Creators (because breaking them all out may drive me insane! O,o ):
Adam Hughes/George Pérez (♥!) (covers--Pérez shown); Lynda Carter (prologue); Adam Hughes (pinup); Gail Simone (♥!), George Pérez (♥! again!), Scott Koblish, Hi-Fi, Travis Lanham("Valedictorian"); Nicola Scott (♥!), Jason Wright (pinup); Ivan Reis, Oclair Albert, Rod Reis (pinup); Amanda Conner, Paul Mounts, John J. Hill ("Fuzzy Logic"); Guillem March (pinup); Greg Horn (pinup); Francis Manapul, Brian Buccelato (pinup); Phil Jimenez, Hi-Fi (pinup); Louise Simonson, Edward Pansica, Bob Wiacek, Pete Pantazis, Travis Lanham ("Firepower"); Jock (pinup); Shane Davis, Jamie Mendoza, Nei Ruffino (pinup); Geoff Johns, Scott Kolins, Michael Atiyeh, Nick J. Napolitano ("The Sensational Wonder Woman"); J. Michael Straczynski, Don Kramer, Michael Babinski, Alex Sinclair, Travis Lanham ("Odyssey: Prologue--Culture Shock"); Jim Lee, J. Michael Straczynski (afterword); Sean Ryan (associate editor); Brian Cunningham (editor) *whew!*
(Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston)
Comic Book Week: June 30th, 2010
So big news! I'm back! ☺
Little joke! ^9,9^
See, I found out I have a kindof famous kindof fan, so I couldn't very well sit by and disappoint her (or him!) could I? And then issue 600 of the second greatest female hero (*cough* supergirl *cough*) IN THE WORLD drops! Kismet!
Oh! And have you heard? Diana went shopping? But that doesn't happen until the the end of the book, so let us start at the beginning.
George Pérez cover. Adam Hughes is nice. George Pérez is "Péreztastic"! And no, Perez Hilton, you can't have it! :-b
Prologue by the lovely Lynda Carter on page 1. Funny but that threw me! It works if a book has a hardcover, but somehow in a comic book it's disorienting! But what she says is as beautiful as she is (Oh my gods! How can she look that good at her age! Not that she's old........but she could quite easily pass for half her age and STILL look good!).
Adam Hughes' pinup is pretty, but cropping the elephant Diana's lifting out of the picture just makes it all the more "cheesecakey". Hmmm......
The wonderful Gail Simone teams up with the magnificent George Pérez to say goodbye to Princess Diana. The story is short and does more to highlight Pérez than Simone, but I think it covers all the bases. Really would have liked it to be less "compressed". And although I have read mixed reviews, I for one would like to thank Ms. Simone for her Wonder Woman run. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if I can't say that I'm completely disappointed, since I get my girlz in the Birds of Prey back! Yay! ツ*
Nicola Scott's pinup is gorgeous and powerful and sexy and regal! Nicola Scott IS Wonder Woman! ツ*
Ivan Reis' pinup is also beautiful but it looks like it started with a story that didn't go anywhere.........hmmmm.......!
The next story "Fuzzy Logic" looks like it was just pulled off the shelf from some unused bits of the Power Girl series. Not that it isn't good! To the contrary, Amanda Conner's artwork is always so much fun! She is a mistress storyteller and a joy to read. And the story was SO much fun too! I got to the end and wondered were Palmiotti and Grey had pulled this from, so I turned back to the first page........OMG! It was written by the amazing Ms. Conner! I had no idea! But getting back to the story itself, the purpose doesn't seem to be anything beyond showcasing a mostly forgotten "Wonder-Power". Not sure why it was included, although I am so glad it was! ツ*
Guillem March's pinup is pretty. But its just a pinup.
Greg Horn's pinup is pretty. But its just a pinup (and very dark!).
Francis Manapul's pinup is pretty. But its just a pinup.
Phil Jimenez's pinup is...............ABSOLUTELY MAGNIFICENT!!!!! ツ**** Do you think he would be offended if I said Phil Jimenez IS Wonder Woman? 9,9
The next story is "Firepower", and it reads like a Brave and the Bold submission that never got printed, as Diana teams up with Superman to take on a forgotten golden age villain, Aegeus. Okay, not completely forgotten, and a smart update on him that makes him look credible, but the story just doesn't seem to fit.....other than proving that "Weezy" is a pretty good writer and this Pansica guy draws a pretty darn nice Wondie and Supey! Very Pérezish! ツ*
Jock's pinup is pretty, but it looks more like Elektra! ^O,o^
Shane Davis' pinup is pretty. But..........actually it's quite pretty! I'd like to see his version of Supergirl.......hmmmmmm.........
Scott Kolins' pinup is..........oh wait! This is a story! Silly me! But did they really need Geoff Johns to write this seemingly unrelated string of pretty pictures to somehow transition into the last story? Gotta say, this one's a bit of a "booooooo!"
And with that we get a glimpse of the Straczynski and Kramer Wonder Woman. You may, like I did, have read about Diana's new origin and seen her new costume. You may, like I did, have thought this must be a joke, right? Well, this story proves it's not a joke. It's actually an alternate reality! So don't worry......I'm sure all will go back to normal in a couple of months. Although, the Straczynski afterward doesn't completely fill me with confidence. Fortunately, I like the way Kramer draws the new costume better than Lee so.........
That new costume thing actually made me angry. And I came up with this long rant that I was going to write about it. Then I read the story and realized that I think I, along with many others, probably over-reacted. But I still want to rant so let me first get this issue's rating out of the way (and as with the other "jam" issues I've reviewed in the past, I'm just giving one rank, but I hope my review clears up which parts were the best and which were not so good)..........
And now...........
Dear, DC;
You know that I love you like a member of my own family, but we have to talk.
This thing with Wonder Woman's costume has to stop. Yes, it's impractical for fighting bad guys, but so is that mammoth cape that Batman wears! (Especially acrobatic Bat-wing! ;9) And yes it shows a lot of skin. But, boys, as a girl, let me let you in on a little secret: we don't really care that much! Most of us actually WANT to look sexy from time to time, we just don't want to be sex objects! We like to be pretty, sometimes just for ourselves. It makes us feel good! And because of that, if I had Diana's body I'D WEAR HER COSTUME, TOO! It's not like she's Vampirella (and PLEEEZ don't get me started on Vampirella!).
Wonder Woman's costume is iconic. The reason it's still mostly the same as it was in the 1940s is because IT WORKS! And this whole pants thing, I think, has been blown way out of proportion. When the right artist draws Diana's "bottoms", they work. Not as a thong, not as a g-string, but as we used to call them in Volleyball "bum-huggers". Women wear them all the time to play sports. And you don't see wardrobe malfunctions all over the news, do you? Speaking from experience, it's the top half that's the problem. Diana's "assets" in the real world would have trouble being contained in anything strapless, but COMICS AREN'T THE REAL WORLD!! And she has that breastplate to help.
The key to Wonder Woman is defined in this very issue, first in the prologue by Lynda Carter, and then by the best artists of the issue: George Pérez, Nicola Scott, and Phil Jimenez. Treat Diana as a real woman, with respect and poise and dignity and intelligence and grace and, yes, sometimes even a little sex appeal, and her costume works. And Wonder Woman works.
And one more thing, just before I sign off: please DO NOT HAVE JIM LEE REDESIGN WOMEN'S COSTUMES ANYMORE!!! I'm sorry. I LOVE Jim Lee's art! His work on "Hush" was AMAZING!!!! Especially the "wash" scenes........absolutely breathtaking! But what he did to the Huntress's costume, and Wonder Woman's costume, and many others..........just no! The previous Huntress costume was to me a classic in the making! The all leather bodysuit, with purple straps indicating a subtle "H" and the gold crucifix, just screamed off the page! Her current costume only started to not make me sick to my stomache once Ed Benes tweeked it in Birds of Prey (and the navel-gazing window is still silly!).
Once again, I still love you, but I want MY Wonder Woman back! *hugs and kisses!*
Love,
♥ Kara ♥
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