Wonder Woman Annual 1989 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

With exception of the cover, this 1989 annual features artwork, including inks and colors by an all-female crew. Cover artist George Perez also pens this extra-large sized feature that chronicles Princess Diana's Post-Crisis debut. 

When the princess of Thermyscira first arrived in the world of men, she didn't speak much English and knew even less of modern day ways and norms. So, Diana needed an intermediary in order to spread her message of peace and unity. Enter Myndi Mayer; a press agent who sees dollars signs in the arrival of the DC Universe's newest heroine. A progressive feminist, Mayer believed in Princess Diana's message. That didn't mean that there weren't marketing opportunities to be found around this Wonder Woman.

This story takes place after the shocking overdose death of Myndi Mayer. The PR agent's death means that end of a chapter in Wonder Woman's life. Diana has decided that the life of a celebrity is not for her. So Mayer's agency must pack up all of the artifacts and effects of the Wonder Woman campaign so that Diana can transport it back to Thermyscira for preservation. As the team goes through these mementos, they reminisce about the highs and lows of Princess Diana's first months in modern civilization. 

This annual was both a closing chapter for established Wonder Woman readers as well as a starting point for newer fans. Along with the death of Myndi, Diana had just finished a climatic battle with Circe as well as Ares. But as we know, Wonder Woman's beef with the god of war is never over. The War of the Gods epic crossover is still 2 years away. But in this new stage in Diana's life, more battles with the upper echelon of Greek gods and continued alliances with the superhero community are in Diana's near future.

Perhaps the most notable segment of this story is the origin behind the logo that Diana wears on her chest. Just like as with Superman's S-shield, the supposed W's on Diana's armor are misinterpreted as English letters.  Kal-El's S-Shield is the Kyrptonian symbol of hope. Diana's double-W's are in honor of a great warrior who helped the Amazons of Themyscira centuries ago: the insignia of Steve Trevor's mother!

Due to the death of Hermes' son Pan, a rift in the fabric of time and reality opens. This anomaly ushers Diana Trevor back in time to Themyscira. The time displaced pilot arrives on the tropical island in the middle of a catastrophic scene as the Amazons are attempting to prevent demons from the underworld coming topside. 

We learn that Diana Trevor sacrificed herself to aid a race of people she did not even know. The Amazons as a result, bury Trevor with full honors and use the Air Corps insignia of a double-W on Trevor's uniform and incorporate it as a totem of strength and courage, which Princess Diana proudly wears. But we also learn that Diana wasn't named after the goddess of Greek myth but instead after Diana Trevor. So that means Steve Trevor is in love with the woman named after his mother!

Featuring Ramona Fradon, Jan Duursema, Colleen Doran and Trina Robbins among others.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars. 

Completing this review completes Task #32 (A Wonder Woman Story) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Wonder Woman: Earth One, Volume 1

   Grant Morrison (Batman and Robin) ushers Diana into the Earth One universe in this graphic novel from 2016. 

    When the Amazon Princess of Themyscira discovers a man who has crashed on the shores of her home, it awakens a desire to visit the world of men. Her hope is to be a harbinger of peace between her homeland and the outside world. But what Diana witnesses chills her to the very core. Angered by her daughter's rebellious nature, Queen Hippolyta orders some of her best warriors to bring Diana back to Themyscira to be judged. Can what the American media has dubbed the 'Wonder Woman' win her freedom with the testimony of her new friends Steve Trevor and Etta Candy or will her sins be found punishable by death?

     This is the third Earth One introductory volume I have read. Superman's story along with Batman were interesting retools of the characters to appeal to a new generation of readers. The whole Earth One project has been like Marvel's Ultimate line, only on a much smaller scale. However, Wonder Woman's story doesn't seem that different from what's already been established for the last 75 years. 

    Yes- Diana's World War II ties have been erased. Yes, Etta Candy is a hip sorority sister whose libido would give Captain Jack Harkness a run for his money. And yes, the technology of Themyscira is more streamlined than based on ancient Greek and Roman myths. But the elements that Grant Morrison tries to use to make this version of Wonder Woman more shocking and daring, such as lesbianism, women's lib, and sexual dominance, aren't new to the Wonder Woman mythos. 

   What I am trying to say is that I feel like I've read this story before: every time Wonder Woman is rebooted like in 1968-69, 1986-87, and 2014.

     Now there was one element to this Earth One volume that was completely new and edgy AND it worked really well too: the art. Swamp Thing's Yanick Paquette does an amazing job with provocative new designs of Diana, Themyscira, and even Etta. Another element I loved were the unique panels he would render of chains, flowers, and gilded statues to evoke the atmosphere of each scene. It ranks up there with Mark Buckingham's mise en place for every page of Fables. I loved it. 

    A good story that I don't think goes far enough to create a new mythos of a pop culture legend. If I am going to read a story that is suppose to re-invent a timeless character for a 21st century audience, it needs to actually change the character. It doesn't happen with Wonder Woman: Earth One. I'm not sure if the master of DC reboots, Grant Morrison either tried too hard or didn't try enough. I know one thing Morrison's attempt to modernize Diana of Themyscira did do: it validated the old adage: "the more things change, the more they stay the same."

    Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Flashpoint: Lois Lane and the Resistance #1

  You often hear that Lois Lane is an excellent investigative journalist. But you don't really get to witness her going off the grid by herself much because Superman is always there to bail her out. In Lois Lane and the Resistance, she finally gets that chance as in the Flashpoint, there is no Superman to answer her calls for help. 
    Stranded in Paris during the fall of Europe, Lois Lane is contacted by the Flashpoint's greatest hero, Cyborg, to make contact with a resistance leader in London, now the home of the Amazon's New Themyscira! But in order to win the right to move freely throughout the new nation, Lois must undergo loyalty training or face becoming an Amazonian science project that often result in hideous mutations. If Lois is to connect with the resistance, Cyborg is going to have to act fast as tomorrow is the day of Lois' turn on the operating table.
     Issue #1 was an action packed look at the underground movement in Europe following Aquaman's destruction of most of the continent. Now with the Amazons controlling the British Isles, it looks like the war between Atlantis and Themyscira is heating up. I felt like I was reading a DC Comics version of Mission: Impossible what with secret operatives, crazy gadgets and tons more espionage and trickery than I can count. 
    Writers Andy Lanning and Dan Abnett, the duo behind Flashpoint: Wonder Woman and the Furies, were the right choice to chronicle further escapades surrounding the Amazons. But something was missing to make this as good as an opening chapter as the work they did in Furies #1. This series doesn't have that breathtaking art that Furies does. But I don't think that it the only reason I wasn't 100% satisfied with this issue. Hopefully, by issue #2, I will be able to put my finger on it. All I can say for now is that I get the feeling that my objections have something to do with the cover...

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Flashpoint: Wonder Woman and the Furies #1

   We've seen the beginnings of Atlantis's war with the surface. Now witness the origins of the Atlantis-Themyscira War in the pages of Wonder Woman and the Furies #1. Love lost, treason, deception, and murder. This issue has everything and a Kraken too!

    If you don't read Flashpoint in the order DC listed all of the tie-ins in the pages of Flashpoint #1 and #2, you'll be doing yourself a disservice. There are some many cliffhangers, crossovers, and shocking reveals that require reading everything in order for maximum effect. I've been doing pretty good job of that myself, with exception of a couple of mix-ups, and I must say that doing so has really blown me away with the level of quality and excitement in every book.
    Up until this point, this issue is perhaps my favorite of the bunch. The storytelling of Andy Lanning and Dan Abnett was spectacular. But really what did it for me was the artwork. Scott Clark's (Batman Incorporated) mix of CGI imagery of the landmarks of Altantis and Themyscira and swift pencil strokes crafting younger versions of Wonder Woman and Aquaman were stunning. And look this the cover by Ed Benes (Batgirl)! The level of detail put into the ruins of London are breathtaking. 
   Excellent Stuff!

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint #1

  World of Flashpoint is an interesting addition to the Flashpoint tie-ins. While the other miniseries focus on a very small aspect of the Flashpoint universe, particularly a character or a city, World of Flashpoint gives a more global perspective to the numerous crises the leaders of the free world face in the midst of the Atlantis- Themyscira war. And it's all seen through the eyes of one young girl

    Eight months ago (prior to Flashpoint #1), life seemed very good for young Traci Thirteen and he family. She lived in Paris with her siblings and parents. Her mother has mystical powers and has been teaching Traci to use the powers she's inherited and Traci's getting quite good at it.

  Things seem perfect until one day, Traci and her father are teleported away to safety. As a result, Traci's mother, exhausted from her protective use of magic, cause her and Traci's siblings to become victims of Emperor Aquaman's tsunami which floods eastern Europe.

      Now living in Switzerland, Mr. Thirteen is a high-ranking world government official tasked with finding a way to end the combined Atlantean and Amazon threats to the planet. The only answer the governments of the world can decide on is the use of a massive laser that will destroy Aquaman and Wonder Woman's forces. But it will also mean the death of millions of innocent lives. With her father poised to push the laser's firing button, can Traci Thirteen prevent another massacre of innocents in time?

      This first issue was quite different from the other tie-ins. There's a ton of cameos from DC's B and C list of characters. Instead of being a dull issue, the insertion of minor DC characters only made the Flashpoint storyline seem all that more widespread and encompassing. I know everyone wants the comics they are reading to star Batman or Superman but it's the minor (but oh so familiar) characters that make a story like this stand out that much more. It's probably why Crisis on Infinite Earths is my favorite comic of all-time.

     Ben 10 Classics' Rex Ogle really did his homework including characters like Clarion the Witch Boy and China's Iron General in August in creative ways in this story. I can't wait to see who he recruits in issue #2. Featuring some pretty good (but a little too-much Rob Liefeld for my tastes) art by Eduardo Francisco (Assassins School) and Paulo Siqueira (Batman Eternal) this was a very good opening segment to a vital part of the Flashpoint storyline you must not miss!

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.