Wonder Woman

Well, blimey. I’m gone for what? Two weeks? And DC unleashes a deluge of new Wonder Woman comics the likes of which we’ve never seen before.

On the one hand, I’m happy. Things were looking bleak at the end of last year (although my belief that Wonder Woman ’77 had stopped turns out to be incorrect – it’s just taking a long break), but it seems that DC Comics has come up with a cunning plan: all it needs to do is publish twice as many comics every month and sales will double.

Simple, huh?

All the same, and despite the fact that end-of-year schedules can only mean one thing – annuals – there were rather a lot of Wonder Woman titles released in the past two weeks. And since I also took it upon myself to see if I’d missed any Wondy-related comics in the past month or so, I now have a combined total of 15 issues to get through this WWW. That means work. I don’t like work. I’m happy, but I have to work – what a quandry.

So forgive me if rather than doing full-on reviews, I simply highlight a few interesting facts about each issue. I might actually get to go to bed tonight, if I do.

Don’t worry, normal service will resume next Monday – assuming Dan DiDio doesn’t release another 15 titles this week – but if you have any questions about an issue, ask me in the comments section.

So, after this Wonder Woman movie T-shirt, brace yourselves for – deep breath – Aquaman #46-47, Dark Knight III #2, Injustice Gods Among Us Year 5 #3, Justice League of America #6, Justice League #47, Sinestro #18, Superman Annual #3, Superman-Wonder Woman #24, Superman-Wonder Woman Annual #2, The Legend of Wonder Woman #8, Titans Hunt #1-3 and, finally, Wonder Woman #47. 

Continue reading “Weekly Wonder Woman: a stonking 15 comics featuring Wonder Woman”

With TMINE about to go off on its Christmas break, it’s time for the last Weekly Wonder Woman of 2015. It’s been a slightly dispiriting year: although we’ve seen the arrival of Wonder Woman ’77, we’ve also seen its possible departure; Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman has ended its run; neither Superman/Wonder Woman nor Wonder Woman have been lighting up the shelves with their dazzling plots; the gods came and went in Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Four; the big Convergence crossover only succeeded in making the formerly happily married Volume 1 Wonder Woman’s life miserable; and the two new animated movies from DC, Justice League: The Throne of Atlantis and Justice League: Gods and Monsters, haven’t done much for Wondy either.

But there have been a few high points, including the two Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice trailers (1, 2), the return of Donna Troi to the DC Universe, the arrival of DC Bombshells and The Legend of Wonder Woman, an honest-to-goodness Wonder Woman annual, and a few individually decent titles, including Harley Quinn’s Little Black Book #1. So, dear reader, assuming you’re not too busy looking at that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Wonder Woman character poster or watching Lego Wonder Woman do Lego Wonder Woman things…

…why don’t you let everyone know what your favourite (or least favourite) moment or issue of the year was below? 

Alternatively, feel free to enjoy my round-up of last week’s appearances in the DCYou (and other parallel universes) of Wonder Woman in the continuing, somewhat talky The Legend of Wonder Woman #6, the start of a new year, a new threat and a new conception of feminism in Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Five #1, the continuation of portentous narration, the Darkseid War and a screwed up timeline in Justice League #46, and the return of Wonder Woman’s first great enemy in DC Bombshells #22. 

Continue reading “Weekly Wonder Woman: The Legend of Wonder Woman #6, DC Bombshells #22, Justice League #46, Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year 5 #1”

Only one appearance by Diana in the comics world or the movies world last week and that was for The Legend of Wonder Woman #5. A bit of talky one this, with the now grown up Diana chatting first with Alcippe for ages about fighting and the good old days, followed by Diana chatting with her mum, who it turns out has known all about her sparring sessions for years.

But it turns out Diana’s not the only one who’s been sensing bad things on Themyscira – everyone else has, too, so wants Hippolyta to stand down as queen, cos she’s done nothing about it. Guess whom Hippolyta wants to replace her? And who doesn’t want to become queen, because then she’d have to become immortal.

It does feel at this stage a bit like procrastination when the plot should now be picking up in pace. It’s an origin story, after all, and it’s now beginning to feel like the first half of an origin story, rather than the real deal. Author and artist angling for a sequel already?

Two other interesting points: Kangas are canon here. 

And as you’ll note from the above, the Amazons celebrate the Athenian festival of Anthesteria. Why should this be, other than Athenian festivals were the best recorded of all the poleis and therefore the ones we predominantly know about? No idea, but even the Amazons seem to be surprised by having to celebrate it.

Next issue: fate (and action, hopefully) finally arrival on Themisycra.

Rating: 4/7 (artwork: 6/7)

Disclaimer: Owing to the small fortune it would take to buy every single DC comic each week, this is not a guaranteed rundown of all the comics that feature Wonder Woman. If you know of any I’ve missed, email me or leave a comment below and I’ll cover them the following week