Those were not permanent changes, and neither will this be… it’s an alternate reality where Diana is a fugitive. DC knows better than to mess with i¢on$. (Catwoman and Supergirl, however…)

As for the cleavage on the cover, yeah, that’s a major error. Lee’s original sketch was more acceptable. I’ll reserve judgement until I see the interior pages. Ms. Simone has endorsed JMS as a successor.

http://informationcentral0.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/rogue.jpg

What’s with it with him?

Indeed, I’m hard-pressed to think of a “traditional” Wonder Woman story. Sure, there’s the mythology and the social consciousness, but within those confines is still a pretty wide range. One significant difficulty is the loss of William Moulton Marston’s unique viewpoint, which (for good and ill) defined the character for a decade. Ever since, writers and artists have struggled to justify and/or explain away the cleavage, the bracelets, the lasso, and yes, the bondage; and ever since, there’s always been something a little “off” about the character. Superman and Batman (for good and ill) were each refined early through their adaptations in other media. Wonder Woman’s adaptations came much later, most notably when she could be lumped in with the similarly-endowed women of “Charlie’s Angels.” Lynda Carter’s heart might have been in the right place, but the show still came across as campy, leaving its mark on Wonder Woman as indelibly as Adam West’s on Batman.

While the comics moved on, they still subjected Diana to different interpretations. The 1987 Pérez revamp emphasized her unfamiliarity with Patriarch’s World. Writer Bill Messner-Loebs tried to balance superheroics with street-level slices of life. John Byrne doubled down on the superheroics, throwing in a Silver Age tribute for good measure. Phil Jiminez’ run sought to fuse the Pérez interpretation with the more wholesome parts of the Golden Age. Greg Rucka saw Diana’s world through diplomatic and political eyes, Allan Heinberg brought back the secret-agent aspects, and Gail Simone showed us Diana the compassionate warrior. I’ve followed Wonder Woman faithfully since Pérez, and it’s been a fascinating evolution. I can’t say that anyone’s gotten her exactly right, though, because I’m just not sure what “exactly right” is.

The failure by anyone to get her “exactly right” indicates that there’s a problem with the concept, because a fictional character has a purpose associated with her story. Her failure to age isn’t an excuse for her to remain forever naive, innocent, or in any one state. Aging forces a person to make choices, because opportunities disappear as one ages. Repeated mistakes brand someone as a failure.

THOR isn’t doing any better as a treatment of mythological characters and might be worse. Gillen’s attempt to add new characters, the soul-eating Disir, has resulted in a mess, because of the flip-flopping between “The gods are humanoid aliens” and “The gods are humanoid beings created by human worshippers”. They can’t be both.

SRS

Wonder Woman did take part in “Blackest Night”, and she did have a part in “The Brave and the Bold” #33, by JMS.

I don’t think it’s official, but there doesn’t seem to be much crossover in the DCU of late.

Also, this upcoming storyline is an alternate/Elseworlds story. Longtime readers may remember when Paradise Island was ravaged by Darkseid. This sort of thing is nothing new… with the female-only aspect and ther presence of Wonder Woman, any threat to Paradise Island carries tremendous storytelling effect.

Okay… I’m confused… fans complain that they spend $3.99 for a comic book that gets read in fifteen minutes, but if there’s too much text, it’s also bad? When reading a JMS story, I’ve never realized that it’s too wordy…I stay in the story and continue on. Of course, that skill depends on the writer and artist, and the 22 Panels Which Always Work.

“Instead of “baddass,” though, this new look is more appropriate for a background dancer in Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation” video.”

- Jessie Reid at Project Rooftop

Now that I look at the whole thing, I see a few points:

1) The Amazons all slaughtered? Not sure I like this. DC’s (and Marvel too! Don’t think you guys are off the hook!) track record with regards to women can be twisted to show a streak that might be regarded as immature and sometimes borders on misogyny. Certainly the mileage people have gotten with the old Lois Lane comics is a sign of this, not to mention the pages people have written about Power Girl, Spoiler, Donna Troy, Kyle Rayner’s girlfriend. If the attack on the Amazons were demonstrated to be compared to the slaughter of the Jedi in the Star Wars prequels, we might have something better to discuss.

2) If the Amazons are comparable to the Jedi, then does that make Wonder Woman comparable to Luke Skywalker (or Leia?) where the hopes of the old guard are pinned to the New Hope? A similar theme shows up in the Harry Potter books too. We’ll see…

3) As much as JMS talks himself up, one bit that bugs me about his books as that his characters spend a lot of time talking. Lots of it. Just picking up an issue of his Brave and the Bold books (or Squadron Supreme or Spider-Man) and leafing through, it’s pages of people standing around and jabbering. Now, this might be an issue with the artist (I recall John Romita Jr. keeping things interesting on Spider-Man) but if a book costs $4 now, I might prefer to wait for the trade to feel like I might be getting my money’s worth. Or not picking the trade up if all I think I’ll be getting is pages of people standing and talking in a non-interesting manner. The preview of JMS’s run in Superman doesn’t help either; mopey Superman walking across America sounds boring, so why should I take a chance on Wonder Woman?

4) The costume is growing on me. It seemed like a step backwards to the 90s, but I like it.

5) I haven’t seen it anywhere, but is there a moratorium on Wonder Woman appearances in other books while this is going on? What about Donna Troy? Or is Donna Troy not raised by Amazons anymore?

It must be difficult walking on one foot seeing as how every time you open your mouth, your other foot ends up inside.

Maybe you should have stopped typing after the words, ‘What’s wrong with enjoying the tears…’

Because the only thing more repugnant and pathetic than an upset fanboy is a fanboy who gets off on upset fanboys.