The Witching Hour seemed like it was way too quick in the Justice League Dark era for an event, but this has over-delivered in terms of quality, unpredictability and excitement. This has been a fantastic read so far and I'm anxiously anticipating the next installment next week. Read Full Review

It could just be the next arc of Justice League Dark, but it gets bigger and better with every issue. Read Full Review

Wonder Woman (2016-) #56 is a must read issue. The Witching Hour arc is the story you don't want to miss. James Tynion IV's script is clean as the writing both provides background information and moves the plot forward. And Emanuela Lupacchino's artwork is superb, vivid and detailed, expressing the range of emotions this issue will elicit. Read Full Review

Overall this was a solid issue and a great continuation to part one of The Witching Hour. Im looking forward to the next issue to see how Diana copes with the curves coming at her. Read Full Review

This weekly event is coming along quite nicely, and it is so good only having to wait 7 days between issues allowing all the magical and mythological information to stay fresh in the mind that as we explore this new world Tynion is building. Read Full Review

"The Witching Hour" is quickly turning out to be one of the best crossover events in years " yes, even surpassing the event that spawned it, Justice League: No Justice! Tynion has crafted one hell of a story that excels in both narrative and characterization, taking the DC Universe down a path that feels both fresh and original! If you're not reading this story " or Justice League Dark for that matter " you are truly missing out! Read Full Review

Even if you missed the first chapter of The Witching Hour, you shouldnt let that scare you away from picking up this issue of Wonder Woman. Everything is pretty well explained, and you wouldnt feel lost as long as youre willing to wait for Tynion to fill you in later in the book. The story itself is entertaining, and marks the return of the epic magic story that hasnt been seen in a while from DC, so its definitely worth a look if thats what youve been missing from this company. Read Full Review

The Witching Hour continues to impress as we follow Wonder Woman and the Justice League Dark to learn the origin of Hecate. Read Full Review

This is a fun issue. I love the world building; the issue manages a balance between fun and serious. The stakes are real and they are showcased in Manitou Dawn; this threat is intense. But the issue knows that this is kind of bonkers and is able to create a lot of energy and excitement. The art is gorgeous. While Ari and I both have small quibbles, this is a great story that is worth reading. Read Full Review

The Witching Hour storyline continues to be really engrossing and the fact that the story is so dense, but accessible is thanks to James Tynion IV. Read Full Review

A very well told continuation of the 'The Witching Hour' crossover, but perhaps not much of a "Wonder Woman" story in and of itself. Read Full Review

The intrigue of this story is maintained as more succumb to Hecate's witchmark. The dialogue is sharp, the pages will dazzle, this is a good comic book. I don't know if folks new to DC's Dark characters will like it, but they should sure give it a look anyway! Read Full Review

I'm really enjoying this crossover. I really hope that it brings Wonder Woman fans into the world of Justice League Dark. The JLD series is brilliantly written, beautifully drawn and richly deserves fan support. Two issues into the “Witching Hour” storyline and I'm dying to see what happens next. Magic. Read Full Review

This issue explores some of the relationships between members such as Zatanna and John Constantine who have ‘history', including the motivations of characters such as Zatanna and Swamp Thing. Overall, it's a well written issue and perfectly illustrated by Emanuela Lupacchino who brings the characters to life. Read Full Review

Hopefully as the story moves forward, the plot will come into a bit better focus, but fans looking for more horror/supernatural-tinged work should be eating this one up. Read Full Review

A transitory issue that does little more than get pieces into place for what continues to feel like great things to come, this is the weakest entry in Tynion IV's Justice League Dark/Witching Hour story thus far -- but it still has some compelling energy. Read Full Review

Wonder Woman #56 is a poor representation of the entire comics medium, and is best left behind. Read Full Review

Pretty good issue. My first Wonder Woman comic, even though it's not exaactly a Wonder Woman comic. Looking forward to see what happens next, and how connected it is with the Otherkind and the Lords of Order story.

This was pretty good, but it felt like they needed to sacrifice an issue to drop all the exposition and an issue filled with that isn't exactly gripping in its own right, but luckily, Tynion IV is a good writer so it still managed to work well enough.

A bit of a chore to read and the exposition could have been sprinkled out instead of taking up a whole issue, but you know what? It still isn't bad.

"Says the talking chimp driving the boat fulla monsters"

The Witching Hour continues and thanks to it we're getting the first good issue of Wonder Woman in a really long time.
Magic is still going haywire and another young witch is getting possessed by the three-faced goddess Hecate. So Diana and her Dark Justice League don't have much of a choice but to turn to the only person that might know something. Someone who bothered Odysseus back in the day.

I am really enjoying this event so far. It's well written, has a likable cast of characters, the stakes are high enough to make you worry about heroes succeeding or at least about the price of their victory.

The last thing I want to mention is the art in this issue. It's great (it's Emanuela Lupacchino, so no surprise), but the thing I can't get enough are the colors. There're just so vibrant and warm-looking that I can just stare at them endlessly. Especially that last page with Wonder Woman in full combat mode. So good. more

It only gets interesting for me when they arrive at Circes place. The last page is cool. Overall, not as good as the first part of The Witching Hour.

I have no idea where this is headed, and I sort of think that it won't need five issues to get there. But the art is amazing and the script hides a lot of flaws with the plot.

Wonder Woman #56 continues "The Witching Hour" story arc. The Justice League Dark team capture a unicorn and take it as an offering to the ancient Witch known as "The Circle"

Diana reveals that she is afflicted by the Hecate's Witchmark. This causes Circle to embrace her and tell her that the situation will get a lot worse as "The Witching Hour" has begun. 


A Native American hero known as Manitou Dawn is also branded by the Witchmark. It activates on the other side of the world and compels her to leave and seek a mysterious target. 

Circle gives the team the rundown on the Hecate's origin. To protect her power Hecate split it into five pieces and hid them inside of 5 women. As the women grew and died she would pass the power onto someone else, never taking it back. 

With powerful forces such as the Upside Down man appearing, the Hecate has begun activating the Witchmark in her children and seeks to draw it back into herself to protect the world. 

This is seemingly a rational solution but the Hecate has been corrupted and being fully powered would be a disaster. Diana asks The Circle to activate her mark and cast a spell to protect her from the Hecate. 
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Zatanna opposes the idea and she gets into a huge argument with Diana. As this happens Deadman shows up and tells the group that Manitou Dawn is on a rampage. The comic ends as the comic cuts to Wonder Woman, who is now glowing. The Witchmark has been activated. 

Synopsis


This issue provides a huge exposition dump that will probably carry over through the rest of the series. We get details regarding Hecate's backstory and motivations. We are also introduced to the Circle. 

I appreciate the amount of content James Tynion IV provides in this issue. It justifies the cover price but I think the comic may be a tad overwritten. My main gripe is that the book is sort of boring. There isn't really any action in this comic and The Circle comes off as being very pretentious. She's basically a female version the MCU Tony Stark, quips included. Some may enjoy this character, I didn't. 
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The art is serviceable but Emanuela Lupacchino and Romulo Fajardo Jr. didn't get much to work with as most of the issue is confined to a room. The feel of the comic is meh. It's not a terrible time though. The comic does its job filling in the story but honestly, it feels padded. more

from a base of 6, this gets a rating of: 7.
+1 because: not too bad of a story.