Sunday, July 31, 2011

Wonder Woman #4 (February, 2007)



The Bunny Bar. San Jose, California. Home to human trafficking no more. “…In Circe’s first twelve hours as Wonder Woman… she’s liberated over two thousand women on three different continents. And murdered every man who stood in her way.” Unlike the persecution of Princess Diana, Circe’s killings were going unchecked. It would be especially difficult to stop her, with the powers of Diana, Donna Troy, and Cassandra Sandsmark at Circe's disposal.

The JSA were helping the heroines with their power loss, and Stargirl insisted that between the JLA and Zatanna’s contacts in sorcerous spheres, no stone need go unturned. Diana refused all their aid, feeling such a mass assault would be figured into any trap laid by Circe. Cassie felt Diana had given up, but had no right to bundle her own Zeus-bestowed powers with Wonder Woman's stolen identity. The more agreeable Donna also intended to have that discussion with Zatanna.

Diana Prince couldn’t stop them, so instead allowed them to serve as a distraction during her own gambit involving the depowered Hercules and an Invisible Jet. “Not as invisible as the one I had as Wonder Woman, but my friend at Waynetech tells me it’s the latest stealth technology.” Diana admitted to Hercules that she missed being Wonder Woman, but teaching peace was the reason she came to Man’s World. “Actually, it turns out mankind never asked for my instruction. Nor does it believe in my gods, who-- it turns out-- are not all that peaceful themselves.”


Diana Prince and Hercules landed on “The Greek island of Aeaea, Circe’s home for the last few thousand years.” Prince provided a tranq gun for any roaming beastiamorphs, and the moly herb to counteract any attempts to turn Hercules into one of them. Circe was immediately aware of their presence and attacked. After Hercules’ rape of Diana’s mother and enslavement of the Amazons, Circe couldn’t believe Diana with ally with him. Penance and forgiveness were spoken of, and Diana was able to wrangle the Lasso of Truth back, which she used to gain mobility through a winged beastiamorph burning to help undo Circe’s spells.

Diana Prince reached Circe’s temple, and within it her grimoire, before being tied up with Wonder Girl’s Lasso of Lightning. Given the chance, Diana’s own rage might have fueled her agony, but Hercules got the drop on Circe before it could be fully employed. Diana could use her Lasso of Truth to trick Circe into saying the spell necessary to restore everyone’s powers, but Hercules got the drop on Prince before it could be fully employed. Just as Circe had hoped she wouldn’t have to kill a powerless princess, Hercules had hoped to make her his bride, but both had realized Diana was too dangerous to live. “Mankind doesn’t need a godly hero to save it from itself… it needs a god to worship and obey.”

“…When Athena decided to withdraw Olympus from the earthly plane,” Hercules decided to journey to the underworld in search of the God of War, but found Circe instead. The pair decided to team-up and love-up, until Circe managed to betray Hercules before he could do the same to her. Diana pulled her gun on Hercules, who threw Circe’s tiara at her. Diana caught it, and with a well placed throw retrieved the moly and the Lasso of Lightning. Hercules tried to compel Circe to transfer everyone’s powers to him, but Diana understood a new spell couldn’t be cast before the old one was reversed. Restored as Wonder Woman, Diana was prepared for a fight, and one had certainly found her. She was surrounded by the Cheetah, Dr. Psycho, Giganta, and many more…

Part four of “Who is Wonder Woman?” was by Allan Heinberg, Terry & Rachel Dodson. The book was already very late, thanks to the writer, so this would be his last regular issue. The story would finally wrap up months later in an annual, which as I recall was among a very few released that year (not that the industry has exactly been flush with them over the past decade or so.) I liked the idea of Wonder Circe, since it paid off on the influence Diana had over Donna Milton, and the softening of Circe's character ever since. At the same time, Circe's engaging in a feminist crusade seems to go too far the other way, and it's never really addressed why it would be such a bad idea to let it continue a while long. Don't launch a series by having a villain outdo the heroine unless you're going to address the matter with more conviction than "but she was going to lord it over us." I'm fine with that. Let Circe kill a few thousand more pimps (at least) and then defeat her, or else reveal that she gets her powers from inducing spontaneous abortions or something. Otherwise, she remains a better Wonder Woman than Diana, and that's the wrong way to leave things.

I also dig evil scumbag Hercules, since it returns him to the status quo of the Golden Age, and differentiates him from the Marvel Comics version. I have to ask though, if Hercules knew Diana Prince was Princess Diana, why didn’t she just disappear with Donna and Cassie in #3? What's the point of luring her to the island? Little help in backstabbing Circe, I guess?

Brave New World

Friday, July 29, 2011

1977 "Help A Hero.." NCG Merchandise Ad

Click To Enlarge


Vintage "The Superhero Shop" ad from the Joe Kubert school.

Help A Hero..Give Him A Home! From Mego!

The Teen Titans Wonder Girl, Speedy, Aqualad & Kid Flash with Isis for just $4.19!

The New Wonder Woman Fashion Doll! 12 inches tall! "Each doll comes complete with Wonder Woman's own costume and her Army uniform as Diana Prince!" Only $10.95!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

JLA #99 (Late August, 2004)



Between the Amazons, the Martian Manhunter & Manitou Raven, the JLA managed to work out Crucifer's plot, back story, and a means of killing him. The League and Doom Patrol teamed up to free the prisoners in Castle Crucifer. The spell to release the Tenth Circle from their other-dimensional prison was ruined by the arrival of the super-heroes, but Crucifer still had a team of metahumans and a possessed town at his disposal. Most were subdued by the super-groups, but a number of vampires and other persons of interest managed to escape, including Crucifer himself. The Lord returned to his castle, where he was impaled by Vortex. Since there was no effect, Crucifer turned on the youth, but was then addressed by a sword-wielding Wonder Woman. In defense of Crucifer, Superman shattered the sword, and the vampire decided that he would turn the Amazon into his queen. However, upon the fateful bite, Crucifer vomited out "her" alien blood. "Wonder Woman" turned out to be the Martian Manhunter in disguise! Working together, Elasti-Girl, the Atom and Superman then finally managed to stake Crucifer to ashes.

Why didn't Crucifer decide to make Wonder Woman his vampire queen in their first encounter? It would have been a lot more impressive having the Man of Steel and the Amazing Amazon as power pawns again the JLA. Hold up-- would that have even worked, given Diana's divine and not entirely human origins? Plus, after everything Wonder Woman had gone through, she never got to avenge herself against Crucifer? In case you missed it, Wonder Woman isn't even in this comic. Superman gets the kill shot after being an instrument of Crucifer's for six issues, but Wonder Woman never gets to serve vengeance on anybody after being left for dead? Twice victimized, you bag of crap creators!

"Heartbreaker!" was by John "Die, Princess Diana" Byrne, Chris "Decent Elseworlds" Claremont, and Jerry "Worked with Simonson" Ordway.

The Tenth Circle

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Anj at the Ends of the Earth



Anj of Supergirl Comic Box Commentary fame has covered the supporting players from the Simone/Lopresti Wonder Woman story arc "Ends of the Earth" at our group blog, DC Bloodlines, all revivals of short-lived '70s series. Besides the individual issues, Anj also contextualizes them with art and cross-reference with the Wonder Woman story. Check it out!


As an added bonus, here's Anj's look at Grant Morrison Breaking The 4th Wall: Zatanna #4

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

JLA #98 (Early August, 2004)



At Castle Crucifer, Vortex was branded a traitor by an attacking vampire, who tore his blue face mask off. The sight underneath sent the vampire cowering in despair, declared incurably mad by Vortex, then executed. "...No witnesses."

Themyscira. The Amazons managed to take Wonder Woman from death's door to a speedy recovery, but not a complete one. Diana was already up and donning her armor, which proved upsetting to her sisters. "Charon's boat still waits below, to carry your shade to the domain of Hades." Diana insisted that the fate of the world was on the line, that she had to warn her team about Superman and-- oops! Wounds reopened. Too bad she wasn't conscious in her hospital room to tell the JLA everything they needed to know, or that the team didn't have a resident telepath, nor the Amazons any sophisticated communications equipment. What a stupid story.

Barnes, Saskatchewan. Crucifer drained a host of human life energy, directed it into a small group of metahumans under his control, and laid the leftover mound of bodies in the shape of a Times New Roman font X in a football field. Apparently, ancient vampires hunted humanity for sport and meat, "Until we faced the Amazons. And found ourselves banished to a realm of unending torment." The banished Tenth Circle vampires merged with the metahuman hosts, just as the JLA arrived to quip on the grounds of a mass murder. Nice.

"Convergence," part five of "The Tenth Circle," can be blamed on the famous X-Men creative team of John Byrne and Chris Claremont, but leave inker Jerry Ordway alone. He was just following orders, and the book at least looked good most of the time through his efforts.

The Tenth Circle

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Sensational Comics for October, 2011



Wonder Woman
WONDER WOMAN #2
Written by BRIAN AZZARELLO
Art and cover by CLIFF CHIANG
On sale OCTOBER 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Hera, Queen of the Gods, does not take her vengeance lightly – and if Wonder Woman is so foolish as to stand in the way of her whim, then Wonder Woman is her enemy. But it’s Hera’s daughter Diana should truly fear – the goddess of discord is coming to Paradise Island, and murder always follows in her wake!
Well, I'd rather see punk rock Patrick Nagel as a retro influence than the Chromium Age, but those pants are still not happening for me.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #2
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS
1:25 Variant cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
1:200 B&W variant cover by JIM LEE
On sale OCTOBER 19 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
Retailers: This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the order form for more information.
What happens when the World’s Greatest Detective takes on the world’s most powerful alien? You’ll find out when Batman and Superman throw down. Batman will need all his intellect, cunning and physical prowess to take on The Man of Steel.
This issue is also offered as a special combo pack edition, polybagged with a redemption code for a digital download of the issue.
Jim Lee's cover is terrible, and the team seems like such a sausage factory. I see Superman fighting Green Lantern and Batman, which reminds me that I hate all three characters more often than not. I feel really good about blowing this off.

MEN OF WAR #2
Written by IVAN BRANDON and JONATHAN VANKIN
Art by TOM DERENICK and PHIL WINSLADE
Cover by VIKTOR KALVACHEV
On sale OCTOBER 5 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T+
In the split second after a heavy-weapons blast the air goes silent and still, just as it does in the ghostly realm of Circe. How will Rock and his team of men – battle-hardened, but still human – survive a villainess who can walk on the very wind?
Plus, Navy Seals Ice and Tracker go where no boots are on the ground, but when their mission is compromised, how will they tell friend from foe?
Wait-- Circe? Like, our Circe?

THE WONDER WOMAN CHRONICLES VOL. 2 TP
Written by WILLIAM MOULTON MARSTON • Art and cover by HARRY G. PETER
On sale NOVEMBER 30 • 192 pg, FC, $17.99 US
In this new title collecting WONDER WOMAN #2-3, SENSATION COMICS #10-14 and COMICS CAVALCADE #1, Wonder Woman battles Mars, god of war, and Paula Von Gunther, a treacherous German spy.
I prefer Archive Editions because of the vastly superior quality, but the price point here is nice, and these may someday progress to first time reprints.

DC UNIVERSE ONLINE LEGENDS #15-16
Written by MARV WOLFMAN and TOM TAYLOR
Art by MIKE S. MILLER and BRUNO REDONDO
#15 cover by MIKE S. MILLER
#16 cover by DOUG MAHNKE
#15 on sale OCTOBER 5 • #16 on sale OCTOBER 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Following the tragic events in the last issue, the heroes must pick up the pieces of a shattered League. With Superman AWOL and seeking revenge, will Lex Luthor be the hero of the day? And can anyone keep the Man of Steel from hunting down and killing Brainiac?
And in issue #16, Hal Jordan and the other human Green Lanterns have been recalled to Oa under emergency circumstances. Brainiac’s main fleet has been located and he’s gone to war with the Sinestro’s Yellow Lantern Corps on Korugar! The mission: Containment, allowing both enemies to annihilate each other!
This thing? Still happening.

Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark)
TEEN TITANS #2
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL
Art and cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
On sale OCTOBER 26 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
A strange creature haunts the streets of Los Angeles... and because of this creature’s age, both Red Robin and N.O.W.H.E.R.E. are racing to find her – but neither side is prepared for the horror known as Bugg!
Meanwhile, Superboy is on a collision course with the team, and Kid Flash plots his escape from N.O.W.H.E.R.E. with the most unexpected of allies!
Bugg? Color Me Badd, it's ggod-awful. Like, N.O.W.H.E.R.E., daddy-o!

TEEN TITANS: TEAM BUILDING TP
Written by J.T. KRUL and FABIAN NICIEZA
Art by NICOLA SCOTT, MARCUS TO, ADRIANA MELO and others
Cover by NICOLA SCOTT and DOUG HAZLEWOOD
On sale NOVEMBER 2 • 168 pg, FC, $17.99 US
There should always be a Robin on the team, but if Damian is the Teen Titans’ only option, maybe they’ll pass on having a Boy Wonder. Hopefully he’ll be able to help against the terrible menace of the rising villain, Headcase. #88-92, RED ROBIN #20 and WONDER GIRL #1 THE WONDER
Nicola Scott > Brett Booth3

Wonder Girl (Donna Troy)
TINY TITANS #44
Written by ART BALTAZAR and FRANCO
Art by ART BALTAZAR and FRANCO
Cover by ART BALTAZAR
It’s the issue of doom! Join the Tiny Titans as they – walk to school! Beast Boy takes a wrong turn when confronted by the crossing guards he calls The Doom Patrol. Plus, witness Beast Boy’s first encounter with the Crossing Patrol Boys of Doom! Crossing the street has never been so tough!
On sale SEPTEMBER 21 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED E

Since the character presumed to be Donna Troy has disappeared from the JLI cover solicit, I figure I should finally acknowledge her appearing in this book a bunch more than Cassie.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Wonder Woman #3 (October, 2006)



Hercules caught Giganta by the foot, and then put her on her butt, allowing him to free the Donna Troy necklace. Cheetah leapt at this “…Wonder Man,” while Diana Prince looked after Donna. Dr. Psycho tried to mesmerize the ladies, but was clipped in the head by Hercules’ thrown headband. Hercules was about to stab Psycho, but Prince stopped him, allowing the Doctor to utter a magic word. All the bad guys plus Donna and Wonder Girl disappeared, and it was once again Diana’s fault. Hercules made sure to rub it in, as he had taken over Wonder Woman’s abdicated mission, and browbeat her for shirking her duties. Members of the JSA helped clean up Giganta’s mess.

Diana Prince briefed Nemesis and fellow agents about Hercules, who had raped and wronged the Amazons in the past. Sentenced to literally carry the weight of Themyscira for eternity by Zeus, his sentence was commuted when Princess Diana offered to help shoulder the burden. Hercules briefly acted as the super-hero Champion before being allowed to live among the gods, but was now back to Earth, giving press conferences regarding his new role.

Agent Prince was part of a Department of Metahuman Affairs team sent to investigate Hercules, but they found that he had been transformed into a minotaur. All the males on Prince’s team followed suit, becoming beastiamorphs through the enchantments of Circe. The sorceress had Donna and Cassie dangling from chains. Diana Prince was also effortlessly captured, and Circe figured that if Diana didn’t want to be Wonder Woman anymore, she just might have an app for that.



“When the gods of Olympus left this earthly plane, they entrusted you, Donna Troy and Wonder Girl with the last of their power. Power you squandered… battling cyborg centurions and psychic despots… when every day, thousands of women are beaten, raped, and murdered, because they have no one to fight for them. Because you were too busy being a superhero to be their champion. And now you’re not even a superhero. You’re pretending to be human. Well guess what? You don’t have to pretend anymore.” Suddenly, Circe was a terrifying new vision of a Wonder Woman…

Part three of “Who is Wonder Woman?” was by Allan Heinberg, Terry & Rachel Dodson. This was the last issue to come out on a proper schedule, and also the point at which I began to turn on the book. There were quite simply too many characters running around fighting without accomplishing anything, and the third straight issue where three of Wonder Woman’s biggest foes popped up screaming to find Diana, got in a fight, and then conveniently disappeared. If that wasn’t repetitive enough, we’ve got more heavy-handed Diana bashing without very convincing rationales, more of Diana vacillating on her decisions, and just plain random crap happening to advance a paper thin plot. When will writers learn that there are characters made to be weak/vulnerable/fallible, and characters that are supposed to be above reproach? People don’t want to read stories where Superman or Wonder Woman whine about how tough it is to be beautiful and perfect, but rather to revel in these extraordinary heroes defeating evils to make the world better for us all.



Worse, Heinberg has all the characters speaking subtext as text, resulting in cringe inducing purple prose and self-important screeds about whether friggin’ Hercules or Circe would make better Wonder Persons. Why would Circe want anything to do with that? We’ve had twenty years of Circe as a soulless vamp governed entirely by self-interest and personal pleasure whose motivation to kill Wonder Woman was the prophesy that Diana would someday take Circe’s immortality. Now we’re supposed to buy her as a defender of the molested and downtrodden, clearly in service to Heinberg’s storytelling agenda? Dude, create a new character for that, because Circe isn’t in that line of work. It just makes Diana look stupid for sweating her role and the readers feel cheated by this nonsense. Further, comics are escapist entertainment with a very precarious suspension of disbelief. Outside of “very special episodes,” you have to avoid “relevance” and pointing out the artifice of super-heroes, because the whole concept falls apart under that kind of scrutiny. That’s like sending Foghorn Leghorn through a Kentucky Fried Chicken processing plant. It’s a thing not to be done.

Brave New World

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

JLA #97 (Late June, 2004)



From out of a pink portal in the sky fell Wonder Woman tied up in burlap. Ma and Pa Kent an older couple swerved their RV to avoid the mass, and ended up rolling it. The couple were okay, and the man was a doctor, which was handy. Diana was soon at Memorial Hospital in Las Vegas, lying unconscious on supplemental oxygen, having miraculously survived her wounds. A warning from the 10th Circle the the JLA was founded secreted in her removed costume by her friends.

A group of haughty Amazons (are there any other kind?) demanded their injured sister be turned over to their care. Stewart insisted that she was in no condition to travel, but Batman ordered him to "Stand down, Lantern. They're here at my request." Batman felt Diana's injuries were far beyond the scope of modern medicine, so that advanced Amazon science was her only hope. However, Diana managed to get out of bed to protest by sheer moxie, which the Caped Crusader blew off as stupid. "You can barely stand... You've done your part. Leave the rest to us."

Crucifer presented Superman to his demonic overlords, but still had to explain why this story was dragging on, and was punished for his vanity. Nudge tried to help the blood-drained Faith, who remained unconscious, and was visited by the spirit of Manitou Raven.

I've read a lot of hate online for this story arc, which I thought was overheated, since the first half was just plodding and the storytelling quaintly anachronistic. With this issue, I'm starting to see where the venom comes from. Why wouldn't Crucifer chop Wonder Woman into pieces just large enough to identify if she was completely in his power and near death anyway? Why is it that only the female team members are brutally beaten and left for dead in this series? I can only recall two instances of Wonder Woman lying helpless in a hospital bed throughout my decades of reading her adventures, and both times John Byrne was the responsible party. Superman has remained a total mind slave the entire time, unable to prevent himself from all but murdering Wonder Woman. Instead of advancing the plot, the spectacularly unimpressive Crucifer keeps sadistically tormenting innocents to show off for no one. Byrne keeps doing these annoying dutch angle layouts, which are a pain to scan. Finally, and most importantly, this book is relentless in its treading of water.

"Interlude on the Last Day of the World," part four of "The Tenth Circle," and possibly the most pretentious story title of all time, was by the famous X-Men creative team of John Byrne and Chris Claremont, joined by the inks of Jerry Ordway.

The Tenth Circle

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Wonder Woman #2 (September, 2006)



The Past: Dr. Poison, Osira and Dr. Cyber acknowledged that Donna Troy was the new Wonder Woman, as she was fighting them, alongside Wonder Girl Cassie Sandsmark. Joking about being a “kinder, gentler” model, Donna chopped off Cyber’s arms, tossed the remains at Osira, and deflected bullets fired by Poison back into her shoulders. Garbed in black, Princess Diana secretly observed through binoculars from afar. She was joined by Batman, and explained that while it was best that she stay out of the girls’ lives so that they could move on, Diana hadn’t walked away from them entirely. Diana didn’t feel she could accomplish her mission as either a princess or Wonder Woman, and she didn’t want to saddle her friends with the weight of her killing of Maxwell Lord. Batman offered Diana a new identity as an agent of the reformed Department of Metahuman Affairs, with the side benefit of her being a mole for him when needed. “The glasses had to be Clark’s idea.”

The Present: Nemesis was resistant to taking on a new partner, but Agent Diana Prince’s background included three years in Army Intelligence, a masters in international relations from Hopkins, and prior employment as head of security for Waynecorp. Three Wonder Woman villains had clearly received upgrades, while Princess Diana herself was last sighted working with “an Eastern mystic code-named I Ching.” Nemesis would need all the help he could get.

Agent Prince felt that outside heroes would be needed, and that her former associates would continue to be targeted, so she contacted Wonder Girl. Cassie resented being abandoned by Wonder Woman in her time of most dire need following the Infinite Crisis, and blamed Diana for Donna’s capture. Robin was present during the women’s confrontation, and had to confess he knew about Diana’s decisions without telling Cassie, which only made her angrier.



Giganta began tearing up the city while wearing Donna Troy as a necklace and demanding to know where Wonder Woman was. While Agent Prince rescued an imperiled Nemesis, Wonder Girl began choking Giganta with her lasso. A vision of the deceased Superboy visited and then assaulted Cassie, which was of course Dr. Psycho’s doing, whose illusions were now powerful enough that even onlookers saw them.



Dr. Barbara Minerva managed to grab Agent Prince from the back of the neck, and was put through a store window via martial arts. However, the transformed Cheetah emerged from within, necessitating Prince look for a safe place to transform into Wonder Woman. As she began a TV show twirl, her arm was grabbed by Hercules, halting her progress. “Too many women have tried and failed, Diana. Time for a man, don’t you think?”

Part two of “Who is Wonder Woman?” was by Allan Heinberg, Terry & Rachel Dodson. Again, not a bad issue, if a bit busy. I was happy to see old Diana Prince continuity threaded into the “One Year Later” tapestry, and the government agent angle was promising, even if I did wonder why they couldn’t have just used the Department of Extranormal Operations instead. Cassie’s anger was valid, and I liked how it contrasted with Donna’s fountain of forgiveness. Diana’s rogues were also being treated with respect. Such potential…

Brave New World

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

JLA #96 (Early June, 2004)



Faith was tied to a chair in a darkened room. Just as her telekinesis freed her, Crucifer showed up, and mesmerized her into submission. The vampire then indulged in a superhuman nibble.

Superman and Wonder Woman flew to Castle Crucifer, whose owner knew Diana's mother, Hippolyta. The Amazing Amazon was surprised by this, but not nearly as much so as being punched in the back of the head by Superman. Diana recovered better than just about anyone, then fought the Man of Kneel for several pages. Nudge saw this as her chance, and beguiled Superman long enough for Wonder Woman to floor him and impale Crucifer with a thrown sword. Superman also made a swift recovery, while Crucifer extracted the sword from his chest. "You cannot win! If Superman falls, if I fall, the League remains! They'll find a way to stop you!" Crucifer tapped Diana with the sword so hard that she came up off the ground before lying deathly still upon it. "Whatever. Pity you won't be around to see it.

"The Heart of the Matter," part three of "The Tenth Circle," was by the creator of a lot of other really bad Wonder Woman comics, John Byrne. He dragged Chris Claremont and Jerry Ordway into this quagmire with him. It's a good looking book, but I can't believe I'm still dancing around the reveal of the second team as the classic Doom Patrol. It's really blatant at this point. I have to admit that the Superman sucker punch was pretty amusing, especially the cartoon stars and "KLUDD!" Pity Wonder Woman once again needed to grab a big metal phallic symbol and stab somebody with it rather than use her powers and non-lethal weapons. I bet the Lasso of Truth could have been loads more effective, especially with all the random crap vampires are vulnerable to. Has anybody ever tried kryptonite?


The Tenth Circle

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Wonder Woman #1 (August, 2006)



Washington, D.C. The Museum of Natural History’s exhibit on Themyscira, where artifacts that had been held at a defunct embassy for a lost island had been relocated. Terrorists held Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Trevor hostage, demanding Princess Diana come out of hiding. Instead, they would get the new Wonder Woman, Donna Troy. Raised in the shadow of her sister, Troy would eventually follow Wonder Woman to Patriarch’s World to become a heroine herself. Following the killing of Maxwell Lord, Princess Diana passed her mantle to Donna and disappeared from public life. “But I keep thinking… if she couldn’t do it… what chance do I have?”

In the museum, Donna freed Steve Trevor, but was set upon by a cheetah. The Cheetah had regained her humanity, and was intent on keeping it, but still held reign over three of her namesake. Dr. Barbara Minerva wrapped Donna’s lasso around her neck, but learned nothing about Diana’s current whereabouts. “…Diana didn’t even trust her own sister enough to let her know where she was going? Then you’re of no use to me.” Minerva ordered Troy and Trevor dead, but Dr. Doris Zeul disagreed, believing Wonder Woman was bound to show sooner or later with them as hostages. In the grip of Giganta, Donna stabbed her finger with a star-shaped earring. As far as Troy was concerned, Wonder Woman was right there. Released from Giganta’s grip, Donna flew Steve to safety at a nearby park.



Minerva still held the lasso, and caught Wonder Woman at the ankle, hoping she could compel Troy to do her will. “The only thing that lasso compels me to do is tell the truth, Minerva. And the truth is… you and Giganta… are going down.” Wonder Woman tied Zeul’s legs with the lasso, but was brought down with the giantess. Minerva took Donna’s sword as she had her lasso, and prepared to chop her when a second lasso caught her wrists. Princess Diana fought Minerva, and was prepared to kill her as she had Maxwell Lord, prompting a conflict between the Wonder Women. “You’re not killing anyone-- ever again.” Diana was stronger, faster, and skewered Donna with her sword. “You-- you’re not Wonder Woman…” Lying in the grass with a bloodless “wound,” Donna watched the sword and the sister evaporate into the diminutive form of Dr. Psycho. “With all due respect… neither are you.”

Steve Trevor reported to Sarge Steel outside the museum, which had been surrounded by agents of the Department of Metahuman Affairs. So too was “Trevor,” who proved to in fact be the master of disguise dubbed Nemesis. Tom Tresser had lost Donna Troy, but was set to get her back with his new partner, Agent Diana Prince.

Part one of “Who is Wonder Woman?” was by Allan Heinberg, Terry & Rachel Dodson. This was not a bad debut issue. The major points of history were explained to new readers, the altered status quo was established, the pictures were pretty, the story fast-paced, and the villains all got nice new costumes. I was pretty excited about the return of Diana Prince in her cool white threads. Ah, how the good will would get washed away…

Brave New World

Friday, July 1, 2011

The Wonder Woman Gallery



Charlie Adlard
2010 JLA 100 Project Sketch Cover

alexmax
2010 "DCUniverse Vol.7: The Injustice Gang" The Cheetah
2010 DC Universe Vol.3: The Wards Wonder Girl art

Ramon Fernandez Bachs
2010 JLA 100 Project Sketch Cover

Mark Bagley
2010 JLA 100 Project Sketch Cover

Ben Bates
2010/11 JLA 100 Project Sketch Cover

David Michael Beck
Wonder Woman

Brian Bolland
The Warner Bros. Studio Store Wonder Woman Lithograph
1992 Wonder Woman Corner Box Figure
1992 Wonder Woman #68 Unused Cover Concept Sketch
1995 Wonder Woman #95 Unused Cover Concept Art
1995 Wonder Woman #96 Unused Cover Concept Art
1995 Wonder Woman [#100?] Unused Cover Concept Rough
1995 Wonder Woman #100 Cover Silhouette art

Brett Booth
2010 Wonder Woman Redesign art
2011 DCnĂś Wonder Girl Design Sketch
2011 Rejected DCnĂś Wonder Girl Concept Art

Dave Bullock
2010/11 JLA 100 Project Sketch Cover

Nick Bradshaw
2011 JLA 100 Project Sketch Cover

Shelton Bryant
2009 "The Wonder Woman" Watercolor

John Byrne
1995 DC Comics Wonder Woman Book "Dump"

Ivan Camelo
2011 Wonder Woman art

Eric Canete
2006 "Princess & King" Wonder Woman and Aquaman Commission
2010 Long Beach Comic Con Wonder Woman Commission

Anthony Castrillo
2011 JLA 100 Project Sketch Cover

Amanda Conner
1996 Wonder Woman Gallery pin-up

Dale Eaglesham
2004 Wonder Girl Donna Troy Convention Sketch

Nathan Fox
2011 DC Fifty-TOO! Wonder Woman #1

Timothy Green II
2011 Wonder Woman art

Gene Ha
2011 JLA 100 Project Donna Troy Sketch Cover

Matt Haley
2003 Emerald City Comicon Wonder Woman Commission
2006 Wonder Woman Day "Lynda Carter" Charity Auction Piece

Glen Hanson
Rule 63: Wonder Woman

Phil Hester
2005 Wonder Woman Commission
2005 Wonder Woman Meets Swamp Thing Commission

Tan Eng Huat
2009 Wonder Woman Gift Art

Rogan Josh
2010 Wonder Woman Print

Dan Jurgens
2010 JLA 100 Project Sketch Cover

Marcus Kelligrew
2009 "JLA-Wonder Woman"

Rafael Lam
2007 Wonder Woman Bordered
2010 Wonder Woman - Minimalismo

Ken Lashley
2010/11 JLA 100 Project Sketch Cover

Stanley “Artgerm” Lau
2010 “Wonder Woman Return”

Jim Lee
Wonder Woman Gallery by Jim Lee
New 52 Wonder Woman design by Jim Lee from Justice League #1 (October, 2011)
2011 Rejected DCnĂś Wonder Girl Concept Art by Jim Lee

Joseph Michael Linsner
2011 JLA 100 Project Sketch Cover

Michael “mic?” Magtanong
2011 “Goddess vs. Amazon” Artemis art

Richard Manship
2008 Wonder Woman Icon Wallpaper

Mike McKone
2011 NYCC Wonder Woman Color Commission

Marat Mychaels
2010/11 JLA 100 Project Sketch Cover

Michael Myers
2010 Vintage-style Wonder Woman Character Poster

Michael Netzer
2010 FBCC Sketch | Golden Age Wonder Woman

Cliff Nielsen
1996 Rogues Gallery #1: Cheetah

Oliver Nome
2010 Baby Wonder Woman

Kevin Nowlan
2006 JBQ and friends commission

Rob Osborne
2010/11 JLA 100 Project Sketch Cover

Dan Panosian
2006 Wonder Woman

George PĂ©rez
2011 JLA 100 Project Sketch Cover

Brandon Peterson
2005 Wonder Woman Art Book Piece
2006 Wonder Woman Art Book Piece

Whilce Portacio
2005 Wonder Woman San Diego Comic-Con sketch

Joe Prado
2009 White Lantern Donna Troy design
2009 Black Lantern Wonder Woman version 1 design
2009 Black Lantern Wonder Woman version 2 design
2009 Black Lantern Wonder Woman version 3 design

Alex Ross
2006 Cheetah: From Bruce Wayne's private files in the Batcomputer
2010/11 JLA 100 Project Sketch Cover

Craig Rousseau
2010/11 JLA 100 Project Sketch Cover

Stephane Roux
2007 Wonder Girl Donna Troy Baltimore Comic-Con Sketch
2008 Heroes Convention Wonder Woman Commission
2009 NYCC Wonder Woman & Artemis Commission

Steffi SchĂĽtze
2010 "Superman, Wonderwoman, Batman"

Bart Sears
1991 Wizard Magazine #9 Unused Wonder Woman cover art

Evan “Doc” Shaner
2009 Wizard World Chicago Convention Sketch
2011 Wonder Woman! Sketch

Bill Sienkiewicz
1996 Rogues Gallery #1: Circe

Cat Staggs
Wonder Woman Day

Brian Stelfreeze
2008 Batgirl & Wonder Woman painting

Chris Stevens
2007 Wonder Woman Commission
2010 Golden Age Wonder Woman Commission

Tommy Tejeda
2001 Justice League Animated Art
2009 Tigra versus Cheetah
Tommy Tejeda Wonder Woman Art Gallery

Mark Texeira
2008 Color Commission

Bruce Timm
Wonder Woman Flying color pin-up

Dave Wachter
2009 "Wonder Woman vs Ares"

Mike Wieringo
1996 Wonder Woman Gallery pin-up
2006 Wonder Woman on Paradise Island sketch

Kent Williams
1995 Skybox DC Villains: The Dark Judgment Circe Trading Card #68
1995 Skybox DC Villains: The Dark Judgment Ares Trading Card #71

2010-2011 The Justice League of America 100 Project Donna Troy charity art gallery


Last Updated: 6/22/12