens in this are dealing with identity issues in and around the quest to save Alia and the world, Their personal quests dovetailed nicely into the larger story and gave this a deeper plot in that way.

This is a rich and meaty story that moves quickly in the graphic novel format. I highly recommend this for Wonder Woman fans, DC fans, graphic novel fans, and readers who enjoyed the original book. While I have not personally clicked with the DC movie universe, their recent novels and graphic novels have been really well done!

DC very generously shared some of the interior art for the book. Here are a few sample pages of what you can expect when you pick up this terrific story!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

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