The adventures of Yara Flor, Future State’s Wonder Woman (at least the Justice League WW) continue with issue #2! The cover by Joëlle Jones features Yara Flor on her pegasus, Jerry, holding the hair of a vicious Cerebrus, while her companion, Caipora, sits bored on her boar. There is a stone head behind them kinda reminds me of the stone head people in the fantasy film Neverending Story (1984). “Hell To Pay Part Two” is by Joëlle Jones. Yara has created such a disturbance at the boatman’s dock that it brought Cerebrus! She takes on the three-headed, massive dog with burning eyes with a smile. Caipora warns her that the boat is departing! Yara sees this and leaps forward and then in closeup, nice, reaches for her golden boleadoras, the lasso with bolos.
Yara leaps up whirling her boleadoras, she wraps it around Charon’s skeletal arm that has the staff that propels the boat. She tears off the bony arm with a Yoink!, funny sound effect, and catches it. Wonder Woman takes the bony forearm and throws Cerebrus the bone to send him running off. Caipora stays behind as Yara gets on the boat and warns her about leaving behind her anger to reach the “soldier” in the Underworld. Yara sometimes acts impusively, but needs to hold back to reach her objective. I think the warning by Caipora reminds me of the Chris Nielsen’s guide pleading to him as he enters hell in What Dreams May Come (1998). Wonder Woman reaches the shore of the Underworld and walks through a field of flowers, beautiful visual, nice work Jordie Bellaire! She encounters a Grim Reaper figure and asks for help.
The Reaper’s chest glows purple, don’t fear the Reaper Yara!, it strikes the ground with its scythe. This opens up a fissure and Yara falls down the rabbit hole. Wonder Woman collects herself and sees the gruesome form of a Underworld lord with a bull’s skull for a head and red robes. His demon minions want to torture her, but Yara tries to impress them with the Missing Thumb Trick. The lightness of Yara’s humor with the darkness of the Underworld inhabitants makes me think of Sandman’s hell. Then, there is a giant, dark form with blazing red eyes interrupting them. Wonder Woman recognizes that this is Hades. He mentions that there is nothing for Esquecida, Spanish for the “Forgotten.” Yara says she is looking for Potira, but this is defiance to Hades. Then, we see the beautiful form of Persephone, who stays in the Underworld in the winter, and brings new growth to plants in the spring. Her design reminds me of Yoshitaka Amano, manga artist for Vampire Hunter D. She has a long red dress that is split with flowers.
Hades notes that Persephone has appealed to him so he gives Wonder Woman a chance if she can find Potira with the falling of an hourglass. Wonder Woman accepts the offer with the eternal punishment if she fails. Then, we have Yara standing before a sea of grey hands. They start to pull her down, again an image from What Dreams May Come for me, love it. As Wonder Woman struggles, we get Caipora speaking to her outside of the panel, and red images of what Yara is focused on. This is a fun and brilliant use of panels. One image is of Potira’s face and then her fall. We have the red lines of Themyscira flash backs, Potira is holding onto the edge of a cliff with Yara helping her as she carries a spear in her other hand. We see the Underworld scenes matched with the flashbacks as Wonder Woman takes hold of the grey faced Potira with a red streak across her nose. The colors are so important here.
Themyscira, Potira sees that a soldier is about to bring down a spear down on Yara. She throws her spear to save her and falls. Yara screams out reaching for Potira as she falls in flashback. Then, Wonder Woman pulls her from the sea of hands. Yara takes Potira’s hand and the color returns to her face and smile. Hades rages at the success. He sends out swarms of strange, insect creatures. Wonder Woman tells Potira to run through a cavern and then draws her sword. She slices through the spider-like creatures and then kicks to bring down the cavern roof. They start to run, but Yara finds that the collapse has trapped Potira! Light breaks through into the cavern. The Amazons pull Yara up so Hades won’t claim her. The gate to the Underworld, it is Doom’s Doorway protected by the Amazons in Wonder Woman #1 (1987), closes. We see the Amazons in golden armor pieces with grey leggings or skirts and red decorations like Yara Flor’s uniform. This story is not about a hero fulfilling a quest. It shows the flaws that interests Caipora. Not a perfect hero, but one that keeps fighting. A very impressive, mythological Wonder Woman issue. Yara Flor will return as Wonder Girl in May!
Five Boleadoras out of Five!
#FutureStateWonderWoman, #JordieBellaire, #Potira, #Hades
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