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This month, an extra-long column with my thoughts on
the new Wonder Woman #1 in the "burning questions"
format . . .
Q:
So Donna Troy is Wonder Woman! Shocked? Surprised?
Did you see this coming?
A:
No, I knew very little going into this, only that
"hot" writer Allan Heinberg was writing it & the
Dodsons were doing the artwork. Kinda weird seeing
Donna in the role, but I liked it a bit more than I
thought I would. Supes, Bats and Wonder Woman have all
had others wear their costumes, assume the mantle
before (Artemis, in WW's case), so here we go again.
Q:
You sound like this won't last.
A:
Well, aside from Wally West's Flash, I can't think
of any other protege that's kept their mentor's role.
There's that, and I think Heinberg is only gonna be
around for five issues (He's really not known for his
comic tenure/longevity, presumably to due to his tv
commitments (O.C. or Grey's Anatomy or whatever).
Further, in the new JLA preview in Wizard, Wonder
Woman is referred to as "Diana."
But there's a BIG "but." But, if the fans eat this up
(see Jason Todd), I can envision some sorta scurrying
on DC's end to prolong (read: milk) this, someway
somehow.
Q:Heh. I bet the Perez WW fans are pissed. Any
specific gripes?
A:
I rarely troll the boards looking at others'
opinions, but this time I did; and yeah, I saw some
upset folks.
You had the camp that states this regresses the
character BACK and not forward. Many complained that
Donna came off as a "damsel in distress," and
certainly didn't seem like a seasoned heroine with
Amazon training. There's a "shock" splash last page
where we see secret agent Diana Prince; decked out in
a tight white bodysuit, which I took as a nod to the
non-powered Wonder Woman era from the late '60s/early
'70s. Some question why Diana would be involved in ANY
form of the US government. Those seemed like the big
three beefs.
Q:
Okay, well, what about the newbies? Wasn't this
supposed to attract new readers? Did they like it?
A:
Of the folks who said they were new, I think the
majority of them liked it. I think there only problem
was that Giganta's origin seemed implausible and
silly. But they did like this was a good jumping on
point. There were recaps of not just Wonder Woman and
Donna, but the villains Cheetah and Giganta.
Q:
A:
Yes, I did; there was more to like than dislike.
This was a briskly paced book with a LOT going on and
to take in (read: It was NOT boring!). I liked that
Cheetah was human again. I liked that Steve Trevor was
younger. I loved the old villains. I liked the nod to
the late '60s non-powered, white jumpsuit Diana
Prince. I liked the mention that the lasso compels
someone to just tell the truth, not obey the person
holding it (contradicting some mythos here). I liked
the reappearance of Sarge Steel and Nemesis, though I
thought he was killed off in Catwoman's book years ago
(one of the better comic book deaths).
The artwork was gorgeous. There was some specific
panels where it looked like Frank Cho was channeled
and drew Wonder Woman and Diana Prince himself; very
busty, thick thighs. (Cheetah had the cleavage working
too!)
I didn't like that Donna's lasso got taken in a pretty
flimsy way; and there was no mention of Etta. I didn't
like that I really can't tell the difference between
Donna and Diana, facially. WTF is up with that? Back
in the day, they looked different. Here it's like
Nightwing/Dick Grayson and Jason Todd looking like
identical twins over his title. Gimme a break.
Q:
A:
Well, if this was a big step backwards, how come
there wasn't any ('40s) bondage in it, eh? Seriously,
you can't please everybody. While Perez's Wonder Woman
had a strong following, not everybody liked it, and
some wanted their "old" Wonder Woman back. I doubt
it's possible for any creator to come up with a
version of the heroine which will please everyone. If
Diana is coming back, is there gonna be yet ANOTHER
relanch? (Maybe a question of "when," not "if.") But
if this version is your thing, enjoy the moment.
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