Nubia & The Amazons #2

Nubia & The Amazons #2

DC Comics 2021

Story by Vita Ayala & Stephanie Williams

Written by Stephanie Williams

Pencilled by Alitha Martinez

Inked by Mark Morales & Emilio Lopez

Coloured by Allen Passalaqua

Lettered by Becca Carey

The unrest surrounding Nubia’s ascension is rising fast! The politics of her new role and responsibilities as guardian of Doom’s Doorway have led to rumblings that she isn’t quite ready to lead. How can she prove her worthiness? As any monarch on Paradise Island would…an Amazon fight club!

I rather liked the first issue and so here we are with the second one and I am still as intrigued and interested as ever. Trouble is brewing in Paradise and as the old saying goes “when it rains it pours.” I’m not sure that I have ever read a story on Themyscira that didn’t involve Diana or Donna in some manner. I’m not even sure that when Hippolyta was a member of the JSA we saw that someone else was Queen of the Amazons. However, now that she’s in man’s world living her daughter’s life, that should be looked at a little more in-depth just saying, we see that the Amazons needed a new Queen and that it was the last soul to be resurrected before the well shut down well that doesn’t go unnoticed. I used to think they were all pretty much equals and that they are portrayed as a caste system of sorts and have the same jealousies and faults as the rest of us is a bit of a let down honestly.

I’m very much enjoying the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a magnificent job bringing their personalities to life. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story we’re caught up like we’re in a spider's web, a labyrinth of beautiful complexity.

I’m impressed with the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I’m also a fan of the way that we see the layers being utilised to open up new avenues to be explored. These avenues, some of which are already underway and others too new to but the potential they represent and how much depth, dimension and complexity it adds to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are impeccably handled.

Interiors are beautifully done. The linework is exquisite and along with the varying weights and techniques that we see being utilised to create the detail within the work that we see is exceptionally well rendered. We see backgrounds being utilised throughout nicely and this expands and enhances the moments. They also work within the composition of the panels and how it brings out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is marvellously rendered. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows an extremely talented eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a great understanding of how colour works.

​

We’re finally seeing an honest look at the Amazons where they aren’t preparing for war, or involved in some conflict with the Gods or Man’s World. It just gives us a different look at the day to day life they lead. Let’s face it we wouldn’t be having a series if there weren’t something happening and the subtlety that we’re seeing in this happening is beyond expectations. The writing is strong and interesting while the characterisation is fascinating and the interiors bring the Island to life exceptionally well.