Wonder Woman #36

Writer: James Robinson

Artist: Carlo Pagulayan

Inkers: Jason Paz and Sean Parsons

Colourist: Romulo Fajardo Jr.

Letterer: Saida Temofonte

James Robinson continues to disappoint me with this run, which really weighs heavy on my heart since I'm a big fan of Robinson. The clear issue to me is that so much of his issues are complete and utter filler, this issue included. There's enough story here to fill half an issue but Robinson simply drags out the two main plotlines as much as he can without giving the reader enough.

These two main plotlines involve Wonder Woman being captured by Grail and her brother Jason, and the other involves Giganta and her interrogation by Steve Trevor and Amanda Waller. The Giganta section of the story can be condensed into a few sentences or less, which would take up about a page in total. What we get instead is four pages of this scene, with most of the dialogue being boring filler. It's really frustrating, because this should have been the second or third issue of this arc but it's actually the sixth. Nothing has happened in these six issues, aside from the reveal that Jason was actually evil, as well as the final few pages of this issue.

Without spoiling much, Darkseid appears in this issue and I loved Robinson's take on the character. Maybe it's because we haven't seen Darkseid in a long time, but his dialogue was absolutely great and his presence definitely made a difference in the book.

One of my favourite artists, Carlo Pagulayan, is finally back on the book. I'm a huge fan of his style and he really gets a chance to let loose with the action scenes here, much like his first issue of the arc. I wish he was able to provide more consistent art for a monthly book, but I'll have to settle for what I get here.

This issue is so incredibly disappointing and could have been tedious to read save for Robinson's take on Darkseid and Pagulayan's stellar artwork. The events of this issue should have happened a long time ago instead of those awkward flashback issues we've been getting. I'm afraid the next issue will also be a flashback issue it Robinson follows his pattern.