Nubia and the Amazons

Written by Vita Ayala, Michael Conrad, Becky Cloonan, Stephanie Williams, illustrated by Alitha Martinez, Dominike Stanton, and Darryl Banks, inked by Mark Morales, colored by Emilio López, Allen Passalaqua, and Romulo Fajardo Jr., lettered by Becca Carey

At the end of the events of Infinite Frontier, Wonder Woman is gone, Queen Hippolyta has been killed, and Themyscera needs a new leader. Nubia leaves her post guarding the Doom's Doorway to become the leader, but her first task must be to replace the guardian of the Door. Strangely, four women come through the Well of Souls, which hasn’t happened in several decades since Nubia came through. An evil force uses these new people and some of the other inhabitants to threaten Nubia and the sanctity of life on the island. All of the Themyscerians must work together, and their new leader must prove her worth in handling this threat and keeping the island safe.

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This comic starts off with a higher level of prerequisite knowledge, but a little googling of the Infinite Frontier storyline will get readers right on track. After that initial hurdle, this comic is all about Nubia and the life on Themyscira. There is a lot of dialogue and relatively little action compared to other comicbook stories, but with it comes a lot of character-building and intrigue. There is a lot of focus on the politics of Themyscira and the different roles Amazonians have on the islands to create a harmonious society. The writers also focus quite a bit on Nubia's relationship with Io, as well as some other couplings amongst the Amazons. The last issue is part of Trial of the Amazons, so it would probably be a good idea to purchase both books.

The illustrative team and put together some really bright and vibrant panels full of beautiful details of Themyscira and some really well designed characters. The Amazons all look powerful and stoic, even if they're sitting in the background of panels. 

DC rates this for Teen+, possibly for violence and the LGBTQ+ themes that often elevate books on publishers' rating systems.

Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

Publisher: DC Comics
Publication Date: September 6, 2022
ISBN: 9781779516671 (Hardcover)

​Tags: Rating: 8/10, Suitability: High School, Comicbooks, Action Adventure, Superheroes, Mythology, LGBTQ+, DC Comics