Wonder Woman Annual #1

Writers: Greg Rucka, Vita Avala, Michael Moreci, Collin Kelly, and Jackson Lanzing

Artists: Nicola Scott, Claire Roe, Stephanie Hans, and David Lafuente

Colourists: Romulo Fajardo Jr, Jordie Bellaire, Stephanie Hans, and John Rauch

Publisher: DC Comics

Annuals are tough. They're better off when they contain a small handful of stories, but most of them are usually over-stuffed. Since Rebirth began, DC has released two other annuals: Batman and Superman. The Batman one was kind of bad, with too many stories to really get a grasp on any consistent theme. The Superman annual was actually quite good, acting as a extra-sized one-shot, written by Pete Tomasi and Pat Gleason, with Jorge Jimenez on art.

DC was able to keep a consistent theme with the Wonder Woman annual, which was a mostly enjoyable read. Each story highlights Diana's compassion, her morality, and the inspiration she can impart upon others. It seems DC really wants to highlight this before the movie comes out, which I think is a smart move.

There were a few stories here, and they fluctuated in quality. The best one is most definitely the first, written by Greg Rucka with art by Nicola Scott. The artist claims this is her last time drawing the series, which is quite upsetting since her art has gotten even better since her initial arc on the series. The interactions between Batman and Superman were a lot of fun, and Rucka used this to show us a glimpse of the new continuity as a result of the recent Superman Reborn crossover, in which the histories of the pre-Flashpoint Superman and the New 52 Superman merged. Diana barely showed up in this story, which Rucka used to great affect to build up her arrival.

I didn't really care for the next story. Claire Roe was on art, which I'm really bummed about because I liked the premise but I can't stand Roe's art. It's downright ugly and her work on the first arc of Batgirl and the Birds of Prey put me off the series completely.

The rest of the stories were nice little highlights of Diana's character and her influence on people. The art on these stories was solid, but I wish Liam Sharp did a little story for this annual.

Annuals are hard to sell, but I recommend this one. The first story alone might be worth the price of admission itself since the art is so good. The art in the rest of the book has some highs and lows, but doesn't stand up to the quality of the first story.