Binker
03-13-2008, 03:01 PM
by Nathaniel Ruff (aka Binker on Newsarama, and Nate on BYTB)
WONDER WOMAN #18
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Bernard Chang
Cover by Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson
Edited by Matt Idelson
PLOT:
Comics superstar Bernard Chang joins Gail Simone for a 2-part story that will take Wonder Woman to the furthest reaches of the galaxy, but not before the vicious alien race the Khund begin an assault on Earth! But before the invasion can begin, the relationship of Wonder Woman and Nemesis takes a defining turn.
REVIEW:
The next great thing to happen to the Amazing Amazon was giving Gail Simone the writing reins on the book. Her first arc, "The Circle", presented us with one type of story we can expect from Gail Simone's run. And man, me and everybody else are all right onboard! In that arc, Gail successfully showed a Princess Diana/Wonder Woman who was in everyway a woman, a warrior, an Amazon, and a princess. Greek mythology in terms of her Amazon nature was written well, and I loved the scenes where she fought while reciting her faith. In comparison, Gail Simone's run is already up there with others like George Perez, Phil Jimenez, and Greg Rucka among others. Now we're on a two-part storyline that will take Diana into the stars. When I first heard about this, for some reason even though she has already gone up there, the storyline reminded me of the arc William Messner-Loebs did on the book from issues #66-71. I did not read it, but I do know about it. So I'm sure if there will be any similarities, but without further ado, here is Gail Simone's Wonder Woman #18!
Once again, Gail Simone provides readers with Diana's greek background into the context of the story. I'll get to that later, but for now, let's focus on the main story here in regards of the aliens and such. The Khunds who appeared here happened to have appeared before, in both Perez' run, Loebs' space arc (a fact I mentioned this 2-parter's storyline reminded me of), and I believe they last appeared in Byrne's run. I never read those stories, so reading them here was a first for me compared to others who did those issues back then. Despite that, it is pretty much obvious that something is up in between scenes when Diana is not with them. And when you consider that Diana has to protect them against a member from the Green Lantern corps, as she narrates on the final page, it ain’t going to be simple. I suppose I should've talked a little more on these guys, but my mind was on something else in this issue. And this happens to go...
...back to the Greek background I was talking about; in this issue, Diana presents to Tom Tresser (Nemesis) a proposal of sorts in a courtship between the two. The way she presents it is totally based from her Greek roots, completely from Diana asking Tom to wear two tokens that would symbolize the bond from Diana's people and Gods. Reading that scene made me feel like Gail was probably reading my mind. For a time, I always wondered what would happen when a man fell in love with Diana, or any Amazon on Themyscira, and what would happen between these two worlds if they were to marry in a sense. Now, Diana presents a courtship, not a marriage, to Tom, but what Gail did was an answer to this question I had for awhile. The only other time we saw something like this concerning Diana and Themyscira was back in 1985/6 with the final issue of Wonder Woman Vol. 1 #329, where Diana and Steve Trevor got married. But not only was that pre-Crisis, but that was shown like a regular wedding no different than what you would see anywhere. What Gail did here literally fits with Diana's Greek origins. Thumbs up for that.
Another thing I want to mention happens to be a comparison from this to Diana and the loves of her life from past stories. Previous stories concerning Diana and her love life were always the same: either they were crushes, or flirtations between the two. We saw this from the pre-Crisis stories with Steve Trevor, to even the Trevor Barnes character from Phil Jimenez' run. What Gail did here was different: a character from a Greek myth background what’s to ask a man for a courtship would ask in a matter such as what she did in this issue. I have no problem at all with Phil Jimenez' run, I think he did a good job like any. But, if I recall correctly, while she was on model every time, when it came to the scenes between her and the Trevor Barnes character, who she was were taken out and replace with that of a regular woman and what she would do if she fell in love. Gail did something better, and something that fit the character more. While I have no problem at all with the previous writers, I have to say that this proves Gail is a smart writer.
Overall, we got ourselves yet another smart and exciting issue of Gail Simone's Wonder Woman. I know the title of this book is still "Wonder Woman", but it is Gail's version we're reading now. Like I said, how Gail presented the courtship scene between Diana and Tom was great as it fit the character completely with her Greek background. There is no point in saying this, but it has to be said yet again: Gail knows what she is doing, for she knows who and what Diana a.k.a. Wonder Woman is. What happens in #19 between her and Tom over this is something we have to wait, but I wonder what his answer will be.
RATING: Yay
Next Issue: Why has Diana side with the enemy? And who is the incredibly powerful DC figure that's trying to stop her?
WONDER WOMAN #18
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Bernard Chang
Cover by Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson
Edited by Matt Idelson
PLOT:
Comics superstar Bernard Chang joins Gail Simone for a 2-part story that will take Wonder Woman to the furthest reaches of the galaxy, but not before the vicious alien race the Khund begin an assault on Earth! But before the invasion can begin, the relationship of Wonder Woman and Nemesis takes a defining turn.
REVIEW:
The next great thing to happen to the Amazing Amazon was giving Gail Simone the writing reins on the book. Her first arc, "The Circle", presented us with one type of story we can expect from Gail Simone's run. And man, me and everybody else are all right onboard! In that arc, Gail successfully showed a Princess Diana/Wonder Woman who was in everyway a woman, a warrior, an Amazon, and a princess. Greek mythology in terms of her Amazon nature was written well, and I loved the scenes where she fought while reciting her faith. In comparison, Gail Simone's run is already up there with others like George Perez, Phil Jimenez, and Greg Rucka among others. Now we're on a two-part storyline that will take Diana into the stars. When I first heard about this, for some reason even though she has already gone up there, the storyline reminded me of the arc William Messner-Loebs did on the book from issues #66-71. I did not read it, but I do know about it. So I'm sure if there will be any similarities, but without further ado, here is Gail Simone's Wonder Woman #18!
Once again, Gail Simone provides readers with Diana's greek background into the context of the story. I'll get to that later, but for now, let's focus on the main story here in regards of the aliens and such. The Khunds who appeared here happened to have appeared before, in both Perez' run, Loebs' space arc (a fact I mentioned this 2-parter's storyline reminded me of), and I believe they last appeared in Byrne's run. I never read those stories, so reading them here was a first for me compared to others who did those issues back then. Despite that, it is pretty much obvious that something is up in between scenes when Diana is not with them. And when you consider that Diana has to protect them against a member from the Green Lantern corps, as she narrates on the final page, it ain’t going to be simple. I suppose I should've talked a little more on these guys, but my mind was on something else in this issue. And this happens to go...
...back to the Greek background I was talking about; in this issue, Diana presents to Tom Tresser (Nemesis) a proposal of sorts in a courtship between the two. The way she presents it is totally based from her Greek roots, completely from Diana asking Tom to wear two tokens that would symbolize the bond from Diana's people and Gods. Reading that scene made me feel like Gail was probably reading my mind. For a time, I always wondered what would happen when a man fell in love with Diana, or any Amazon on Themyscira, and what would happen between these two worlds if they were to marry in a sense. Now, Diana presents a courtship, not a marriage, to Tom, but what Gail did was an answer to this question I had for awhile. The only other time we saw something like this concerning Diana and Themyscira was back in 1985/6 with the final issue of Wonder Woman Vol. 1 #329, where Diana and Steve Trevor got married. But not only was that pre-Crisis, but that was shown like a regular wedding no different than what you would see anywhere. What Gail did here literally fits with Diana's Greek origins. Thumbs up for that.
Another thing I want to mention happens to be a comparison from this to Diana and the loves of her life from past stories. Previous stories concerning Diana and her love life were always the same: either they were crushes, or flirtations between the two. We saw this from the pre-Crisis stories with Steve Trevor, to even the Trevor Barnes character from Phil Jimenez' run. What Gail did here was different: a character from a Greek myth background what’s to ask a man for a courtship would ask in a matter such as what she did in this issue. I have no problem at all with Phil Jimenez' run, I think he did a good job like any. But, if I recall correctly, while she was on model every time, when it came to the scenes between her and the Trevor Barnes character, who she was were taken out and replace with that of a regular woman and what she would do if she fell in love. Gail did something better, and something that fit the character more. While I have no problem at all with the previous writers, I have to say that this proves Gail is a smart writer.
Overall, we got ourselves yet another smart and exciting issue of Gail Simone's Wonder Woman. I know the title of this book is still "Wonder Woman", but it is Gail's version we're reading now. Like I said, how Gail presented the courtship scene between Diana and Tom was great as it fit the character completely with her Greek background. There is no point in saying this, but it has to be said yet again: Gail knows what she is doing, for she knows who and what Diana a.k.a. Wonder Woman is. What happens in #19 between her and Tom over this is something we have to wait, but I wonder what his answer will be.
RATING: Yay
Next Issue: Why has Diana side with the enemy? And who is the incredibly powerful DC figure that's trying to stop her?