Who Wears Short Shorts?

Wonder Woman #1 (2011)

The latest Wonder Woman #1 (volume umpteenth) didn't have me drooling for more when the issue ended.  Maybe that's because there wasn't much substance to her character at this point.  Or maybe because she was hardly in it.  Or maybe it was the choppy childlike art.

Diana (she prefers to be called by her birth-given name over Wonder Woman) apparently lives in London now, which must be a nod to the events of Flashpoint, wherein the Amazons overtook the United Kingdom as the Atlanteans flooded the rest of Western Europe.  I was hoping that with this latest version, Diana would be battling more earthly villains than gods and getting away from her "sisters" of Themyscira with five-syllable names.  Unfortunately, the gods are still chasing her in this latest volume, and it makes it a bit boring for readers who aren't familiar with the hundreds of Greek gods and Amazons out there.  And -- are we really going to keep the helmet and sword left over from Flashpoint, too?  Diana's SO much better than that.

Wonder Woman #1 (1987)

I think my favorite "version" of Wonder Woman will always be George Perez', circa 1987.  In it, Diana comes to "Man's World" from Paradise Island/Themyscira unfamiliar with protocol, customs, behaviors, etc.  She was a fish out of water.  (No offense, Aquaman.)   It made for some interesting situations as she tried to assimilate into modern times.  It also wasn't all about warrior-like battles; there were empathy and emotional storylines.  Diana connected on a personal level with people. 

The best thing about this newest version of Wonder Woman?  The costume. Gone are the leotards that sparked such controversy a year ago.  Diana's back to wearing her short shorts.  She's also lost any yellow/gold colors to her look, giving her a sleek red, white/silver, and blue look.  Two enthusiastic bullet-deflecting bracelets up for the revised look!  

Will I keep reading Wonder Woman?  Yeah, probably.  If only for moral (mortal?) support.  I think sometimes I like the idea of her more than the stories that people write for her.  A part of me is hoping that one day someone will come along and do her justice...

The W in Wonder Woman stands for WTF

It's not Wonder Woman's fault her comic has never been as popular as Batman...or even Superman.  She's the victim of low standards. 

Wonder Woman #9 (1987)

I've always tried to support the Wonder Woman comic book series so it doesn't face extinction.  I read all 44 issues of the 2006 series reboot, even though I thought all the stories were pretty lame and didn't even come close to the quality of George Perez' reboot in 1987.   Perez utilized a great balance of Diana's past and present lives.  Her innocence and naivety in "man's world" was her charm.  Her character had depth; she was more "human" in her emotions than the humans with whom she came into contact.   Her supporting cast each had distinctive, interesting

In the 2006 series, Wonder Woman was pretty two-dimensional.  She had no substance or personality.  When she wasn't acting as secret agent Diana Prince, her adventures were too steeped in boring mythology.  She had a supporting cast of hundreds, all with unpronounceable and unmemorable names.  Basically, she was/is DC Comics' Thor. 

When I heard about Wonder Woman's latest reboot, I thought, "Hooray!"  I love Gail Simone's writing in the Secret Six and Birds of Prey series, but I didn't feel she (or the writers prior to her) ever did Wonder Woman justice.  I was even looking forward to the much-despised and talked about new costume if it meant that she was finally going to become a first class act. 

Unfortunately, what we -- the readers -- instead received was a confusing tale of some unfamiliar Wonder Woman.  Her origin is different.  Her costume is different.  Her personality is different.  And the stupid white apes she was living with (seriously?) have been replaced by a talking black cat, a la Sabrina the Teenage Witch.   I'm guessing this is leading up to being a Wonder Woman in some parallel universe storyline that will lead into the new Flashpoint event (with a return of her old costume to appease fans), but it's been a lame ride so far.  And, frankly, I'm quite disappointed.  No wonder studios don't want to greenlight a movie -- or even a new TV show -- about our star-spangled heroine.  If DC can't achieve quality in her comic book, who's to say a movie or TV show would do any better?  

Wonder Woman #604 (2011)

After every issue of Wonder Woman, I'm can't help but wonder, "WTF?"  

It's about time someone stepped up to the plate and gave our Amazon Princess her due. 

Wonder Woman Turns 600

The trinity of superheroes at DC Comics are all celebrating milestones this month.  Batman and Superman both reached their 700th issues.  And now there's Wonder Woman, reaching her 600th.  It's not technically her 600th, but since her first volume contained 329 issues, her second 226, and her third 44, if you add them all up, the next issue would be 600.  And that works for me, because I think she deserves to be recognized for surviving so long as an under-appreciated character.  

Wonder Woman's milestone turned out to be the best of the three (save the best for last?).  The first story within Wonder Woman #700 was beautifully written by Gail Simone.  It was drawn by and "inspired by" the ever-fantastic George Perez and I see why.  The tale harkened back to when George Perez took the reigns of Wonder Woman back in the 1980s and gave her a fresh start and look. Diana was a fish out of water back then, and I was very happy to see the return of Julia and Vanessa Kapatelis.  It was a return to the uncomplicated stories that were full of heart and not so Greek god- or Amazonian-based. 

The next two stories featured Power Girl and Superman, respectively.  Two mighty players she could team up with against a powerful villain.  Instead, she dealt with both on a humanistic/personal level.   Power Girl's story was a little silly, but still cute.  I thought it was great that Power Girl looked up to Wonder Woman as an idol, even for the smallest  advice about her cat (no sexual pun intended). 

I'm not quite sure what to think of the last story in the giant-sized issue.  It's a lead-in to the future storyline of Wonder Woman starting in issue #601.  It features Wonder Woman's new costume, which is all abuzz in the news.  To me, the storyline seems kinda Lost-ish.  From my understanding, time has been shifted, Paradise Island has been destroyed, and she had a different origin story, hence the new costume which, by the way, is very Black Canary-ish.  (That's my second "-ish" in case you're keeping count.)  She has to try to get time back in alignment?  At least that's what I got out of it.  Hmmm... I'm not so sure about that direction, if that's what it is.  That seems beyond the scope of Wonder Womandom and a bit overdone.  DC has been doing too much lately with parallel worlds/earths and time travel (Bruce Wayne coming back to "life," Booster Gold bebopping all over the time continuum, bringing Superboy back to life from the future, the Legion of Superheroes going back and forth between their time and ours, etc.).  

I'll keep reading Wonder Woman, though, because I'm curious about her future.  And she needs all the support she can get!  (Again, no sexual pun intended.)  Here's to another 600 issues!  (Let's hope she never has another #1.)