Wonder Woman #23.1: Cheetah Review

I didn’t know what to expect from a whole issue about Cheetah, yet I was wildly impressed with how well writer John Ostrander hit the nail on the head. He explains her origin, establishes her motivation, and gives her a defining character moment, all over the course of a sharply written story that loosely ties into Forever Evil. And the artwork by Victor Ibanez -- totally off the hook! If DC Comics is looking for the next hot creative team, they would be hard-pressed to find a better duo than these two gents.

Ibanez is disgustingly talented. Every single panel is crisp and precise, yet he knows when to break panel borders and add in a splat of gore to keep things interesting. Cheetah is a quick character that leaps from target to target with the speed of the Flash and he captures that perfectly. And when the gruff Mistress Lyta enters the story, her facial expressions of superiority and disgust are so spot-on that it’s like watching a movie starring Judi Dench. In other words, put Ibanez on an ongoing title, stat!

Like I said, I didn’t know what I was going to get with a Cheetah-centric story. Geoff Johns featured her in Justice League, and while he did soup up her powers, I never felt engaged by her. By showing the strange sense of honor in her ways and revealing the unsettling cult-like environment she grew up in, Ostrander creates a detestable yet somewhat sympathetic adversary. This is definitely one of the best Villains Month issues, and with it, I’m now a fan of Cheetah.

Joshua writes for IGN. If Pokemon, Game of Thrones, or Green Lantern are frequently used words in your vocabulary, then you’ll want to follow him on Twitter and IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com