Phil Hunn
Feb 16, 2008, 09:39 pm
<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/dc/0208/WW2_Cv17.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/dc/0208/WW2_Cv17t.jpg" hspace=10 align=left alt="Wonder Woman #17 preview"></a> Reviewer: Phil Hunn, philiphunn@hotmail.com
Story Title: The Circle, Part Four Of Four: A Time Of Reckoning
”The Megalodons have your scent now, Nazi.”
Writer: Gail Simone
Penciler: Terry Dodson & Ron Randall
Inks: Rachel Dodson & Ron Randall
Colors: Alex Sinclair & Pete Pantazis
Letters: Rob Leigh
Assoc. Editor: Nachia Castro
Editor: Matt Idelson
Wonder Woman created by: William Moulton Marsden
Published By: DC Comics (www.dccomics.com)
Gail Simone has breathed new life into Wonder Woman in the course of only a few issues. Where once Diana was floundering in a tepid sea of mediocre stories and delays, she has now been raised right back to where she belongs, as a centrepiece of the DC universe. By concentrating as much on Diana as a person as well as a superhero, Simone is building a far more well-rounded version of the character than we’ve seen in a good long time. Her trademark humour has had effects here and there (most obviously in the shape of the super-intelligent warrior apes and their poop-flinging antics), but in the main this has been an extremely serious take on the amazing Amazon, with some quite brutal, bloody violence mixed in with its comedic moments – which is a mark of Ms Simone’s exceptional talents as a writer, I think. To mix such feather-light whimsy with some really quite gruesome splatters of gore is a feat that should be lauded a great deal.
The issue is an examination of both Diana’s role to the Amazon people as of now, and of her life since her creation, as the story as a whole has been. With mentions of Diana’s birthday both in the present and in flashbacks, the emphasis is on how Diana has affected people in her life so far, from her birth to her current role as Wonder Woman, and how that one event has sent ripples through Amazon society that are only now beginning to be resolved. The ideas presented here are extremely interesting, with notes of tangible jealousy and yearning echoing through the thoughts and dialogue of some of the main players. It’s wonderful to see even characters with small roles being given their own voices and attitudes (which, especially in the case of Captain Nazi’s numerous minions, are often extremely objectionable), and it’s fascinating to see that even in Amazon society, Wonder Woman is not as universally loved as had been previously shown. This gives the otherwise fantastical Amazonian society a great touch of multilayered realism, and the conflict that it has inspired is very emotionally wrenching as a consequence.
In addition, we get to see some intriguing insights into how Diana is handling her new status quo of being vulnerable to pain (and to other unpleasant sensations that we mere mortals have to deal with every day) in her civilian identity. Since it’s something she’s never really had to deal with, the new sensations are very difficult for her to process, and that confusion and puzzlement are very well-illustrated here. Indeed, Diana’s inner thoughts have been a prevalent fixture of this storyline as a whole, and have been getting progressively less and less abstract and distracted as the story has gone on – to the point where they are full of anger, rage and the will to extract vengeance on her enemies. And while the image of Diana applying war-paint made from her own blood is somewhat startling, and took me aback somewhat, in this context it makes a lot of sense.
Terry Dodson’s art is joined this month by another guest artist, Ron Randall, and the difference between the two is accentuated not just by their individual styles but by the fact that Randall’s scenes are nowhere near as glossy or polished as those of Dodson. Since Randall has inked his own work, I can only assume that he has done this on purpose, either out of habit or because he wanted his art to stand out against the regular art team. Either way, the contrast is marked, and actually quite welcome – as beautiful as the Dodsons’ art is, it’s nice to get a bit of variation once in a while.
All in all, Simone’s first story-arc on Wonder Woman can be safely counted as a rousing success, with the amazing Amazon returning to a solid footing after the upheaval that led to this renumbering in the first place. It seems Diana has found the best writer for her at this moment, and I for one am very glad about that. Fresh, funny and dramatic, Simone’s Wonder Woman has rejuvenated the character. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing more of this run, if the writing can be kept at this calibre...
OVERALL:
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Buy Wonder Woman #17 online now from X-WORLD and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopexd.asp?id=25063)
Story Title: The Circle, Part Four Of Four: A Time Of Reckoning
”The Megalodons have your scent now, Nazi.”
Writer: Gail Simone
Penciler: Terry Dodson & Ron Randall
Inks: Rachel Dodson & Ron Randall
Colors: Alex Sinclair & Pete Pantazis
Letters: Rob Leigh
Assoc. Editor: Nachia Castro
Editor: Matt Idelson
Wonder Woman created by: William Moulton Marsden
Published By: DC Comics (www.dccomics.com)
Gail Simone has breathed new life into Wonder Woman in the course of only a few issues. Where once Diana was floundering in a tepid sea of mediocre stories and delays, she has now been raised right back to where she belongs, as a centrepiece of the DC universe. By concentrating as much on Diana as a person as well as a superhero, Simone is building a far more well-rounded version of the character than we’ve seen in a good long time. Her trademark humour has had effects here and there (most obviously in the shape of the super-intelligent warrior apes and their poop-flinging antics), but in the main this has been an extremely serious take on the amazing Amazon, with some quite brutal, bloody violence mixed in with its comedic moments – which is a mark of Ms Simone’s exceptional talents as a writer, I think. To mix such feather-light whimsy with some really quite gruesome splatters of gore is a feat that should be lauded a great deal.
The issue is an examination of both Diana’s role to the Amazon people as of now, and of her life since her creation, as the story as a whole has been. With mentions of Diana’s birthday both in the present and in flashbacks, the emphasis is on how Diana has affected people in her life so far, from her birth to her current role as Wonder Woman, and how that one event has sent ripples through Amazon society that are only now beginning to be resolved. The ideas presented here are extremely interesting, with notes of tangible jealousy and yearning echoing through the thoughts and dialogue of some of the main players. It’s wonderful to see even characters with small roles being given their own voices and attitudes (which, especially in the case of Captain Nazi’s numerous minions, are often extremely objectionable), and it’s fascinating to see that even in Amazon society, Wonder Woman is not as universally loved as had been previously shown. This gives the otherwise fantastical Amazonian society a great touch of multilayered realism, and the conflict that it has inspired is very emotionally wrenching as a consequence.
In addition, we get to see some intriguing insights into how Diana is handling her new status quo of being vulnerable to pain (and to other unpleasant sensations that we mere mortals have to deal with every day) in her civilian identity. Since it’s something she’s never really had to deal with, the new sensations are very difficult for her to process, and that confusion and puzzlement are very well-illustrated here. Indeed, Diana’s inner thoughts have been a prevalent fixture of this storyline as a whole, and have been getting progressively less and less abstract and distracted as the story has gone on – to the point where they are full of anger, rage and the will to extract vengeance on her enemies. And while the image of Diana applying war-paint made from her own blood is somewhat startling, and took me aback somewhat, in this context it makes a lot of sense.
Terry Dodson’s art is joined this month by another guest artist, Ron Randall, and the difference between the two is accentuated not just by their individual styles but by the fact that Randall’s scenes are nowhere near as glossy or polished as those of Dodson. Since Randall has inked his own work, I can only assume that he has done this on purpose, either out of habit or because he wanted his art to stand out against the regular art team. Either way, the contrast is marked, and actually quite welcome – as beautiful as the Dodsons’ art is, it’s nice to get a bit of variation once in a while.
All in all, Simone’s first story-arc on Wonder Woman can be safely counted as a rousing success, with the amazing Amazon returning to a solid footing after the upheaval that led to this renumbering in the first place. It seems Diana has found the best writer for her at this moment, and I for one am very glad about that. Fresh, funny and dramatic, Simone’s Wonder Woman has rejuvenated the character. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing more of this run, if the writing can be kept at this calibre...
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dcfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dcfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dcfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dcfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/dcnone.jpg
Buy Wonder Woman #17 online now from X-WORLD and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopexd.asp?id=25063)