Drunken Comics Rage

So if you have read more than say . . .two of my posts, you have probably noticed I have a tendency towards kicking DC Comics around like the proverbial red headed stepchild. I don't set out to do it, they have just made themselves really, really, really easy targets for the last couple of years. At least in my opinion. Anyhow, every so often my conscience will start nagging at me (at least the parts I didn't pickle whilst drinking with the rest of the gang here) and I will start thinking that perhaps I have been too harsh on poor DC. Perhaps they aren't as bad as I have made them out to be. There's got to be something good I can say about them isn't there? They have some of the most iconic characters in the history of comics, do they not? They seem to sell enough books to continue publishing, don't they? Not everything they publish can reek of suckitude, can it?

Normally at those moments when I am starting to soft towards them where I read some announcement from them on a new story or switch artists mid story arc (or sometimes mid-issue) and I rage anew towards them. This time however I am committed to a post praise DC. Okay not so much DC as one book in their entire line, but that's more than I have done before. And let me just say that it is not because I have gone soft on them again. No, this time I have in fact found something at DC that is a joy to read.

I have really, really been digging Gail Simone's run on Wonder Woman. It's not even like a guilty pleasure kind of enjoyment where you know it's really bad, but love it anyhow. This has in fact been just a solidly good book since I started picking it up.

To be perfectly honest, my knowledge of Wonder Woman is incredibly limited. If I had to make a list of the most iconic characters in comics and then rank them in which ones I had read or knew the least about, she's right near the top of the list. That's a bit odd because I distinctly recall a Wonder Woman comic being among the first stack of comics I bought. I basically rolled into a quikie mart type place when I was young and bought one issue of every single book they had, just because I could. There was a Wonder Woman book amongst them (but no Supes or Batman at the time, go figure) but to this day I cannot tell you a single thing about that book except that I bought it. I know as much about Wonder Woman from Linda Carter and the Justice League cartoons as I do from anywhere else. And what I know is pretty much what everyone knows: Princess of a matriarchal warrior society comes to the "world of man" to kick ass in the name of all that is good. Every so often she'll tie one of us naughty, naughty men up in her lasso and make us tell the truth.  That's about what I know.

So while I quite obviously knew of Wonder Woman and knew (somewhat) her place in the comics pantheon, I certainly had never sought out a Wonder Woman comic and really didn't have much in the way of motivation to do so. Then way back in April 2007, I read a short interview on Newsarama with Gail Simone about the announcement she was taking over the book. It's probably worth mentioning here that I have never read anything else that Gail Simone has written and to this point, still haven't. However she caught my attention with a single quote:

“When a giant robot attacks Metropolis, send Superman. An alien attack? Get Green Lantern. When a car is hijacked by an escaped loony, turn on the bat signal, by all means. But if an ARMY shows up on your doorstep, that’s when you call in Wonder Woman."

Just like that, Wonder Woman's place in comics and in the DC universe came into focus for me. And Gail being able to sum it up that succinctly was enough to make me intrigued enough to check out the book when she started on it.

Okay, that wasn't all. Later in the same interview she also said on page three of her first issue that Wonder Woman punches a monkey over a waterfall. That certainly got my attention as well.

Anyhow, I picked up the first issue of her run to see what it was all about. Sure enough, page three. Monkey goes flying over the waterfall. I do so love when writers deliver on thier promises. However beyond kicking the snot of out simians, what I found was an incredibly well written and intriguing story. Simone clearly has a love and understanding for the character and set the story off on a fast pace. She just began her third story arc, and thus far Wonder Woman has battled:

• Monkeys (which is still just damned funny to think about)
• Nazis (don't they always have it coming)
• Her mother's elite guard
• An enraged Green Lantern
• And bar full of possessed patrons whilst fighting alongside Beowulf (yes, that Beowulf)

And that's in seven issues folks. Seven issues and really only two completed stories. Gail Simone is packing more action and more story in 22 pages than most folks are getting in six issues these days.

I love the way in which Wonder Woman's personality is portrayed in the book. She very much has the presence of a warrior princess without being brought across as bullish or arrogant. She shows emotion and compassion without coming across as sheepish or weak. She shows strength of character without being made to look like a stark raving bitch. She is just as likely to solve a conflict with intelligence and diplomacy. But failing that, brute force can be applied in equal measure. She exudes confidence and resolve in her mission and her methods to achieve them and her manner leaves little doubt that she is right and just. In short she is as well rounded a female character as I have read in quite some time.

I must confess I don't really understand the need for the secret identity as Diana Prince in a government agency. I also don't quite understand the need to re-establish the need to "transform" from human Diana Prince to Wonder Woman (assuming that was part of canon at some point in the past. But in truth  Simone inherited all that bit the book relaunch so I think she has handle it well all things considered. And by that I mean to say primarily focus the stories pretty far away from it for the most part.

Which probably makes this a nice spot to make a particular point. I thinks it quite amazing what can be accomplished when a talented writer can boil a character down to his or her core components and just concentrate on telling great stories within that framework. Characters of the class of Wonder Woman, Batman, Spiderman, etc. really aren't need of constant redefining or reimaging. These characters have been around longer than the majority of us reading them currently have been alive. Multiple times over in many cases. They have withstood the test of time not because they get a reboot or a revamp every so many years. They have sruvived because at their very core there is an interesting and easy to understand concept that draws us to them. The sooner publishers come to that realization, the happier I will be as a reader. But I digress.

So if you are not currently reading Wonder Woman, I can unequivically recommend checking out this current run with Gail Simone. I reserve the right to change my mind and the slightest inkling that DC editorial is about to go mucky mucking with the character or story, but for now this is the one DC book I can say that I look quite forward to reading monthly.

Filed under: DC Comics, DVO Reading Rage