Weekly Wonder Woman

Yes, it’s Sunday, but here’s Weekly Wonder Woman anyway. After all, Bank Holiday Monday stopped the last WWW and I’m going to be away on Monday, so I’m thinking I need to do something. So much for resting on the seventh day.

It’s been a busy old fortnight for Diana, as you also might have noticed. For the first time in 75 years, she’s appeared in a movie – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – as well as a number of comics, including DC Comics: Bombshells #36-37, Justice League of America #8, Teen Titans #18, The Legend of Wonder Woman #20-21, Wonder Woman ’77 #20 and Wonder Woman #50. All those will be reviewed to varying degrees after the jump.

However, the big comics news has come from the recent DC Comics ‘Rebirth’ press conference, ‘Rebirth’ being the new reboot/tinkering with the current DCYou/nu52 universe that’s going to come into effect once everything’s got to issue #52 (June). As well as the nu52 Superman being replaced in some way by the pre-Flashpoint Superman who’s currently married to Lois Lane and has a super kid, Wonder Woman is going bi-weekly.

Originally, Marguerite Bennett was going to be writing this title, but rumour has it that:

I am told that after a few issues were written and approved, that the editor of Wonder Woman was suddenly changed and Marguerite Bennett was gone as well. And that she would be replaced on the book by a higher profile writer.

Indeed, the big surprise is that said higher profile writer is none other than Greg Rucka, who once foreswore off working with DC Comics ever again after some behind the scenes ructions. Rucka, of course, is responsible for one of Wondy’s most notable runs – the final few issues of Volume 2, during which he revamped the gods, brought in a whole roster of much-loved characters and did all kinds of top things… that were then completely erased in the transition to Volume 3. He also wrote one of the most iconic single stories in Wonder Woman’s history, The Hiketeia.

However, given Dan DiDio’s current plan to increase DC Comics’ revenues is basically to print twice as many comics, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Rucka is actually going to be doing two stories with the now bi-weekly Wonder Woman: the odd numbered issues will be a contemporary story called Wonder Woman: The Lies, drawn by Liam Sharp, in which Wonder Woman “discovers that some of the facts she’s taken as truth are… brittle under closer examination. She sets off to separate the lies from the truth.” In part, that’s going to stem from her Lasso of Truth no longer working for her (apparently).

Meanwhile, even-numbered issues are going to be set ‘ten years ago’ (whatever that means in the DCYou), presumably when Wonder Woman was still back on Paradise Island. That’ll be illustrated by Nicola Scott.

At some point, the two storylines will intersect.

What it all means, we’ll have to see for sure, but as with Khaniger’s #105, in which the ‘true’ origin of Wonder Woman was revealed, I imagine that a fair old bit of retconning will go on. Whether it’ll all be about making the Amazons lovely and wise again, rather than man-raping, xenophobic murderers, I can’t say, but it seems likely. I think, given where the movie universe is going, it is unlikely that Wondy’s being daughter of Zeus will be dropped in favour of her being made of clay again, but you never know.

If you want to find out more, Rucka has given an interview to Word Balloon where he discusses everything (within the limits of his NDA).

Lastly, before we jump, we’ve also had our first glimpse of the Amazons in Wonder Woman, with Diana’s mother, Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen), and her two aunts General Antiope (Robin Wright) and Antiope’s lieutenant, Menalippe (Lisa Loven Kongsli). 

“Themyscira is influenced by the Greek but it’s clearly more then that,” producer Charles Roven tells the outlet. “It’s a place that has the ‘you’ve never been to’ kind of feel. But once you’re there you’re not so sure you really want to leave so fast.” ​

Continue reading “Weekly Wonder Woman: Batman v Superman, Teen Titans #18, Justice League of America #8 and more”

Great Hera! What’s that? The first ever film appearance of Wonder Woman is due this Friday but Weekly Wonder Woman is taking a break next Monday because it’s a Bank Holiday? Something’s got to be done about that. I’m not sure what, but something. Let’s see what happens next week.

This week, however, we’ve had a few appearances by Wondy in the comics world. Over in DC Comics: Bombshells, one of the Justice League has to die – but is it Diana? Meanwhile, in Superman-Wonder Woman, there’s some fighting to be done. Plus ça change, hey? Speaking of French, over in The Legend of Wonder Woman, Paris has been liberated from the Nazis with a bit of help from Diana, but the war’s not yet over. That includes the war on foreign languages. While a few years later in Wonder Woman ’77, there’s some undercover action as Diana faces off against one of Odysseus’ many enemies, somewhere near the Panama Canal – can you guess which one it is?

All that after the jump, but we’ve had a brief crossover with the movie world, too, with Gal Gadot getting interviewed about Wonder Woman in the back of various DC Comics. Here’s what she had to say:

Continue reading “Weekly Wonder Woman: DC Comics – Bombshells #35, Superman-Wonder Woman #27, The Legend of Wonder Woman #19, Wonder Woman ’77 #19”

Although Wonder Woman is once again occupying parts of the UK during filming – this time, King’s Cross station in London – it’s a slightly less hectic pace in comics for the Amazon queen, with only four appearances this week.

After the jump, the fight against Baroness von Gunther, her rainbow death seahorse and her octopus of doom continues in DC Comics: Bombshells, while rotoscoped Lynda Carter Wonder Woman has to deal with a cult full of aliens over in Wonder Woman ’77. Meanwhile, Diana and Superman continue their interminable fight against Vandal Savage and family in Action Comics #50, while in The Legend of Wonder Woman, the day has finally arrived when not only does Diana become Wonder Woman, but Etta Candy gets to say ‘Woo woo!’

Continue reading “Weekly Wonder Woman: Action Comics #50, DC Comics: Bombshells #34, The Legend of Wonder Woman #18, Wonder Woman ’77 #18”

Apparently, there was more filming of Wonder Woman over the weekend on some A-road northwest of London. I know this because it stopped my sister-in-law getting home from her mum’s on time. Can’t tell you what was being filmed, mind – that’s how good I am at news.

In other Wondy news, though, lots of releases in the past two weeks which I’ll review at different levels of sketchiness this week. In DC Bombshells, the Bombshells are lezzing up while fighting the Battle of Britain with the help of Steve Trevor, Wondy and her death horse. But Baroness von Gunther is back and she has a new horse of her own…

In Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year 5, alternative Wondy is having to deal with Bizarro Superman, while in Justice League, both Wondy and Steve Trevor are having to deal with all manner of godly and Amazon challenges.

Vandal Savage (and family) are continuing their attempts at world domination in Superman-Wonder Woman and Superman, while the Kryptonite-fuelled Superman isn’t quite sure whether Wondy is his girlfriend or ex-girlfriend… even if Wondy seems pretty sure.   

Over in Teen Titans, Wondy’s having to put up with some young superheroes burgling her flat to steal a stone head, while in The Legend of Wonder Woman, Diana is getting ready to strap on a very familiar outfit to fight the war in Europe. Be braced for another one of my helpful lessons in modern Greek while we’re at it.

And lastly, it’s time for a Very Special Wonder Woman ’77, in which we learn that killing elephants is bad.  

All that after the jump. But first, it turns out that The Legend of Wonder Woman now has a trailer. Be warned: as well as spoilers for already published issues, there’s a glimpse or two of issues to come, as well as some synth orchestra music straight out of a low budget smartphone game developed in the former Yugoslavia.

Continue reading “Weekly Wonder Woman: DC Comics: Bombshells #32-33, Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year 5 #11, Justice League #48, Superman #49, Superman-Wonder Woman #26, Teen Titans #17, The Legend of Wonder Woman #16-17, Wonder Woman ’77 #16-17”