Wonder Woman #20 Out Today! SPOILERS OKAY!

[Kyuubi]

I got it, but I have about a month of comics I haven't read yet, so it may have to wait.

[shrike]

God dang!! I forgot to hit my comics shop en route from work... and at 4 bucks a gallon I think it may be tomorrow when I get it (preview looks DELICIOUS, so I'm sure it'll be terrific).

[Chiroptera]

Well, Gail’s excitement convinced me to go ahead and swing by my LCS on the way home from my dental check up today.
Sadly, like Bobby, I was less that wowed with this issue. I’m going to just go with the classics here and break this down into what I liked and what I didn’t like.

Liked!
I liked that we got to see Diana in a more mythic setting. Encountering Beowulf while on his search for Grendel? Very cool.
I LOVED her dialogue interactions with him. I’ve always felt that Diana, being both diplomat and warrior, would and should know that there’s a time and place for certain kinds of language.
In the case of Beowulf, calling him a whore seemed quite fitting. It was exactly the sharp tongued face-slapping response that would catch a he-man of Beowulf’s caliber off-guard.

I was pleased with Aaron’s art. There’s room for improvement here, definitely, as mentioned by Bobby there are times when a characters appearance shifted from panel to panel both in age and physique, but that could just as easily be the fault of the coloring rather than the pencils.


Didn’t Like!
Inconsistancy. I think the story could have flowed a lot better if we got the Diana Prince angle first before being tossed out into the snowy mountains with Diana. There’s a lot of things that don’t make sense to me that might make me sense if they were just sequenced more fluidly. I think jumping back and forth between “in the office” and “in the mead hall” really made the story hard to follow.
When I went back and read the story this way; Reading only the pages involving the scenes in Diana’s DMA office, then going back and reading the Wonder woman bits in the snow and the mead hall, the story made a lot more sense to me.

The scene involving Diana, Etta, and the stranger in her office apparently happened some 6 or so hours before her mental/time traveling journey back to find Beowulf. But a lot of the things that happened in it don’t seem to carry over into the later point in time the way they should, and there were some things within the scene itself which just didn’t make sense to me.

One thing Diana’s learned in her years amongst humans is t hat they’re very good at lying. We lie typically at least 5 times a day. Now, being the women who was once a goddess of truth, I can understand her desire to believe someone might be honest but when a stranger shows up in my office, and moves so fast that he can cut through my best friends gun with a sword by the time she’s pulled it out of her holster?

I’m not gonna just wrap my mystic, soul connecting golden lasso when he offers up his hands to me. I’m going to have a few questions, and usually in the past Diana’s been shown to be a very good judge of character WITHOUT needing to resort to the lasso. I understand that her being ensnared by the connection between herself and this strange visitor, but I think the scene moved WAY too quickly.
It felt forced, as do most of the scenes involving her time in her civilian guise. I’ve yet to be pulled into this part of her character since her relaunch, it just doesn’t feel like a real part of her character, though the insinuation in this issue that there’s more to her new civilian identity than what we’ve been made privy too did elevate my curiosity.

I also question why, if she has no access to her powers in this strange dream world, she is able to still communicate with and sense the emotions of animals. This was yet another blessing from the gods like her strength, speed, flight and all the other powers. If she cannot access her powers then how can she have known the thoughts of the wolves she was fighting?




So there we go. Not bad by any means, it was an enjoyable read, but it didn’t really do anything to particularly impress me.

Wow… I just realized how many more dislikes I have compared to likes! I didn’t think it was bad, honest, I just think it could have been better!

[BnL]

I loved this issue. It's probably a little early to say this, since it's only one issue in, but I think this may shape up to be my favorite arc so far. The Beowulf material was great, and, I admit...I'm even intrigued by the Diana Prince stuff this issue. I can't wait to see where that's going. I appreciate that Gail will be taking the time to explain the secret identity thing. All very intriguing...

And I really enjoyed Aaron's art too. I particularly appreciated the subtle facial expressions as Diana fought the wolves. You could tell it pained her to have to cause them harm. I also loved how he used the lasso as panel borders. Attention to detail like that really impresses me.

It's a home run as far as I'm concerned, Gail.

[Michael P]

I'm not exactly sure what's going on, but Diana + Beowulf = Awesome.

[4PointOh]

And I really enjoyed Aaron's art too. I particularly appreciated the subtle facial expressions as Diana fought the wolves. You could tell it pained her to have to cause them harm. I also loved how he used the lasso as panel borders.

It's his skill as a storyteller, I think. The lasso borders weren't simply eye-candy. They were meant to suggest another space being occupied in the story.

[The Beast Of Yucca Flats]

Exotic locales, perilous quests in said exotic locales, fights a plenty, and creepy new predicaments. I ask, is it any wonder why I've fallen hard for this title?

And man, I think I'm almost tempted to go "Terry who?" in regards to the art.

[tangentman]

I can only call the latest issue [b]PHENOMENAL[/b}! The story held my interest from first panel to last, and left me hungry for more. Gail, the choice for your "very old" hero was simply inspired! Stalker was one of the names which popped to mind when I read that preview, and I'm pleased to see such an obscure hero play a major role.

The battle with the wolves took my breath away--gorgeous art, poetic narrative, plus Diana's struggle with finding the most compassionate resolution to the problem. Gail, what impresses me about your Wonder Woman is the integrity she shows in handling the "little battles" as well as the epic ones. Her empathy with the plight of the wolves--and subsequent act of mercy--showed insight into Diana which few writers have captured!

Needless to say, l love seeing Diana in mythical settings! Wonder Woman meeting Beowulf was simply reader pleasure on my part! Are you limiting Diana's journey to Beowulf's world, or will we see other literary/mythical settings? BTW, though I think your story is highly original, I think you still pulled off a nice homage to that Bronze Age story where "Emma Peel Wonder Woman" fought the armies of Mars alongside the heroes of literature.

Aaron impressed me with his first outing on Wonder Woman! The "Sword & Sorcery" interpretation of her costume worked for me. I also liked the "Lasso Border"--you folks keep making excellent choices in the way you tell the story! I can't wait for next issue!


A+

[Tyr]

What Tyr like....

Diana fights stuff weee!!!!!

Diana and Beowulf! YAY!!!!!! Wooohoooo!!!!!

What Tyr not like as much....

Not sure I'm crazy about the whole Black Horizon, Diana losing her soul thing, and the whole "Rolling Stones Painted Black" monologue that she has going on.

Also I agree with Chiro the beggining of the Mystic journey felt somewhat rushed to me.

Still I do look foward to the next issue, and the whole "New outfit every issue" thing thats going on. And the whole mythic quest, Something tells me will see her joining up with the knights of the round table somewhere down the road. :rolleyes:

[Chiroptera]

Oh also I forgot...

I to have to question the whole soul losing thing!
So mr. red eyes siad she was to compassionate for the deed ahead, thus he stole some of that compassion away and sent her to a mental plain where her powers are null, to go and face the devil...

Yet, she can still talk to the animals... AND She still has compassion to give a mercy killing to said confused/enraged animals? Buh???

I imagine this may be explained later, but it really needed to be explained in this issue, other wise it's just left like the one gaping hole in the plot; and that's just bugging the **** outta me right now! :(

[Gail Simone]

No, it didn't.

It's not a mental plane...she's really in Beowulf's era, by the way.

[Usernamessd]

http://uk.comics.ign.com/articles/874/874168p1.html
http://www.reviewbusters.net/book/review.aspx?id=934

Two reviewers who think Beowulf is based on the movie or the poem.

[Linkara]

No, it didn't.

It's not a mental plane...she's really in Beowulf's era, by the way.

...But her body's still held by Etta... but not in the...

Huh?

[4PointOh]

Part of me thinks the guy Eric from Reviewbusters is pissed because Diana proved herself equal--if not superior--to gool ol' boy, Beowulf.

[Gail Simone]

http://uk.comics.ign.com/articles/874/874168p1.html
http://www.reviewbusters.net/book/review.aspx?id=934

Two reviewers who think Beowulf is based on the movie or the poem.

That's fine. Listen, it's not their fault. But I can't be responsible for people's beliefs of intention AFTER the comic comes out. I love the DCU version of Beowulf, and don't care in the least about the movie version. Haven't seen it, even though I was invited to the sneak premiere in Hollywood.

It's the DCU barbarians this story is about.