Wonder Woman #215

[FishTrap]

Does Rags Morales remind anyone of the painter John Currin? The faces (especially the eyes) and figure drawings? Anyhow, I'm generally satisfied with the art in this issue, although Diana is a little shorter and stockier than I'd imagine.

Despite many storylines being touched upon, and the issue seeming very "busy", not much plot gets advanced. At least Athena is wearing more appropriate clothing :) .

I'm a little puzzled about a couple of Ferdinand issues that seem to come out of nowhere (unless they were seeded way back in the canon), but I'll wait until more people get a chance to read the issue. It's well worth a look-see, despite my gripes above.

[Sir Tim Drake]

I'm done with this series. I'll repost what I wrote in this thread (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?p=1294918#post1294918):

I think I've had it with Greg Rucka's Wonder Woman. I was hoping it would be sort of a superhero version of Queen & Country, but instead he's doing mythological stories, treading the same ground that George Perez already covered. I'm starting to think that Wonder Woman stories which are just about Wonder Woman are not interesting. She's a difficult character to relate to, which is why some of the best Wonder Woman stories are about other people and their relations to Diana. (#8, #20, #196 of the current series) Greg's initial stories were about Diana's role in the world, rather than about her superheroic adventures, and that was what made them enjoyable. But now that aspect of the series has gone away, and I think I will do the same.

[kcekada]

Haven't bough WW in months, but I signed up for the Morales/Bair run. Didn't read this issue yet, but I did page through it. I really like the artwork. It's not splashy, but it's very rich and textured. Classic look for a classic character.

Can't comment on the story, but from what I saw, it looks much more interesting that the West Wing crap I remember.

[vantheman77]

The solicits for this issue mentioned Donna Troy. Does she appear in the issue
at all?

[berk]

I'm not familiar with John Currin, but I thought I saw a little Frazetta in Morales's artwork when I looked at the latest WW issue in the store yesterday.

At a glance, I think Morales has done one of the best renderings of WW I've ever seen. She looks physically powerful and imposing, but still unmistakeably feminine and attractive. Very well done. Maybe I didn't look closely enough, but I thought she even looked taller than usual, so I didn't get the impression of stockiness that Fish Trap mentioned.

If other aspects of the artwork were as impressive as WW herself I probably would have bought the issue, but I thought the Olympian gods were very weak, visually. Poseidon and Zeus in particular looked like harmless, even comical, Disneyfied versions of those figures, but none of the rest were much better, with the possible exception of Ares. And Athena just doesn't project the aura of awe and wonder that we should expect from these deities. The brown hair, just to pick one minor detail, just doesn't work in this medium, IMO. It looks beautiful in real life, but in the sharper, brighter colours of the comic-book-world, it comes off as drab and mousy. I'd advise artists to make her look more like her avatar, WW herself, whose personality (not coincidentally, IMO) possesses many of the qualities normally associated with the mythical Athena. That is, they don't have to make her a visual clone of WW, but she should project the same impression - strength and power combined with feminine beauty*, but all to the heightened degree of a deity (I know, I know, I make it sound so simple). Maybe the problem is that these are the canonical DCU visualisations of the Olympian gods? If so, Morales should be given carte blanche to re-design them.

I don't mind that Rucka is doing mythological stories. Just cause Perez already went that route doesn't mean there's nothing more to say with that approach. Unfortunately, I disagree with the entire basis of Rucka's take on the relationship between the gods and the mortal world, but at least he's put some thought into it, and is trying to develop the situation according to the logic of his premise. I think he's doing a good job but is fatally hampered by the limitations inherent in, not just the DCU, but superhero comics in general.

*EDIT: oops, what I meant to say was, not only the obvious qualities (strength, beauty, etc), but the sense of compassion, understanding and regal dignity that is usually thought of as part of WW's character. All these characteristics are probably ultimately derived from Athena anyway - via intermediates such as the Virgin Mary of Christianity, various personifcations of wisdom and philosophy, and so on.

[protege]

Could someone tell me what the purpose of blinding Diana was? if it was to give her a weakness, to make her more human, it doesn't seem to be slowing her down at all.

[FishTrap]

Sir Tim: I agree that Diana is hard to relate to. That makes me all the more curious about what Whedon is going to do in his movie. I myself am a sucker for all things mythological, although I seem to forgotten a lot since my high school days.

Van: No sign of Donna that I could see. Have mixed feelings about her upcoming miniseries.

berk: I hope this link works...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/collective/gallery/index.shtml?collection=johncurrin
Anyhow, there's one sideview of Diana near the beginning (right after she arrests the child slaver) where she looks like a 5 foot 3 shotputter. I agree that Athena is not exactly embodying many of the positive attributes usually associated with her. What is it about Rucka's take on god/mortal relations that is so different from past interpretations? Is it Athena's use of Diana as a glorified errand girl, which to me is a bit demeaning to both characters?

protege: I have no idea of any grand reason for Diana's blinding. Maybe to have her resemble those statues of Justice with the scales outside courthouses? Her ablility to dodge a point-blank bullet in this issue certainly proves that she hasn't been greatly impaired. All I know is I can't wait to finally see how Morales draws her eyes!

[berk]

Fish Trap said:
Anyhow, there's one sideview of Diana near the beginning (right after she arrests the child slaver) where she looks like a 5 foot 3 shotputter. I agree that Athena is not exactly embodying many of the positive attributes usually associated with her. What is it about Rucka's take on god/mortal relations that is so different from past interpretations? Is it Athena's use of Diana as a glorified errand girl, which to me is a bit demeaning to both characters? Thanks for the link. I'll look at the issue again, to check out that panel you refrred to.

I don't think Rucka's take on the gods is different from that typical in superhero comics, which is why I don't like it. It's one of my bete noires, so I didn't want to go into one of my usual rants on the subject, but basically, I disagree with the idea that the gods are dependent on the amount of worship they get from human subjects. Rucka's idea - that they are dependent, not on actual worship, but on the amount of human activity in their field of influence and/or on human attitudes towards the natural forces they represent - is a little more sophisticated, but basically amounts to the same thing: that the deities are dependent on we humans. I'm willing to discuss my reasons for thinking that that is a bad idea if anyone's interested, but it would probably take some time.

I don't think WW acting as Athena's agent on various missions is in any way demeaning. We see characters going on missions all the time - for govts, superhero teams, security organizations, etc, etc - so why should doing the same for a deity any more demeaning? On the contrary, it would be much less so. Besides, my impression is that the fact that it is a voluntary act on WW's part is understood.

Regarding Athena's character, I don't want to give the impression that I think she should be written as a sort of "touchy-feely" sort, all pity and commiseration. A certain amount of austerity and distance are appropriate for a higher order of being. At the same time, I do think the qualities of compassion, and wisdom should come through, in addition to strength, power, and beauty. Not an easy task, I realize. Taking a look at ancient statues of Athena might help, as well as at more recent emulations of that goddess - the Statue of Liberty, for example.

[kcekada]

Poseidon and Zeus in particular looked like harmless, even comical, Disneyfied versions of those figures, but none of the rest were much better, with the possible exception of Ares. And Athena just doesn't project the aura of awe and wonder that we should expect from these deities.

Boy, do I disagree completely!

I though the Hades scenes were the best of the book. It appears that Ares is even wearing his old costume...very cool. I thought the Olympian trio all looked very threatening...not Disneyish is the least.

Athena looked as cool as she could for someone wearing modern clothing (which was most likely written that way in the script).

[TJ Shoun]

Damn, Rags is good.

It's sad that it took a major event like Identity Crisis to propel him into the spotlight. I remember loving his Hawkman from a few years ago and wondering why nobody ever talked about him.

And I love his Diana. As already mentioned, she looks powerful and majestic but still feminine and voluptuous without being overly sexualized -- that's a hard act to balance.

Most artists just make her tall and big boned and cut back on the cheescake poses. :p

[berk]

Boy, do I disagree completely!

I though the Hades scenes were the best of the book. It appears that Ares is even wearing his old costume...very cool. I thought the Olympian trio all looked very threatening...not Disneyish is the least.

Athena looked as cool as she could for someone wearing modern clothing (which was most likely written that way in the script). I certainly bow to the fact that the impression is entirely subjective. Look at how Fish Trap and I disagree about Morales's version of WW. I didn't think the top hat worked for Hades, though I can see where they were trying to go with it. And I felt Poseidon looked like he should be in a commercial for some dish detergent (more sudsy!). Ares was the only one I found gave the right impression for the character for me.

Since I've been posting so much about the issue, I broke down and bought it today. So give me credit for that much at least!

And if anyone's interested in why I made those comments above regarding how the gods are usually portrayed in superhero comics in general and in Rucka's WW in particular, I ended up talking a little about the question in the Eternals thread (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=47385&page=1&pp=15) on the Classic Comic board (mainly post #55, but 54 -57 all refer to it to some extent).

[vantheman77]

Who thinks that Hermes will restore Diana's eyesight and that Athena rewards
Diana with the return of Martin Garibaldi back to life?

[FishTrap]

berk: as if I don't have enough piled up to read, now I'm gonna have to check out the Eternals!! Thanks a lot :D ! It did strike me as odd a few issues back when Ares was angry enough about the lack of traditional warfare on Earth to expand his spheres of interest and influence. At the time, I took it to mean that engagement in warfare was a form of worship of Ares. Now I guess any game of rock-paper-scissors will suffice :) .

van: I thought this plotline was going to explain the resurrection of Donna Troy. I agree that Diana would not be "selfish" enough to ask Athena to restore her eyesight, a perfect job for "Doc" Hermes, as you mention.

kcekada: I also loved the souls in the water and the exchange between Ares and Charon (oops, Kharon).