The Official WONDER WOMAN Discussion Thread [Archive] - Page 4

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Bullseye

09-23-2006, 09:32 PM

I wouldn't mind if most titles were moved to a bi-monthly schedule. If that were to be, then it would most certainly diminish the amount of delays for titles.

phoenixflight

11-11-2006, 06:08 PM

I'm not an expert, and I don't have a photoshop program, but I really wanted to make an Agent Prince work ID tag (based on issue 2 of Wonder Woman vol. 3). I used Angelina Jolie as Diana.

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/4470/idtagdianaprinceff0.jpg

Darthphere

11-11-2006, 07:02 PM

Thats really cool.

CConn

11-11-2006, 07:43 PM

I want issue three now. :(

Darthphere

11-11-2006, 07:43 PM

Ok, ill send it to you in a PM.

Not Jake

11-11-2006, 08:32 PM

Seriously, issue 1 was in like, August or something, and issue 3 is penciled in for January? Terrible. I can really tell that DC holds Wonder Woman in as high regard as Supes & Bats:whatever:

Anubis

11-11-2006, 08:32 PM

I forgot this book even exsisted.

CConn

11-11-2006, 08:38 PM

Seriously, issue 1 was in like, August or something, and issue 3 is penciled in for January? Terrible. I can really tell that DC holds Wonder Woman in as high regard as Supes & Bats:whatever:I dunno. Personally, I'd say Wonder Woman is turning out to be quite like a Batman title. :o

http://img2.imagepile.net/img2b/60254clipboard03.jpg

Y'know, only not suckass. :up:

Darthphere

11-11-2006, 09:02 PM

Yeah the delays suck, big time. But at least we know were getting a great product unlike Ultimates, ASB&RTBW, Civil War etc...

Lt. Figgnuts

11-11-2006, 09:21 PM

Yeah the delays suck, big time. But at least we know were getting a great product unlike Ultimates, ASB&RTBW, Civil War etc...

Man, when Ultimates comes out it's top-notch. :o

So is Wonder Woman so far, even though the changes of the run have essentially been undone already...:(

GoldenAgeHero

11-11-2006, 09:44 PM

damn not even a solicit for this book? ugh

CConn

11-11-2006, 10:35 PM

...the solicits haven't been released yet.

BrianWilly

11-12-2006, 02:26 AM

phoenixflight

11-12-2006, 08:38 AM

Uh, isn't issue #3 coming out in two weeks (http://www.dccomics.com/comics/?cm=5777):confused:? What's this January nonsense?

Newsarama has a preview of it up. (http://www.newsarama.com/dcnew/Nov06/previews/nov15.html)

Thanks for the update and the correct info on the release date. I really like this storyline. With soooo much time in between, people are forgetting about this book. It is annoying that it's bi-monthly now. Why? Can someone answer that question - Why?

GoldenAgeHero

11-12-2006, 09:01 AM

^^allen heinberg.

Darthphere

11-12-2006, 11:08 AM

Thanks for the update and the correct info on the release date. I really like this storyline. With soooo much time in between, people are forgetting about this book. It is annoying that it's bi-monthly now. Why? Can someone answer that question - Why?

Allan Heinberg has a big shot Hollywood career that takes precedent over his comic book hobby.

CConn

11-12-2006, 11:57 AM

So...Cheetah can control her Cheetahness now?

Manic

11-12-2006, 08:15 PM

Holy crap, Wonder Woman still has a comic? I thought they cancelled it after 2 issues, on account of no comic book should ever have delays this long between issues.

Darthphere

11-12-2006, 08:16 PM

Holy crap, Wonder Woman still has a comic? I thought they cancelled it after 2 issues, on account of no comic book should ever have delays this long between issues.

Where the **** have you been?:huh:

Manic

11-12-2006, 08:23 PM

I started buying comics this January. Before now, I'd only bought trade paperbacks. I'm not used to big honkin' delays in my monthly comics.

phoenixflight

11-12-2006, 11:27 PM

Here is the cover art to issue #5:

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/773/wwcv5solicitwv4.jpg

PWN3R

11-12-2006, 11:28 PM

Allan's last issue right.:(

Eros

11-12-2006, 11:50 PM

BrianWilly

11-13-2006, 03:24 AM

DC's Big Three isn't chosen based on how many books they sell of the characters today, it's based on more than sixty years of history and iconicism and longevity. The trinity wasn't intentionally created by DC to be some sort of company lynchpin; it created itself...naturally, organically, and inevitably through the course of the company's entire history. Wonder Woman hasn't had steady sales for years now, but she's still the single most recognizable superheroine in the world. That's why she's a member of the Big Three. All this really "proves" is that DC is fumbling the ball in getting a book out, it doesn't say anything at all about the actual character.

The Leaguer

11-13-2006, 06:58 AM

this has to prove it now, wonderWoman should not be considered part of the "Trinity" of DC. Shes a great character, but while bats and supes have multiple ongoing books, plus their all-star line, WonderWoman can bearly get out an issue of her only main comic. Batman has Detective and "Batman", and All-star Batman. Supes has "Superman" and Action comics, plus ALL-star Superman. Diana just has "wonderwoman", and they can't even get that out on time.
Judging by the first sentence, I thought this post was going to be about how Wonder Woman shouldn't be a part of the Trinity, but every sentence after served only to prove that you're a 'tard instead.

The Caped Knight

11-13-2006, 06:49 PM

Here is the cover art to issue #5:

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/773/wwcv5solicitwv4.jpg

hopfully Diana returns

Eros

11-13-2006, 09:36 PM

and hopefully people will care.

K.B.

11-13-2006, 10:15 PM

So who actually likes this book?

Anubis

11-13-2006, 10:22 PM

Almost everybody that read it.

hippie_hunter

11-13-2006, 10:24 PM

I like it, though I found it completely unnecessary to relaunch the book.

Anubis

11-13-2006, 10:25 PM

Me too.

CConn

11-13-2006, 11:14 PM

I love it, myself. I'd say it's the best DC book out there right now if it came out more than every 3 months. :o

hippie_hunter

11-14-2006, 12:11 AM

I think that Wonder Woman should be put onto original numbering.

The Leaguer

11-14-2006, 12:30 AM

Of all the books DC prints that don't out-right suck, this is easily one of the weakest.

CConn

11-14-2006, 12:37 AM

...I don't even know what that means.

Anyhoo, I wouldn't say WW's original numbing should be put back, just back to Volume 2's as that's where her continuity starts.

JLA's really needs to be put back too. :o

The Leaguer

11-14-2006, 12:39 AM

It means, of all the books that don't suck, it's the weakest.

The Shredder

11-14-2006, 12:48 AM

So who actually likes this book?

I do.

WW is actually one of my fav books right now. Something that started awhile back when Greg Rucka took over the title. However, Heinberg's run has been pretty enjoyable so far I think.

Zeu

11-14-2006, 01:16 AM

Kevin

11-14-2006, 02:14 AM

Only 2 issues in... they are good, and my first time EVER reading a Wonder Woman book. (I have some early issues from vol. 2, but I couldn't even read one because it was boring me... I know I suck) I must say, I really like Allan, I love him on YA... But they should not give him a book, high profile at that, if it goes PAST bi-monthly. At least give him a co-writer, or fill in author of his choice. SOMETHING! I can't take the lateness. I know you guys want good writing, but some of you are acting like Allan is the only guy who can and ever will write the best wonder woman ever, always.

Green Lantern

11-14-2006, 02:17 AM

No, Greg is the only guy who can and ever will write the best Wonder Woman ever, always. :o

Anubis

11-14-2006, 12:19 PM

Yeah, Rucka's run was great. And on time.

Darthphere

11-14-2006, 01:19 PM

And low selling.

Anubis

11-14-2006, 01:24 PM

The good stuff usually is.

Darthphere

11-14-2006, 01:26 PM

And the good die young.

*smokes weed and passes to Anubis*

Anubis

11-14-2006, 01:34 PM

*takes a long drag*

But bastards live forever.

Manic

11-14-2006, 01:47 PM

That was the best written exchange in this entire thread.

Not sarcasm.

Darthphere

11-14-2006, 01:50 PM

We do that from time to time.

K.B.

11-14-2006, 04:35 PM

I love Dodsons artwork to and thats why I am picking it up but I'm not sold on the story yet. Hopefully by the end of this arc it all works out but so far...I'm not seeing it.

GoldenAgeHero

11-14-2006, 05:00 PM

i wish the dodsons were back at marvel.

Varient

11-14-2006, 05:28 PM

Cho and Dodson draw very fine meaty-goodness,... they set back the woman's movement as far as women as "objects" about 100 years.

Heh - Cho draws Robin checking out WonderWoman,....
http://www.superherohype.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3966&stc=1&d=1163546632

Varient

11-14-2006, 05:31 PM

I don´t really care for most of the plots going on (Donna, Nemesis, the secret ID, Hercules) but since I´m a pure and unadultered Dodson whore, I am hooked.

Terry could be drawing The adventures of Goofy and Zelda in Raccoon City and I´d still buy it. :word:
Strong words,....

All A person would need to do to make you a Squirrel Girl -w- Cheeks the Toy wonder fan would be to have the Dodson's do their thing,...

Sigh.
(I would pay MONEY for squirrel girl drawn by either one for just ONE ISSUE.)

Zeu

11-14-2006, 06:18 PM

Strong words,....

All A person would need to do to make you a Squirrel Girl -w- Cheeks the Toy wonder fan would be to have the Dodson's do their thing,...

Sigh.
(I would pay MONEY for squirrel girl drawn by either one for just ONE ISSUE.)

I was late into the whole Squirrel Girl thing but if the Dodsosn drew it, I´d be all over it like bear on honey.

Cho and Dodson draw very fine meaty-goodness,... they set back the woman's movement as far as women as "objects" about 100 years.

Heh - Cho draws Robin checking out WonderWoman,....
http://www.superherohype.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3966&stc=1&d=1163546632

OMG!
Are the Wonder Twins making out in that pic? Incest always irked me but that looks kinda... neat
Cho is cool, I´d pay top dolar for a monthly Storm comic drawn by him.

Varient

11-15-2006, 10:14 AM

OMG!
Are the Wonder Twins making out in that pic? Incest always irked me but that looks kinda... neat
Cho is cool, I´d pay top dolar for a monthly Storm comic drawn by him.

Heh,...
"Wonder Twin Powers Activate,........"

Kitsune

11-15-2006, 10:16 AM

Heh,...
"Wonder Twin Powers Activate,........"
I remember this one, wasn't Batman making a pass at Jase?

Varient

11-15-2006, 10:24 AM

I remember this one, wasn't Batman making a pass at Jase?
Yup,...
Was really a "creepy" picture.

phoenixflight

11-21-2006, 10:25 PM

Is issue #3 coming out tmrw (11.22.06)??

CConn

11-21-2006, 11:08 PM

Yup.

The Leaguer

11-21-2006, 11:11 PM

tmrw
Four letters. Was it really worth it?

Manic

11-22-2006, 03:54 AM

Is issue #3 coming out tmrw (11.22.06)??
Say it with me:

A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y.

Binker

11-22-2006, 08:01 PM

Wonder Woman Vol. 3 #3

--SPOILERS INCLIDED--

PLOT:
Hercules has come to take care of the things Diana once did. The reason? Hercules is the God's New Champion. With Donna and Cassie saved, Diana and Nemesis go to find out if there is something up the sleeve of the new champion.

REVIEW:
Issue 3 has finally come out. Y'know I feel? Excited. Like "finally!", in a sarcasm kind of way because waiting for these issues really makes me mad. I didn't mind the bi-monthly idea (well I don't because it was said to be temporary) but I do mind the fact that we had to wait just for one issue to come out and it drives me nuts. These things always do. Since we saw what issue 5, the final chapter, look like, I guess this can all changed.

Back to the issue.

Hercules appeared in the last issue and back then, I thought he had came to make a change of having a man do the job instead of a woman. But that was before I got up-to-date with the comics because I thought Hercules was still an enemy to the Amazons. Now he wasn't so I ended up being up in the air on why he came in. In this issue he reveals why: he is now the God's New Champion and is here because Diana abandoned her mission. At first I thought he was going to be a hateful character but Diana agrees with him. Though she has not renounced her mission, she is now lying to be human, left her mission and got her family in danger. Though she is not Wonder Woman, Diana still wants to fight as Diana Prince. At least Hercules won't be a problem because....well you can go see.

In this arc the villians were, and still are, Gigantia, Dr. Psycho & the Cheetah. In this issue we get a fourth villian: Circe. Like the women, I love their designs both in character and costume, and Circe is the same. Also, the character's seem to be played off over the title of this arc "Who is Wonder Woman?". Is Wonder Woman still Diana, or she is Donna Troy or Circe (she creates and makes her own), or is it Hercules, a Wonder Man? The arc plays with the "Who is" quite alot, or enough.

Overall, this issue sets up the climax that will be in the next two issues. This arc of Wonder Woman new volume series is very good and that's why I hope, from the schedule, that the next issues are released on time and the bi-monthly plan has ended. This issue gave us some developments. Cassie is still angry at Diana but both her and Donna need help, and thanks to Circe, Diana is now a human being. Is here powers gone for good (well of course not, look at the other comics now with her as Wonder Woman, oh wait did I spoil?) but due to the DCU after Infinite Crisis, will Diana be thrown back into have her Pre-Crisis non-flying powers? I guess we'll find out. Good issue.

RATING: 7.5/10

GoldenAgeHero

11-23-2006, 10:30 AM

7.5? i'll give it an 8 maybe an 8.2. the story was that good, although i dont think we should've waited as long as we did for this.

Darthphere

11-23-2006, 10:47 AM

I agree with GAH.

The Leaguer

11-23-2006, 12:42 PM

Not a bad issue, but that my be because I had just read Action Comics, so my expectations were low.

Purple Man

11-23-2006, 12:47 PM

7.5? i'll give it an 8 maybe an 8.2. the story was that good, although i dont think we should've waited as long as we did for this.

Agreed. We shouldn't have to wait more than the standard month between issues, but comic book writers are only people. Mentally disturbed people who make their living writing about people in spandex so you can forgive their tardiness when they have a large workload that involves projects outside our nerdy realm.

Heinberg is a colossal talent, and for once I'm actually giving a damn about Wonder Womans comic. No offense to Greg Rucka, but in my eyes it's hard to compete with the Heinberg and Dodson combo.

The Leaguer

11-23-2006, 12:48 PM

It's actually pretty easy: just be Greg Rucka.

Binker

11-23-2006, 01:05 PM

I agve it a 7.5 because.......I can't think of a reason. Should I change it?

GoldenAgeHero

11-23-2006, 01:26 PM

i dunno.^^ i liked greg rucka's run on wonder woman. the only thing that bothered me was the emphasis on greek mythology. theres nothing wrong with that, but i would've liked to see a nice balance between the greek myth and what was going on in the modern times of the world.

Knives122

11-23-2006, 02:28 PM

Did any of you manage to see the new Captain marvel helping the JSA? Doesn't surprise me......

And we need uglier gods btw.......

Manic

11-23-2006, 02:38 PM

Yeah, I was a tad confused by that. Why the hell was Captain Marvel with the JSA?

Kevin

11-23-2006, 04:31 PM

greek mythology + me = :cmad:

Manic

11-23-2006, 05:43 PM

greek mythology + me = :cmad:
Not a fan of Greek Mythology? That's, like, the best ancient mythology-- just barely beating out Egyptian and Aztec.

BrianWilly

11-23-2006, 05:45 PM

Yeah, Captain Marvel has been popping up in a lot of weird places where he shouldn't be popping up. He appeared in the Superman "Up, Up and Away" arc too.

One explanation is that this is Billy before he turned into his new whitewashed incarnation. We're not quite sure when exactly The Trials of Shazam take place, after all; it could be after both Superman and Wonder Woman's returns. But they also say during Justice League #1 that Billy is missing and no one knows where he is. So *shrug*

Another explanation is that this is Freddy, after he'd completed his trials. He looked very different in the original OYL shot in IC#7, but in the Perez-revamped shot, he looked just like Captain Marvel.

Anyway, thoughts on the issue from B/T thread...

Wonder Woman #3
And ironically enough it's often the new, untested writers who will remember the most about a character's continuity and put it into their stories.

I was frankly and pleasantly a bit surprised at just how much of Wonder Woman's history and post-Crisis canon that Heinberg managed to remember and put in here. Oh sure, he glossed over Hercules' rape of the Amazons in all but the most subtle of subtexts, but to fit in "Harold Campion" from Byrne's run? Hell, I'm not even sure that Byrne remembers he once had Hercules be Champion. When all of WW's post-Crisis history seems to be in a bit of an upheaval following Infinite Crisis, it's good to see much of it still intact.

I honestly love Heinberg's characterization of Diana. It's just enough like Rucka's that it doesn't nearly feel like a completely different character -- and I'm looking at you, Johns and Waid -- but with some genuine progression and added depths built onto the preexisting Diana. She's still the same confident, intrepid woman she once was, but there's also a shade of doubt and uncertainty and insecurity that colors everything she does. She says "Wonder Woman is a symbol. She's not me." but it's almost as if she's trying to convince herself. For someone who used to know the truth about everything, this is a very interesting turn.

Before Heinberg started this run, pretty much my worst nightmare for Wonder Woman would have been for her to return to her Diana Prince roots and turn into a secret agent character-type character again. But now I see Agent Prince in action and it's really sort of fun and interesting in that not-quite-campy way. I like Agent Nemesis in the series too, in that generic male costar sort of way. On the one hand I hope that whoever continues this book after Heinberg really keeps this whole Department of Metahuman Affairs angle, but on the other I keep seeing ways for other writers to screw it up. So we'll see.

Also props to the Dodsons for making Circe much more visually intimitating that the leather-clad dominatrix that she'd become in recent years. Not that I mind the prior interpretation, but there's something about flowy robes and bling bling for a sorceress that's really cool.

Does the lateness of the book bother me? Yeah, it does. While the book's quite good, it's honestly not that good as to require months upon months of delays. The story and the art are both top-notch, but it's really not as if either the writer or the artists are just swamped with that much work right now. In a nutshell, there really should not be any reason for this book to be taking this much time getting out. But as usual with books like this (Astonishing X-Men and Heinberg's other title Young Avengers to name a few), most often the good parts of the series takes the edge off the lateness.

(8.7 out of 10, minus a bit for the lateness)

Kevin

11-23-2006, 05:56 PM

Not a fan of Greek Mythology? That's, like, the best ancient mythology-- just barely beating out Egyptian and Aztec.I liked Hercules and Xena the tv shows, Xena more. Does that count?:huh:

Manic

11-23-2006, 06:19 PM

I liked Hercules and Xena the tv shows, Xena more. Does that count?:huh:
Eh, it's a start... once you get past the glaring inaccuracies and use of Roman names of Greek characters (ie. Hercules was called Heracles in Greece, but just about everyone makes that mistake, or flat-out ignores it).

Kevin

11-23-2006, 06:23 PM

Yay then:woot:

LouFerignoDemon

11-24-2006, 11:11 AM

Not a fan of Greek Mythology? That's, like, the best ancient mythology-- just barely beating out Egyptian and Aztec.

Greek was behind both Norse and Canaan.

CConn

11-24-2006, 02:23 PM

Y'know, as unpopular believe as it is, I wasn't a very big fan of Rucka's run on WW. It was solid. Very solid, in fact. But it seemed to be very unkind to any kind of newcomer to Wonder Woman (which, at the time, I was). Y'know, I started at the beginning of his run, and I still feel like I need to go back and Jimenez' run to fully...appreciate all of the characters and plots involved in Rucka's run.

Not that I'd want every title to be like, say, Batman - where it seems as though every story is an isolated event in itself - but I do prefer comics that are a bit easier to jump into, and fully understand, and grasp, and enjoy without needing to know everything about the character's history. Heinberg's run, so far, as done that wonderfully.

Darthphere

11-24-2006, 02:24 PM

Lets just pray they cancel Grey's Anatomy (unlikely) and that heinberg doesnt get another writing job (unlikely) so he can write Wonder Woman again after issue #5.

LouFerignoDemon

11-24-2006, 02:36 PM

I can spoil the entire series for Grey's Anatomy real quick if it helps.

People work in a hospital (that's really useless info)

All of them have random sex, a lot.

None of them are happy with their decisions in the end, and feel bad.

Someone occassionally has a good day.

More sex, more problems.

Wash, rinse, repeat.

NOW GET BACK TO WRITING ABOUT THINGS I CARE ABOUT!!!

Darthphere

11-24-2006, 02:37 PM

Pretty much.

Kevin

11-24-2006, 02:56 PM

Damn! now I can't watch it:(:woot:

LouFerignoDemon

11-24-2006, 03:08 PM

Pretty much.

Not pretty much. To a "T".

It pisses me off how people love that show.

It's ****. That's all it is.

I could come up with a better show about amino acids.

Doc Destruction

11-24-2006, 03:46 PM

The only good medical shows ever are Scrubs and House. The rest suck ass.

LouFerignoDemon

11-24-2006, 03:47 PM

House rocks.

GoldenAgeHero

11-24-2006, 03:53 PM

is'nt house the same scenario you just played out for greay's anatomy?

Darthphere

11-24-2006, 03:54 PM

No, not at all.

GoldenAgeHero

11-24-2006, 03:58 PM

Darthphere

11-24-2006, 04:01 PM

No, not every episode is like that. In the end he usually finds the solution by seeing something common. "Her hair is red, he has genetic gonorrhea."

LouFerignoDemon

11-24-2006, 04:49 PM

is'nt house the same scenario you just played out for greay's anatomy?

Hardly.

LouFerignoDemon

11-24-2006, 04:50 PM

yeah it is. each episode:

house has problem

house takes out frustration on his students

house comes up with some life saving medical bs

students say impossible, nah your crazy doc, you can get fired for this

house does it behind thier backs anyway.

patient's life is saved, he proves every one wrong.

thats basically every single episode.

Actually, House just has one continuous problem. He just makes problems for everybody else. All the way from pregnancy teasing, to getting them in trouble for malpractice. To getting them to cover HIM for malpractice. It changes up quite a bit.

Locs

11-24-2006, 07:03 PM

Right.

Like how they manage to maintain Wonderwoman's bondage-factor in this issue and I'm looking forward to a big fighting scene come next issue.

Manic

11-25-2006, 12:23 AM

"He's pushed the boundaries before, but this time, has House gone too far?"

I swear that's the premise to every episode of House. I hear it on the radio every week for every new episode.

BrianWilly

11-25-2006, 04:21 AM

Yeah but...it's funny:o.

Not Jake

11-25-2006, 10:17 AM

The only good medical shows ever are Scrubs and House. The rest suck ass.
Yeah M.A.S.H. was really bad. It definitely did "suck ass." Seriously, no wonder nobody likes you. You have like the worst opinions ever. Honestly, you win the 2006 award for Worst Opinions by a Male Artist. It's almost like you work extra hard to say the dumbest thing possible. I certainly don't see how it could come naturally. Between stuff like this and stuff in the Marvel forum, it's just astonishing to experience your terrible posting. Sometimes I read your posts and I ask myself what kind of mother would give birth to this monstrosity.

Not Jake

11-25-2006, 10:19 AM

...I sort of liked Chicago Hope too.:o

Darthphere

11-27-2006, 03:47 PM

From this week's Lying in the Gutters: (http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/?column=13)

WONDER WHERE?

Two weeks ago on Wednesday, Brad Meltzer posted the following to his MySpace page, concerning "Wonder Woman."

The truth about WONDER WOMAN.

Hey, everybody,

According to the good people at DC Comics, WONDER WOMAN 3 is scheduled to arrive in stores next Wednesday, November 22. Please know that everyone involved (both creatively and editorially) regrets the delay between issues, but since WONDER WOMAN is a labor of love for all involved, we're extremely grateful to DC Comics for allowing us the extra time and to the book's loyal readers for their patience and understanding.

Hope you enjoy it,

Allan

Very shortly afterwards, it disappeared, without explanation. The delays I've been told are down to considerable rewriting - based in part on internet comments made by the same people who are now decrying its lateness. How's that for irony.

I don't know, I'm willing to buy it, but at the same time it sounds like bull****.

BrianWilly

11-27-2006, 08:35 PM

It sounds like nonsense. Compared to other comics, Wonder Woman has been receiving far less negative criticism as far as I can tell; certainly not enough to warrant any sort of rewriting.

Manic

11-27-2006, 10:17 PM

"This month's comic is gonna be a month late. How should we explain it?"

"I don't know. Uh... let's blame it on the fans who buy the book, and tell them to stop complaining so much."

Red Mask

11-28-2006, 06:06 AM

Greek was behind both Norse and Canaan.

They are comparable but not linked in origin. The cosmology and nature of the two myths don't match up. Norse is clearly Germanic while Greek is of the Mediterranean. Also many older Egyptian dieties could be traced as the original version of the Olympian counterparts.

Darthphere

11-28-2006, 06:42 AM

It sounds like nonsense. Compared to other comics, Wonder Woman has been receiving far less negative criticism as far as I can tell; certainly not enough to warrant any sort of rewriting.

I dont know, I only travel a small corner of the inter-webs, maybe were not reading the right messageboards.:huh:

BrianWilly

11-28-2006, 08:18 AM

I guess, but usually when a comic's getting mixed reviews or worse, we're at least aware that it's getting mixed reviews or worse. Like with New Avengers or Astonishing X-Men; there's a variety of different responses to it, but we're aware of each and every one.

The fact that we even have to wonder if WW is sitting badly with readers is a pretty good indication that it's not. Obviously we're aware that there are people who don't like this series, but enough people to draw enough attention for the creators to change preexisting storylines? Within three issues worth of material, one of which came out just last week? And keeping in mind that these are the same creators who looked at all the complaints for characters like Blue Beetle and Booster Gold and Ralph Dibny and Wally West and said, "Meh"?

Sounds pretty far-fetched to me. Especially when we already have a pretty logical explanation for the delays: Heinberg's simply a lazy comic writer and prone to turning in late works in lieu of his day job. Considering his track record with Young Avengers, it's not rocket science. Unless we're suggesting now that he was also coerced into rewrites with that series, which is also why it was constantly delayed?

Darthphere

11-28-2006, 08:35 AM

Ive heard so many excuses for the lateness of this title, one of the more perplexing ones along with this is the Heinberg perfectionist excuse.

Doc Destruction

11-28-2006, 08:42 AM

Yeah M.A.S.H. was really bad. It definitely did "suck ass." Seriously, no wonder nobody likes you. You have like the worst opinions ever. Honestly, you win the 2006 award for Worst Opinions by a Male Artist. It's almost like you work extra hard to say the dumbest thing possible. I certainly don't see how it could come naturally. Between stuff like this and stuff in the Marvel forum, it's just astonishing to experience your terrible posting. Sometimes I read your posts and I ask myself what kind of mother would give birth to this monstrosity.

Thanks! And uh, NOBODY likes me? Nice generalization.

For the record, I hardly count MASH as a medical show. I'm thinking more like ER, etc.

Binker

11-28-2006, 10:47 AM

Question: what do you guys think of the Diana Prince identity back in the Wonder Woman comics right now? Because I like it as an agent identity, or for undercover purposes that she can use to get into places that Wonder Woman couldn't get in. And there are other many things for this identity to use beyond that. But going back to what the current Wonder Woman has been since Perez: they made her identity public thus getting rid of the whole Diana Prince identity to begin with.

So what do you guys think of the whole thing?

Darthphere

11-28-2006, 10:58 AM

I hate it.....

LouFerignoDemon

11-28-2006, 11:02 AM

I dislike it. It looks good, but it won't last. She was the character of responsibility to me, and I liked it that way.

Zeu

11-28-2006, 12:02 PM

"Diana Prince" is one of those old legacies the title could definitely live without, right along with the invisible jet or the wonder-spin.

People say "Oh, but it´s a crucial part of who the character is".
Really?
Bondage and submission used to be a part of who the character is too.

We´re in a different time now and I like to think a better time as well, so I say cast the past aside and move forward.

If Wonder Woman stands for Truth like she claims, than hiding behind a secret identity goes completely against her character.
A secret identity that forces her to lie and deceipt and work for the very same government that waged war against her island not so long ago?

No, man.
Just no.

LouFerignoDemon

11-28-2006, 12:23 PM

Doc Destruction

11-28-2006, 12:35 PM

I like the spin! The jet I could live without.

Zeu

11-28-2006, 01:35 PM

You make it sound like a bad thing. :o

BELIEVE ME, I would LOVE to see Wonder Woman have a healthy sexual life. Heck, I´d pay to draw that comic.:woot:

But bondage just isn´t my thing and I´m not into "submission games".

LouFerignoDemon

11-28-2006, 01:37 PM

BELIEVE ME, I would LOVE to see Wonder Woman have a healthy sexual life. Heck, I´d pay to draw that comic.:woot:

But bondage just isn´t my thing and I´m not into "submission games".

lol Not I actually. She's one of like...two females in the DCU that aren't sex beasts. I actually like her adamant non sexual life.

Zeu

11-28-2006, 01:43 PM

lol Not I actually. She's one of like...two females in the DCU that aren't sex beasts. I actually like her adamant non sexual life.

Well, you´re entitled to that PoV, of course, but I come from that school of thought where sex (and love) is part of who we are and what drives us.

Sure we can live without either but can we really live "happily" without them?

LouFerignoDemon

11-28-2006, 01:45 PM

Well, you´re entitled to that PoV, of course, but I come from that school of thought where sex (and love) is part of who we are and what drives us.

Sure we can live without either but can we really live "happily" without them?

I do. But it's for far more petty reasons.

I just enjoy that one female in the DCU doesn't bang every Tom, Dick, and Harry they come across. (No pun intended.)

Zeu

11-28-2006, 01:50 PM

I do. But it's for far more petty reasons.

Sorry to hear about that... :(

I just enjoy that one female in the DCU doesn't bang every Tom, Dick, and Harry they come across. (No pun intended.)

She doesn´t have to bang everyone in the DCU to have a healthy sexual life.
She can have a single partner she enjoys sleeping with.

I don´t care either way, I just find it sad that she never experienced sex in 3,000 years.
Ouch!

LouFerignoDemon

11-28-2006, 01:52 PM

Sorry to hear about that... :(

She doesn´t have to bang everyone in the DCU to have a healthy sexual life.
She can have a single partner she enjoys sleeping with.

I don´t care either way, I just find it sad that she never experienced sex in 3,000 years.
Ouch!

Oh oh, I see what you mean. I kind of just took it the other way. Sorry, I didn't sleep last night, I'm a little frazzled.

I totally do not mind her having a partner. THAT I totally agree with.

Though, I've never experienced sex myself (petty reasons, still), and I don't think I'm TOO fundamentally messed up.

Darthphere

11-28-2006, 02:09 PM

I can see the problem with the spin and the invisible jet, but Diana Prince? Really, I dont see the big deal. Its not like shes out doing Kung-fu beating up ninjas like the old days.

Zeu

11-28-2006, 02:10 PM

Oh oh, I see what you mean. I kind of just took it the other way. Sorry, I didn't sleep last night, I'm a little frazzled.

Lol
No worries, I´m on the same boat.

I totally do not mind her having a partner. THAT I totally agree with.

Cool :)

Though, I've never experienced sex myself (petty reasons, still), and I don't think I'm TOO fundamentally messed up.

Well, I hope you do manage to experience it one day, living a life without having had it once is kinda like watching the sunset with the shades on.

Gawd, that came off terrible, I really need some ZZZs too.
How about this.
It´s like having a meal and skipping the dessert.
Watching tv for the commercials.

(...)

Going to the movies and leaving during the climax. :D

LouFerignoDemon

11-28-2006, 02:11 PM

Agreed. But I just don't see her, as part of her repentance, helping people that Max Lord most likely would've utilized for his plans.

LouFerignoDemon

11-28-2006, 02:11 PM

Lol
No worries, I´m on the same boat.

Cool :)

Well, I hope you do manage to experience it one day, living a life without having had it once is kinda like watching the sunset with the shades on.

Eh. I vowed marriage first. Just to piss my family off.

Darthphere

11-28-2006, 02:12 PM

Agreed. But I just don't see her, as part of her repentance, helping people that Max Lord most likely would've utilized for his plans.

The Department of Metahuman affaris was shutdown when Maxwell Lord was in his evil plan, Sarge Steel started it up again.

LouFerignoDemon

11-28-2006, 02:34 PM

The Department of Metahuman affaris was shutdown when Maxwell Lord was in his evil plan, Sarge Steel started it up again.

I know, but it seems like she wouldn't even risk something like that again.

Darthphere

11-28-2006, 02:38 PM

I know, but it seems like she wouldn't even risk something like that again.

What better way to stop a government agency from going corrupt than working for said government agency.:huh:

LouFerignoDemon

11-28-2006, 02:42 PM

The same argument I've given before. But one would only assume that only if she were actually attempting to learn about it a lot harder than what she's shown. For a good strategist, she is suprised far too often.

BrianWilly

11-28-2006, 05:45 PM

I'm liking Diana Prince, always loved the jet, and am neutral about the spin. If it's in, it's in; if it's not, it's not. Heinberg wasn't the first post-Crisis writer to play around with it and he won't be the last.

Wonder Woman is a symbol. And right now, it's someone that Diana doesn't feel comfortable being. If she had ignored her own feelings and continued being Wonder Woman, that would have been a lie. It was perfectly explained in this issue.

And it's not inconsistent with anything she's gone through in the past. She didn't originally call herself Wonder Woman, the press did. And she would, in the past, constantly insist that her acquaintances call her Diana instead of Wonder Woman. And in Rucka's arc -- which frankly was not that long ago -- she practically told everyone within earshot that what matters isn't her title, it's the mission. She outright told Superman that it isn't important what she is called, because it doesn't change who she is.

So frankly, not being Wonder Woman for a while -- especially after the events of last year -- does not go as much against her character as people claim that it does. Did everyone just expect everything to just stick with the status quo and remain hunky dory and never change, especially after the events of last year? They took away her island, restarted her entire series and promised us a shake-up to the character; did everyone just think that that was all for show?

And uh, when did the American government ever wage war against her island? They never did anything like that. Not even Max Lord ever got around to doing anything like that. No one did that but a big f'ing satellite in space.

Oh, and she's not 3000 years old. She was "born" after World War II. Came to Patriarch's World when she was twenty. That being ten years ago in comic time, she'd be thirty now.

Gods, the amount of misconceptions that people manage to have about this character never cease to stagger me.

LouFerignoDemon

11-28-2006, 05:55 PM

Eh, no more than anybody else has about any other characters to tell the truth. When people don't like someone, or something, they become irrational about it.

I'm just as guilty as anybody else in this thread.

BrianWilly

11-28-2006, 06:11 PM

Meh, I think I'm just tired of all these "She's the goddess of TRUTH but she's LYING@@!@!!!!" complaints. She's not lying. Not in the way that they're thinking. Heinberg even addresses that exact statement in the issue. Maybe not to everyone's satisfaction, but it is addressed. What's ironic is that pretty much every single word out of her mouth in these last three issues has been the utter truth. From her perspective, she's not Wonder Woman or a superhero right now, Donna is. She told Nemesis the complete truth as to why she's working with the DMA now.

People having weird preconceptions about Wonder Woman has always been a pet peeve of mine, so I'm always a jerk about it:O. This never happens to other heroes; no one ever says, "Superman spent twenty years in Antarctica due to the death of his uncle, fought a war against America, and then married Lucy Lane. Oh, and his power is control over fire." People do say "Wonder Woman is hundreds of years old, fought a war against America, and is about as strong as Spider-Man." I s**t you not, I've heard all of them and more.

LouFerignoDemon

11-28-2006, 06:14 PM

Dude, I'm tired of "Tony Stark is an ass1111!" half thought out complaints, but I know THOSE aren't going away any time soon.

Though I'm far more tired of DBZ, Batman, Wolverine, and Hulk threads. *Heavy sigh.*

I just learned to turn off my caring for the most part.

But I can empathize.

Darthphere

11-28-2006, 07:08 PM

Tony Stark is an ass though.

LouFerignoDemon

11-28-2006, 07:09 PM

Yeah, he is. But people say it for the wrong reasons. And then claim others to be valiant. XD

It would be like making me a saint, while my father is the devil.

Kevin

11-28-2006, 07:17 PM

I like tony.

The Leaguer

11-28-2006, 09:24 PM

Tony doesn't like you.

Binker

11-28-2006, 11:24 PM

Well I see I caused some argument over my question.

Kevin

11-28-2006, 11:27 PM

Tony doesn't like you."He didn't mean to hurt me, I was just in his way. Tony loves me, I know he does. Then we'll move out and have babies, you'll see!"

Oh, and Leaguer... Shut up and blow me.:cwink: :oldrazz: :woot:

The Leaguer

11-28-2006, 11:33 PM

No, I'm always he blowee. It's just my lot in life.

Kevin

11-28-2006, 11:38 PM

:wow:... deal!:woot::O

Binker

11-29-2006, 08:14 PM

I wanted to let you know that I just read Teen Titans #41 and Diana appears in the issue, as Diana Prince. And Wonder Girl is with her, being nice instead of in her pissed off attitude she was in the recent Wonder Woman issues. And Cassie mentions a suppose love thign between Diana and Nemesis. So this has to take place after the first WW arc.

So I guess she going to be Diana Prince for a while.

Manic

11-29-2006, 10:14 PM

Gee, I wonder how this arc will end, now. Agent Prince is showing up in Teen Titans (getting along with Cassie, no less), while Diana is Wonder Woman in the JLA. Oh, and we know there's at least going to be sexual tension between Diana & Nemesis (like there isn't, already).

I guess our only unanswered question is whether or not Donna Troy lives. Not that death will keep her away for very long.

Doc Destruction

11-30-2006, 06:35 AM

Well, she's a pivotal part of the Monitor storyline, so of course she makes it.

Darthphere

11-30-2006, 07:14 AM

How so?

BrianWilly

11-30-2006, 07:17 AM

Knowing her? Probably exposition.

Doc Destruction

11-30-2006, 08:32 AM

How so?

She's one of the people who were supposed to die in IC, but didn't. So, she's a pivotal part of that storyline.

I remember reading about her role in it in an interview around the time of Brave New World.

Primal Slayer

11-30-2006, 02:32 PM

We already know Donna survives. She is showing up in ION in february.

And she is going to be monitered.

The only thing we dont know how this first arc ends is what happens to Hercules and the villans. But Circe is obviously defeated but we dont know if anything else will happen to her.

Manic

11-30-2006, 06:47 PM

We don't know if Circe is defeated, or just changes her mind in the end.

Red Mask

12-01-2006, 03:04 AM

Okay. She's not lying about being an Amazon princess? She's not disguising herself as a normal human with a false identity (former Wayne employee)? She doesn't want to be indentified as Wonder Woman. OK. Then just let Donna completely take over! Is that so bad?

Manic

12-01-2006, 03:17 AM

I'd love for Donna to just take over, and for Wonder Donna & Agent Prince to share the comic, but DC and 90% of the people in this thread would have to disagree. Needless to say, the word "iconic" would come up a number of times, and all comparisons to the Flash would be dismissed.

BrianWilly

12-01-2006, 03:19 AM

She's not an Amazon princess right now. First of all, she hasn't been for years -- the monarchy was dissolved -- and secondly, Themyscira is gone anyway so she's not the ambassador of anything. Right now, for all intents and purposes, she's a normal person with an extraordinary job.

And Donna did completely take over. Diana told her to. She gave Donna the costume, lasso, and bracelets herself.

The Leaguer

12-01-2006, 09:21 AM

Manic

12-01-2006, 12:32 PM

Of course. I can imagine, but I'm not delusional enough to think anything like that would or should ever happen, or that anybody but myself would enjoy it.

[insert obligatory Joe Quesada joke here]

Red Mask

12-01-2006, 07:27 PM

If Donna is completely taking over then why is the focus still on Diana? Is this story about why she won't return to being Wonder Woman, or will she just realize she should get back the costume?

Not Jake

12-01-2006, 08:38 PM

I wish Donna would take it over too, especially since Dodson draws her more femininely than Diana. At least keep Donna in the book, let her replace some male character. Seriously, if I have to look at Dodson's art, I want there to be as few males as possible, considering he draws them like big plastic asexual things of an undefined age

I hate Dodson and his stupid **** wife.

Red Mask

12-01-2006, 10:17 PM

ISeriously, if I have to look at Dodson's art, I want there to be as few males as possible, considering he draws them like big plastic asexual things of an undefined age.

The Ken and Barbie artist?

BrianWilly

12-02-2006, 01:32 AM

If Donna is completely taking over then why is the focus still on Diana? Is this story about why she won't return to being Wonder Woman, or will she just realize she should get back the costume?Obviously, she'll have a change of heart and take back the title. But that hasn't happened yet; as of right now, she doesn't feel like Wonder Woman, and she thinks Donna is more suited for the role.

Red Mask

12-02-2006, 04:13 AM

Obviously, she'll have a change of heart and take back the title. But that hasn't happened yet; as of right now, she doesn't feel like Wonder Woman, and she thinks Donna is more suited for the role.

That is drama I don't need. Certainly not more than three issues worth. Crime doesn't sleep. We need a heroine who WILL immediately answer the call. Those who can't can just appear in a subplot or side story.

BrianWilly

12-02-2006, 06:50 AM

Yes, because every single superhero story ever written was about fighting crime:confused:. We've certainly never had any superheroes who've experienced eras of doubt and dissatisfaction and were tempted to hang up the costume and the pressure and just be regular person. Certainly Spider-Man never did it. Or Superman. Or Nightwing. Or Robin. Or Black Canary. Or Green Arrow. Or Captain America. Or every single member of the X-Men. Or every single Green Lantern. Or...

Nope. None of them.

And she is answering the call. Haven't you been reading the comic? She is enforcing justice, saving lives, fighting criminals and supervillains as we speak. She's just not doing it as Wonder Woman at the moment.

Red Mask

12-02-2006, 09:47 AM

I don't buy Wonder Woman so I can see her not act as Wonder Woman. And since every other superhero has done it, I find the gimmick grown old. It's also pretty sick to play with reader's minds when in the end the hero dons the costume again.

BrianWilly

12-02-2006, 05:10 PM

First you want her to act like other superheroes, then you don't want her to act like other superheroes:confused:...which one is it?

She's going to be Wonder Woman. Cripes, you act like this is the most ridiculous and offensive plot that could ever be told about her or something. Not only is this a pretty normal story, it also comes perfectly natural from the events of last year, where it's completely understandable that she wouldn't be so eager to put on the costume again. Hell, it'd be awkward if she did. It's called characterization.

What...now narrative suspense is "sick??" So I suppose that every single writer who has ever written a story with plot twists or where unexpected things happen or with an outcome that isn't certain from the outset is just a big ol' whackjob, then? That would make...oh, pretty much every single writer in the world.

You're really stretching on this. "Play with reader's minds"...man, if you don't want to read it then just don't read it, you don't need to come up with all this absurdity to justify it.

Red Mask

12-03-2006, 08:14 PM

BrianWilly

12-04-2006, 06:01 AM

Maybe you'd better clarify your definition of "sick" for me, because none of the definitions that I can think for the term is making any sense in the way you're using it.

What readers believe and what the plot actually calls for does not always go hand in hand; come on, you know this. I'd rather have a gimmicky plotline that respects prior characterization and flows logically out of storyline events than a "shocking," edgy plot that makes no sense and has people acting out of character.

The last time that Diana functioned without her title of Wonder Woman was more than ten years ago. Do you even remember reading it? And the last time that Diana was depowered was...well, pre-Crisis some time in the seventies. Half of the people here probably weren't even born then. A plot from over a decade ago which detailed entirely different circumstances, and a plot from over three decades ago which was centered on an entirely different incarnation of the character? I still maintain that you're stretching the hell out of this "Diana not being Wonder Woman is overplayed" tirage.

Over in Superman, the exact same sort of story just went on in the "Up, Up, and Away" arc reintroducing Superman OYL, featuring Clark Kent doing his job and also performing good deeds without ever once calling himself Superman. It also took longer than three issues to resolve, and the general consensus is that it was a very good story. So, obviously, the "gimmick" isn't nearly as outplayed as it seems.

If a superhero was just a superhero 100% of the time, that superhero would be flat-out boring as s**t. I see absolutely nothing strange or unconventional about one or two or even three issues taking time to focus on other aspects of the character's personality once in a while. Especially if the plot calls for it. And especially when the superhero in question is still performing good deeds and acts of superheroism in the title! It just seems like a silly, empty complaint.

GoldenAgeHero

12-08-2006, 11:29 AM

you know it'll be funny if the wonder woman in JLA was donna troy using the lasso to give off the effect that she is diana. ya know instead of showing the truth, the lasso wouldconceal her identity.

Manic

12-08-2006, 11:56 AM

Darthphere

12-08-2006, 11:57 AM

you know it'll be funny if the wonder woman in JLA was donna troy using the lasso to give off the effect that she is diana. ya know instead of showing the truth, the lasso wouldconceal her identity.

LOL! You know nothing about Wonder Woman. LAWL!

GNR

12-09-2006, 09:53 PM

Oh boy,I bet alot of you continuity buffs are going to be pissed after reading this interview from the new writer,hehe

http://www.606studios.com/bendisboard/showpost.php?p=2484094&postcount=9

GNR

12-09-2006, 09:54 PM

A factor that came in quite handy for Picoult's indoctrination to the world of Wonder Woman. Picoult admitted she knew hardly anything about the character. "I knew absolutely nothing," Picoult said.

Anyone ever read her books?

Anubis

12-09-2006, 10:14 PM

Well, at least she knows now. Either it will be horrible or it wont. Time will tell.

The Leaguer

12-10-2006, 12:32 AM

I'm looking forward to her run.

Binker

12-10-2006, 11:08 AM

Well I would believe everyone saw whats #6 is going to be about, I guess not only the Amazons will come back but Diana will still be Diana Prince.

DonnaTroy84

12-12-2006, 05:50 PM

Why would she need a glamour to look like Diana? They're facially identical. Diana is just more built than Donna (at least when the Dodsons draw them. Every other artist tends to give them the exact same body, as well).

I don't like when they do that. I admit I don't know exactly what their "New Earth" histories are, but in "Paradise Lost", Artemis specifically says that they look similar, but Donna is shorter, younger. Then Phillipus(I think that's who it was, correct me if I'm wrong) says that because of the many lifetimes Donna's soul was put through, it molded her into a new and separate being, so that she was no longer Diana's twin, but her own person. I can understand if, as Donna got older, she began to look more like Diana, but they haven't been identical since they were kids. But, again, I don't know their entire histories since the Crisis, and something may have changed. Either way, I do think they should be drawn differently.

Manic

12-12-2006, 05:59 PM

I find it impossible to try to figure out Donna's post-Crises history. It changes every week. I just take for granted that she's Diana's little sister, and that they look alike.

BrianWilly

12-12-2006, 06:23 PM

I don't like when they do that. I admit I don't know exactly what their "New Earth" histories are, but in "Paradise Lost", Artemis specifically says that they look similar, but Donna is shorter, younger. Then Phillipus(I think that's who it was, correct me if I'm wrong) says that because of the many lifetimes Donna's soul was put through, it molded her into a new and separate being, so that she was no longer Diana's twin, but her own person. I can understand if, as Donna got older, she began to look more like Diana, but they haven't been identical since they were kids. But, again, I don't know their entire histories since the Crisis, and something may have changed. Either way, I do think they should be drawn differently.
I think New Earth Donna should be more or less the same as before, really. She should look enough like Diana to literally pass off as a younger version of her...but, just like with all real identical twins, time and circumstances should have created enough distinctions between the two so that people who actually know them should be able to tell them apart with relative ease.

Manic

12-12-2006, 06:30 PM

Maybe it's just me, but when I read their dialogue in comics, I "hear" Diana with a slightly deeper voice than Donna. The idea of Donna looking like a slightly younger Diana seems to fit.

Besides, it looks like some of Diana's villains can tell the difference.

Kevin

12-12-2006, 06:38 PM

Yeah, diana has a deeper voice and more... what's the word? More muscled than Donna?

phoenixflight

12-12-2006, 08:38 PM

Here is the cover art to issue #6: (when is this coming out)

http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/9731/wwcv6soliciteq8.jpg

Plot Summary:

Best-selling author Jodi Picoult (The 10th Circle, Sister’s Keeper) takes the writing reins, setting Wonder Woman on a collision course with her long-missing people, the Amazons!

Special Agent Diana Prince of the Department of Metahuman Affairs is assigned the impossible task of capturing Wonder Woman! How she can capture herself is just the start of Wonder Woman’s problems, as Diana Prince must relearn how to exist as a human woman and a deadly foe begins closing a net on the Amazon Warrior that will lead to a catastrophic outcome!

With gorgeous art by Drew Johnson and Ray Snyder (52)!

AND AS A REMINDER:

Here is the cover art to issue #5:

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/773/wwcv5solicitwv4.jpg

Plot Summary:

Concluding the 5-part story "Who is Wonder Woman?"

The combined forces of Wonder Woman's transformed rogues gallery declare all-out war on the amazing Amazon, compelling the all-new Wonder Woman to mend fences and join forces with her predecessor and with Wonder Girl if she's going to survive to finally answer the question: "Who Is Wonder Woman?"

Bullseye

12-17-2006, 10:26 PM

I have absolutely loved this run of Heinberg's on this title.

The Leaguer

12-18-2006, 02:09 AM

That's a shame.

Purple Man

12-18-2006, 03:35 AM

You're a shame.

I don't know how to feel following Leaguers posts on a thread. Either like a genius by comparison, or a cruel bastard for picking on the mentally handicapped kid.

Go Wonder Woman!

Kevin

12-18-2006, 05:28 AM

Yes, I wish Wonder Woman would go, but Heinberg has slowed her down too damn much. Yeah, I'm that bitter.

CConn

12-18-2006, 10:38 AM

How has he slowed her down?

Manic

12-18-2006, 12:53 PM

How has he slowed her down?
Uh... he put her on a bi-monthly schedule?

Darthphere

12-18-2006, 12:54 PM

And?

Manic

12-18-2006, 01:00 PM

And I'm just guessing. We'll have to wait for Comicboy's actual reply.

Kevin

12-18-2006, 01:45 PM

Manic's right

GoldenAgeHero

12-19-2006, 11:14 AM

by Zack Smith

It took almost seven decades, but Wonder Woman will finally have a high-profile run written by a female writer – novelist Jodi Picoult, who takes over as writer from Allan Heinberg with Wonder Woman #6 in March 2007. She will team with current artist Terry Dodson and Drew Johnson, who illustrated a large portion of Greg Rucka’s Wonder Woman run. (note – Johnson’s art here are pre-production sketches, not actual art that will be seen in the series)

Picoult, a Princeton graduate, is already known to legions of readers as the author of several critically-acclaimed bestsellers, including My Sister's Keeper, Second Glance and most recently, The Tenth Circle. Two of her books, The Pact (dealing with teen suicide) and Plain Truth (dealing with murder in an Amish community), were adapted into films for the Lifetime cable network that respectively starred Emmy-winners Megan Mullally and Mariska Hargitay, while My Sister's Keeper is in development at New Line Cinema, with Nick Cassavetes directing.

The Tenth Circle, which includes a section done as a graphic novel (and name-checks comic gossip columnist Rich Johnston), brought Picoult to the attention of DC editor Matt Idelson, which led to her upcoming five-issue run on the book. In the first of a two-part interview, Picoult discusses how she's approaching the assignment, and drops a few hints about her top-secret storyline.

Newsarama: Why did you want to work on this project?

Jodi Picoult: First of all, my kids wouldn't let me say no! [laughs] I have three kids, an 11-year-old, a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old, and I have what I refer to as my "real job," which is writing novels. It's extremely time-consuming, and different from writing comic books, which is partly why I said to myself, "maybe I want to do this."

Also, it's a lot of fun to flex your muscles and do something a little different. I got a nice taste of writing comic books for The Tenth Circle, which is how DC Comics found me, and although writing novels is a very solitary pursuit, writing comic books is not. You're working as a writer with your illustrator and your editor, and you're working within a framework and a history of what's been done before you and what's going to be done after you. And in that sense, it's a real challenge, and I like challenging things.

NRAMA: You've talked about how you want to have all five issues done in time for your next tour. How's that coming?

JP: It's coming well! (laughs) It's going to all be fine. My goal was to make sure my artists [Terry Dodson and Drew Johnson] had all of the books before I leave on tour, and I'm very well set to having that done.

NRAMA: You've talked about how your son is a comics fan. Has he provided any input on the scripts, and if so, what kind?

JP: No, he does not, because of how top secret the scripts are! I can't show them to anyone yet! (laughs) When I first sat down, I wanted to review what I knew about Wonder Woman, and I wanted to make sure I hadn't left anything out, so I asked my son Jake, "Tell me what you know about Wonder Woman?" He kind of gave me this look like, "Mom. Wonder Woman?" (laughs )

And that was an interesting thing too, because I think she's a very intriguing character, and that she's certainly quite an icon, she's been around forever, but her readership--- who's actually reading her? To me, that was a very big question, when I sat down to write my incarnation of who she should be.

In part, it was looking at kids like Jake, kids who do read comic books, and should be attracted to a character like her, and trying to figure how to bridge that and attract adult readership as well -- without alienating the people who have been her long-time fans. She's been around since the 1940s, and a lot of people have been reading her for a long time.

NRAMA: Some of your books, such as The Pact, have a strong following among teenagers. Are you writing more toward a teenaged/younger audience, or are you writing toward the same audience as your usual group of readers?

JP: Oh, I can tell you flat-out I'm not writing to my usual group of readers! (laughs) My books are very different from my Wonder Woman issues - and yet I hope my readers recognize some similar themes and character development, within a new framework - my fans have been very excited about my upcoming run on the comic book. But then again, with Wonder Woman, I'm not writing exclusively to teenagers either. Ironically, bridging the two demographics is also what I do as a novelist. I have a huge young-adult following, but I never label myself as a young-adult writer. What I try to do is write about issues that are pretty sophisticated, that have sophisticated humor or sophisticated problems, and teenagers will read themselves into the books, either through teenager characters or through some of the moral and ethical problems that I'm addressing.

If you're talking about a mother-daughter conflict, for example, you can look at it from the mother's point of view or the daughter's point of view, which is why you can attract a variety of age groups. And that's something I consider when I sit down to write Wonder Woman.

NRAMA: Your novels also deal heavily with real-world issues and internal, ethical conflicts. What's the challenge of doing an action-based, visual story with fantastic elements?

JP: It's not as big an adjustment as you'd think, because writing a novel for me is a very visual medium. I've always said it's like seeing a movie in my head, and then somehow translating it into words for people who aren't seeing the same film that I'm seeing.

Writing a comic book to me is very similar. It's very visual, obviously, and pacing is incredibly important. What I find harder in a comic book script is that instead of sticking with one character and one situation and one point of view for, say, an entire chapter, you wind up switching between many different points of view in the course of one issue. So the pacing feels a little different, it's choppier, and that of course contributes toward making it feel more action-packed.

But like any novel, I think just as a chapter would have a beginning, a middle, a cliffhanger at the end, you would feel the same way about a comic-book issue. I want my comic-book issues to have a beginning, a middle, and a cliffhanger at the end to get you to pick up the next one.

NRAMA: You've done a lot of research for your books, such as living with an Amish family for Plain Truth and going on a ghost-hunting trip for Second Glance—

JP: Are you asking me if I've whipped out my lasso?

NRAMA: Well, beyond reading back issues, what type of research have you done – or can you do - for your run on the book?

JP: Well, I read almost anything I could get my hands on that had been written in the past about her some of which I'd read before, and some of which was new. I spoke extensively to the people at DC Comics, who are, as far as I'm concerned, the gold standard in terms of information.

And then I just tried to think about what issues I wanted to bring forward during my run, what I thought was compelling about the character, and what I thought other people should find compelling about the character. That was really where I started.

There was also a lot of spot research. For example, I'm used to being able to do just about anything I want to when I write a novel, but you can't always do that in the comic books. If I'm writing an issue and all of a sudden I want to have another superhero in it, or a villain -- you have to figure out their history too, before you weave it into your storyline. And you have to get permission from the other editors, and the other writers. Writing comics isn't done in a vacuum; you are constantly reviewing what's been done before you arrived. Much of the research that I've been doing has been the on-the-job training about what it's like to write in this industry. Practical research is a little harder...I mean, you can't really go and visit Paradise Island, so I haven't been able to do that, and yet, if I were able to, I would have been the first one in line.

NRAMA: What are your thoughts on the history of the character, her creation, almost as an ideal, and her creator, William Moulton Marston?

JP: I know a little bit about him. What I find the most intriguing about Wonder Woman's history is that women have not really written her. I know that William Marston's wife, Elizabeth "Sadie" Moulton Marston, was one of the co-creators and there was another woman before me who wrote her - Mindy Newell, who scripted three issues of the original series and co-plotted several issues of the George Perez run. But that seems ridiculous to me! ( laughs). Half a century - and only a handful of women were involved? Honestly, to me, that's the no-brainer here! I think that surprised me the most.

Wonder Woman is also a very interesting character from a comic-book standpoint. I think about her like Superman, because she's larger-than-life, slumming in a human world, as opposed to someone like Batman, who obviously is human and ended up elevating himself to the rank of superhero. In that sense, she's slightly different. And I think, in a way, that's put a little bit of distance between her and her readers. It's hard to relate to someone who's stronger, and more powerful, and more iconoclastic than anyone you'd run across in your daily activities.

NRAMA: Without offering too many spoilers, how do you plan to try to bridge that gap?

JP: Well, one of the things that we're doing now, and you're seeing some of this in Allan's run, is that Diana Prince is now an alter ego for Wonder Woman, and she's working among these humans that she wants to be with so badly. She's working at the Department of Metahuman Affairs, which brings up a whole new set of problems; because you can want to defend humans and be with humans, but that doesn't necessarily make you one of them. And it's all the little things that trip her up - things that you and I do as a matter of habit , but that would be unfamiliar to Wonder Woman -which are making her, in my mind, more human, a little more relatable to the people who read her. There's a lot of humor in the stuff that I'm writing.

The other thing that I want to bring out is how hard it is for her to maintain this secret human identity, which is something you've seen before in other superhero characters, but, except for the time she was running some dress shop or something ( laughs) she hasn't really been doing that!

NRAMA: Right, efforts to give her an identity in the past have usually involved depowering her…

JP: Right, and that takes me back to the guys who were writing her. I don't know why she's always victimized, because to me, that's one of the most attractive things about Wonder Woman – she is the most powerful woman! And that's an amazing and wonderful thing.

I think that there's a difference between having insecurities at an emotional level, and having insecurities at a physical level. And that becomes a very interesting conundrum. What if you can punch a hole through a wall, and you can get yourself out of any physical mess necessary, and you are strength-matched to someone like Superman, but you are a little unsure about who you are, deep inside, and how you want others to see you?

NRAMA: Superman was raised among humans, but Wonder Woman came to our world as an adult, and was initially very public about who she was…

JP: Yeah, it's a very interesting thing. And to me, it's really made her a puzzle.

NRAMA: What have been some of the biggest tricks in trying to solve that puzzle?

JP: I've been trying to clean up are some of the unresolved issues between Wonder Woman and her mother. And that becomes, of course, problematic, because her mother is dead. And I can't say anything else, or I'd have to kill you. ( laughs) But that will become an issue in my run.

Also, as she develops this secret human identity as Diana Prince, the people who she is working for want to bring Wonder Woman in for questioning regarding her role in killing Max Lord. And that winds up precipitating a much larger mess…

In Part 2, Picoult discusses more of her thoughts on Wonder Woman, offers more hints about her storyline, and tells us of Jim Lee's college days. Look for it tomorrow.

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=94768

Darthphere

12-19-2006, 11:16 AM

Vomitrocious.

DonnaTroy84

12-19-2006, 11:23 AM

I'm confused. In an earlier issue, they specifically said the World Court dropped the charges on Wonder Woman for the murder of Maxwell Lord. So how can they now be wanting to "bring her in" for it? :huh: :huh: :huh:

Darthphere

12-19-2006, 11:25 AM

Because Jodi Picoult doesn;t know anything about Wonder Woman, and cant write her for ****. Thats the main reason she has to rehash plot points like Diana and mother issues.

BrianWilly

12-19-2006, 03:47 PM

Actually, in the latest issue of Manhunter where Wonder Woman guest-starred, they said that even though the World Court dropped the charges against WW, the US government is still pursuing her and wanting to press charges against her for killing one of their agents. So Picoult is not contradicting anything.

The interview actually made me marginally more confident in Picoult. At least she's made a pretty good effort in the past months that she's had to catch up on WW. And the fact that she openly acknowledges, over and over again, that comic book writing does not exist in a vaccuum and that everything before and after her influences her writing is certainly a plus over that first interview she did. After all, how many people here, even comic book fans who regularly read DC, actually know that Diana used to work in a dress shop?

I'm bored to tears by everything involving Hippolyta at this point, though. The woman is dead. Just let her be. People die, and then things don't get resolved. That's life.

Manic

12-19-2006, 03:54 PM

I've got to respect her for going out of her way to read everything Wonder-related. She also knows her boundaries, and seems to be catching up with continuity. And if she screws up, hopefully DC's editors will keep her in check.

BrianWilly

12-19-2006, 07:35 PM

Pics from newsarama of Drew Johnson's sketches:
http://www.newsarama.com/dcnew/WonderWoman/WWsketch.jpg
http://www.newsarama.com/dcnew/WonderWoman/WWpromoA.jpg

Well, if nothing else, the issues are going to look beautiful. I've always loved Drew Johnson's rendition of WW, and his take on her new costume, especially the insignia, is simply awesome.

I notice that he's making her slightly skinnier than when he drew her in Rucka's arc, though.

Eros

12-19-2006, 07:49 PM

wonderwoman looks anorexic in those pictures lol!

Anubis

12-19-2006, 09:05 PM

That's an awfully muscled anorexic if that's the case.

Looks good. At least if it sucks it will still look pretty.

GoldenAgeHero

12-19-2006, 10:33 PM

i dont like the fact that they're trying to humanize her. shes not superman shes not suppose to blend in with the others, she does'nt need a secret identity, i thought this was going to be temporary for the first 5 issues seems like they'regoing all out for this. shes a goddess and a warrior, she should be treated as so.

Mister J

12-19-2006, 10:36 PM

I could do without the secret identity stuff in the long-term. It's interesting for a while, even nostalgic, but it doesn't need to stick around.

Manic

12-19-2006, 11:16 PM

I like the secret identity stuff. The reason heroes like Clark have them is because he needs time to be himself when he's not an international icon. Wherever Diana went, she was an icon and ambassador. I can see her sticking with the Diana Prince dual identity just so she can walk around in public without having to think about being Wonder Woman.

CConn

12-19-2006, 11:50 PM

Not to mention being a secret agent is a pretty cool secret identity to have. :o
Manic's rightPersonally, I'd consider "slowing down a character" to be improper characterization, or a lack of progression and growth for the character overall (say...like Geoff Johns Green Lantern:o). If you don't like the writing, that's one thing but disliking a book, or a writer, simply because it's a bi-monthly seems a bit petty. Especially when you have so many high profile titles (Astonishing X-Men, The Ultimates, All Star Superman) switching to a bi-monthly schedule.

Manic

12-20-2006, 12:00 AM

I don't think Comicboy said he dislikes the book, just that it comes out so damn slowly. And really, there's nothing wrong with complaining about a 20-something page book coming out every 60 days.

Also, calling The Ultimates a bi-monthly book is being generous.

Kevin

12-20-2006, 01:04 AM

Manic's right again. This is my first Wonder Woman, I really Like this book. I think Allan is a fantastic writer, but It really kills it for me when A book takes so long to come out. Same thing with astonishing and cw and stuff like that. At a point, I start caring less and less about what's going on with the story because of it.

I think that NO book has the right to be late. I know how people feel about them rather having a good late story then a fast bad one, but that's only the case when the writer is a bad writer.

Someone else could've wrote this book. Hell, I'm sure someone could've wrote it BETTER, but that's not the case, and now we're stuck with a bi-monthly book with a character who should be just as popular as the other big two, but just can't catch that brake yet.

Manic

12-20-2006, 01:09 AM

I blame Grey's Anatomy.

Kevin

12-20-2006, 01:13 AM

crappy ass show. And I like just about ANYTHING!

jaydawg

12-20-2006, 02:41 AM

Purple Man

12-20-2006, 07:37 AM

I suggest reading Greg Rucka's run. I'd say its the best WW i've ever read. Even better than Perez's. That's why I don't understand the need to change her with bringing back the whole Diana Prince angle. Rucka's run was gold, faithful to the character, ON TIME and unique. DC keeps saying WW is supposed to be one of the big three, but they've been screwing her over since the Sacrifice arc. I don't get it.

Unfortunately Ruckas Wonder Woman wasn't as well received as it should have been.

Heinberg and the Dodsons have the name and the talent to give that title a real shot in the arm.

It is a damn shame that the book is so late. Though I do regret not getting twelve issues a year, I'm happy with the issues I do get, and any momentum that may be lost due to the wait, is easily regained when the new issue comes out and I reread the previous installments.

Bringing back the Diana Prince identity was DCs idea of humanizing her more. Giving her a secret identity like most other super heroes so she isn't constantly in Wonder Woman mode.

I'm really digging this book. I can forgive the tardiness because I don't see anyone else writing Diana so well. Maybe when someone more competent than Heinberg gets on Wonder Woman I can complain in retrospect.

Darthphere

12-20-2006, 09:49 AM

Unfortunately Ruckas Wonder Woman wasn't as well received as it should have been.

Heinberg and the Dodsons have the name and the talent to give that title a real shot in the arm.

It is a damn shame that the book is so late. Though I do regret not getting twelve issues a year, I'm happy with the issues I do get, and any momentum that may be lost due to the wait, is easily regained when the new issue comes out and I reread the previous installments.

Bringing back the Diana Prince identity was DCs idea of humanizing her more. Giving her a secret identity like most other super heroes so she isn't constantly in Wonder Woman mode.

I'm really digging this book. I can forgive the tardiness because I don't see anyone else writing Diana so well. Maybe when someone more competent than Heinberg gets on Wonder Woman I can complain in retrospect.

Pretty much. Rucka's run didnt catch on with fans and sales showed that. Even with the lateness, this Wonder Woman is a huge seller and pretty well recieved, damn shame Heinberg decided to have a day job.

BrianWilly

12-20-2006, 04:48 PM

As much as I'm enjoying Heinberg's ideas, Rucka kicks his ass up and down the street. The whole lateness thing isn't helping either. The fact that Heinberg's selling substantially more than Rucka just goes to show that sales don't truly reflect quality at all. Not that sales are a bad thing, and I guess that was the whole point of the rebooting thing and getting Heinberg.

Kevin

12-20-2006, 04:54 PM

To me they didn't "get" Heinberg. He just filled-in until they found another writer.*shrugs*

Darthphere

12-20-2006, 04:56 PM

Thats not what I saw it all. I fully expected a massive 12 issue run at least.

sethcohen

12-20-2006, 05:04 PM

thats what i think it was supposed to be, he just cant handle the pressure from that and a TV series... boo hoo... for someone whos lifelong ambitions include writing comics, he sure is quick to throw that to the wayside... aside from that i love his writing! just wish he could do both... i think he could if he wanted to :(

BrianWilly

12-20-2006, 05:10 PM

At least I'm not reading Young Avengers, which literally can't start another arc without him.

...

...oh wait:(.

BrianWilly

12-20-2006, 05:29 PM

More of Picoult's newsarama interview.
TALKING WONDER WOMAN WITH JODI PICOULT, 2

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Click here for part one.

Newsarama: You've mentioned that you hadn't read Wonder Woman growing up…

Jodi Picoult: I was misquoted!! I did read Wonder Woman! Just not back to the 1940s ( laughs). I grew up in the 1960s. I wasn't reading the archived versions back then. In fact, they didn't even have archived versions then! I was reading the comics themselves.

I would pick up comics sporadically – I wouldn't have to get every new issue, like my son does. I used to go get the newspaper on Sundays with my dad, and I would buy a Charms lollipop and a comic book. I did read some of the Marvel stuff, and, naturally, Wonder Woman – I was a girl, and she was a strong woman.

NRAMA: What comics did you read growing up that were your favorites?

JP: I liked the X-Men. I was a big X-Men fan.

NRAMA: Wow, they didn't have that many X-Men fans in the 1960s…

JP: No, no, this was later…I was older then, I was in junior high, maybe.

NRAMA: So that would be the Chris Claremont run…

JP: Yeah, that was Claremont. The Uncanny X-Men series appealed to me because as a teen I was teased a lot for being a class brain - and reading about a group of mutants who were somehow different from everyone else, yet incredibly cool and powerful, was validating for me. The best part about the book was that each of the characters had internal struggles, as well as external powers -- I think that's pretty much the universal teenage condition. I always sort of wanted to be Jean Grey when I grew up -- before her Dark Phoenix stage, that is. I love the idea of being able to read and possibly alter someone's mind. In a way, I guess that's what I try to do as a novelist, now, one reader at a time.

NRAMA: Back to Wonder Woman, what's the tone of your story?

JP: When you're reading it you should feel breathless, like something big is going to happen at any minute. But at the same time, a subtler mystery is developing within the character of Wonder Woman, as she tries to figure out the nature of who she is - to others, and to herself. There's also humor in my run - people might be surprised to know that Wonder Woman can deliver some great lines.

NRAMA: What's it like working with Drew Johnson?

JP: He's great! I've never met him, except via e-mail. But he's a wonderful artist. What I loved the most about doing the comic book within my novel, as I said, was that collaborative feeling, that sense that you take a skeleton and you give it to somebody else, and they somehow turn it into a three-dimensional creature. That's the magic of the comic book industry, and that's what's so fun about working with Drew.

He has the uncanny ability to take something that I had in my mind and - by looking at the words I've given him on the page - to recreate it so that everybody else can see it as well. I think he's really talented, and he has a great sense of humor.

NRAMA: You were originally scheduled to work with the Dodsons on this project. Did you have to adjust your script for the new artist?

JP: I didn't have to adjust my script. Timing issues led my editor to hook me up with Drew for my first couple of books. I’ll switch back to Terry just in time for things to go completely nuts.

NRAMA: Have you read Drew's previous run on Wonder Woman with Greg Rucka?

JP: Yes, I had.

NRAMA: What'd you think of it?

JP: Well, Drew's art was stellar. As for storylines -- there are some things that I liked, and some things I didn't like quite as much - which is quite normal, since every writer has their own take on a character. Greg made some interesting and controversial choices for Wonder Woman, and that's something I applaud. Obviously, some of the Max Lord storyline in my run grew out of that.

NRAMA: In terms of older Wonder Woman stories—are there any that stand out for you, good or bad?

JP: I really liked it back when she was fighting the Nazis! That was great! I'm a sucker for Steve Trevor, and romance, too. (laughs) In a way, her older storylines and villains, it's fun to recreate those as well.

NRAMA: Any particular villains…?

JP: Let's just say my favorite villain turns up again during my run.

NRAMA: Some of her villains as originally conceived by William Moulton Marston are very psychologically interesting…The Cheetah was originally the physical manifestation of a poor little rich girl's evil side, Dr. Psycho is a deformed misogynist who kidnaps beautiful women and draws "ectoplasm" he uses to disguise himself as a handsome man…what do you make of that, as an author?

JP: I think one of the beauties of the Wonder Woman character is that she is, to be perfectly obvious, female -- and that allows you to explore some themes that other superheroes don't usually address - such as whether a woman who's smart is a threat; how body image figures into a woman's worth; whether a woman is supposed to take charge or sacrifice herself for the greater good. Her villains have been a way to continue exploring themes like this. I mean, look at Silver Swan - and then look at some of the brouhaha that's been tossed around the media recently about the ultra-thin models and the message they send to young girls. So in a way, you can look at some of the Marston stuff as being very ahead of its time!

NRAMA: Though Wonder Woman is considered one of DC's "Big Three," she has had a hard time being a top seller. What do you attribute this to?

JP: Actually, that's something I even poke fun at in my first issue. Again, I think it comes down to who is reading her. Who are you pitching this book to? Traditionally, in the past, you had comics that were aimed at teenaged boys. That's changed, and now you've got graphic novels and manga, which attract a huge market in both sexes. Before I could begin to figure out what I was going to write for Wonder Woman, I had to figure out who I wanted to be reading this.

NRAMA: And who do you really want to be reading this?

JP: I think you have to create a story that will attract both adults and kids. Boys should want to read Wonder Woman because she's sexy. Girls should want to read her because she's powerful and smart. Adults should want to read her because of the underlying political, moral, and social commentaries in the storyline. Kids should want to read her because the issues Wonder Woman faces might be issues that they face, trying to figure out who they truly are.

NRAMA: Again, any hints as to how you plan to transcend different markets with your story…?

JP: Like I said, I think it's a matter coming up with the things that can make Wonder Woman someone we relate to, identify with. Making her more than just someone who's always perfect and strong and right - but also someone who has moments of doubt in situations that are unfamiliar to her.

NRAMA: Do you feel the character is viewed more as an icon or as a sex object than as a rounded personality?

JP: Well, one of the first things that I did was ask if we could give her breast-reduction surgery, because as a woman, I know you wouldn't fight crime in a bustier. But I was somehow shot down by DC.

That's a joke.

But, of course she's a sex object! If she wasn't, she wouldn't dress like that! And she's sexy! Power is sexy! Strength is sexy! However, the flipside to that is that it's also scary to a lot of people who are threatened by women who can think and act for themselves. I think Wonder Woman is, above all else, an icon. Like you said, she is one of the top three for DC Comics. What really sealed the deal for me was realizing that if you put all the characters mano-a-mano, the ones who would be left standing at the end would be Superman and Wonder Woman. That really says it all, doesn't it?

NRAMA: How is writing Wonder Woman different from the graphic novel section of The Tenth Circle?

JP: Well, writing Wonder Woman was a little bit like being handed a puzzle with a piece missing, and being told, "you need to create a piece that's going to fit right here, and it can be whatever you want, and it can be any color you want, but it has to have the right edges."

When you're a novelist, you create your whole universe, and you have free reign. There is already a DC Universe in existence, and Allan, of course, is beginning his wonderful run, and so I need to be able to step in after he's done, and then someone will pick up after me as well. And to really be able to meet the edges of your stories to someone else's, that's a hard thing to do.

NRAMA: Now, you went to college with Jim Lee...

JP: I did!

NRAMA: What's your relationship with him like? How far back does your friendship go?

JP: Oh, we go back really far! He was in the same class my husband was, Class of 1986, at Princeton, and he is a wonderful guy. Jim lived across the hall from me when I was a freshman. He lived in a suite with a bunch of guys, and I lived in a suite with a bunch of girls, and we would play practical jokes on each other. One night, the guys moved a bunch of stereo speakers into our living room when we were asleep, and at about 3 AM they started blaring "Burning Down The House". We woke up, totally freaked out, and they thought it was hysterically funny. Which, in retrospect, it was...

Jim was a pre-med student…

NRAMA: Yeah – who somehow switched to art…

JP: Right - he was never doing any pre-med work! (laughs) He had a drafting table, and he'd draw these amazing superhero characters. His wife was his girlfriend back then, and I knew her back then at Princeton. I knew they'd moved to California after graduation, and Jim had obviously ditched pre-med to become one of the foremost artists in the industry today.

When I was doing The Tenth Circle, I thought about him, and I contacted him, and I said, "I really would like to talk to you about the comic book industry, and what it's like to be a penciller, and what it's like to create a character." He was incredibly generous with his time, and open and funny and friendly. He has a terrific family now, and when my kids and I were visiting, he even gave all the kids an art lesson. My son Jake pretty much thought he'd died and gone to heaven -- I mean, imagine getting an art lesson from JIM LEE!

The best thing about Jim Lee is that he truly is as nice a guy as he seems to be. And he looks absolutely no older than he did the day we graduated!

NRAMA: Has he offered any pointers on working in comics for Wonder Woman?

JP: No. I had interviewed him for The Tenth Circle , he was definitely a great resource for me. In fact, he helped me find the artist for The Tenth Circle (Dustin Weaver) - who was one of his apprentices. Dustin was a young kid, really talented, and I'm glad I was able to hook up with him when I could, because I'm sure he'll be a lot more expensive in the future!

When I was contacted by DC Comics to work on Wonder Woman, I thought for sure Jim must have had a hand in it, and as it turned out, he didn't! In fact, he wrote me a couple of weeks later saying, "I heard about you writing Wonder Woman! Congratulations!"

NRAMA: Have you talked with other novelists-turned-comic-writers, such as Greg Rucka, Neil Gaiman and Brad Meltzer, about going from prose to comics?

JP: I'm big fans of their work, both novel and graphic novel, but I haven't spoken to them. We haven't had a cocktail party or anything, but you can give them my e-mail address if they're interested.

NRAMA: Do you currently plan to do any additional Wonder Woman or comics work after your current run is finished?

JP: We'll see! I never say never, not in my regular writing, and not about this either. I can tell you that this has been an awful lot of fun, and I hope that people enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed working on it.

NRAMA: Are there any other characters you'd like to work on, or possibly do a long-form creator-owned book?

JP: Oh God! (laughs ) I don't know. That's an interesting question. Most of the characters I grew up identifying with were actually Marvel characters. I think they've always played this duality between psychological conflict and physical prowess. That's what's always interested me, that's what I always write about in my books, and that's what I'm trying to think about in my comic book now. I'm sure it would be fun to write for something I used to read as a kid, X-Men or something like that. But by the same token, it's going to be hard to let go of Wonder Woman, because you really don't get any bigger or better than that.

NRAMA: Any final thoughts on Wonder Woman, your run, or comics in general?

JP: I think comic books get a bad rap a lot of the time. People think, "Oh, well, you read comics, whoop-dee-doo, it's kiddie stuff," right? But in reality, the comic book medium is such a fantastic way to give incisive social and political commentary. Comic books are funny, they're edgy – the well-written ones, anyway – they're making fun of current administrations and political incidents going on in the world, and social values that might, at closer look, be suspect. Being given the opportunity to try my own hand at that in a framework that has existed for, in Wonder Woman's case, over half a century, is a really phenomenal playground.

Jodi Picoult's run on Wonder Woman begins in March 2007 with issue #6.

Special thanks to Quail Ridge Books & Music of Raleigh, NC for their help with this article.....................meh. Like I said, I'm glad at the least that she's brushed up on things (And when I say "glad," mostly I mean "slightly less terrified than before") but everytime she says something good it's balanced out with something cringe-worthy a seconds later.

Y'all have no idea how cynical I am right now. 'Tis the season, I swear.

Darthphere

12-20-2006, 06:03 PM

She's saying all the right things, i'll give her that. Very well coached.

The Leaguer

12-20-2006, 08:43 PM

I still say this new chick is going to make Heinberg's flimsy arc look like ass.

Kevin

12-20-2006, 08:53 PM

I really hope so.

Darthphere

12-20-2006, 09:46 PM

Keep hoping, its impossible.

Kevin

12-20-2006, 09:55 PM

Hope is meaningless:mad::csad:

Darthphere

12-20-2006, 09:57 PM

The Heinberg hate is hilarious due to the fact hes late. It was all ticker tape parades and champagne when he was announced, only one that has any right to hate is Leaguer because he did it from the start.

Bullseye

12-20-2006, 09:58 PM

I have yet to dislike anything that Heinberg has written.

sethcohen

12-20-2006, 10:27 PM

CConn

12-20-2006, 10:42 PM

i love this book, im hating on the work ethic :(20 bucks says Heinberg works harder and for longer than me and you put together.

sethcohen

12-20-2006, 11:49 PM

20 bucks says Heinberg works harder and for longer than me and you put together.
though that may be the case, i should point out that the gentleman he shares a studio with definately work harder... johns and loeb :)

CConn

12-21-2006, 09:25 AM

though that may be the case, i should point out that the gentleman he shares a studio with definately work harder... johns and loeb :)Shame they both suck now. :(

sethcohen

12-21-2006, 10:44 AM

well loeb has always been hit or miss with me, but johns isnt doing too bad... i enjoy his teen titans and love JSA... action comics is another matter... i enjoy GL as well, though no were near as much as ION

Darthphere

12-21-2006, 10:49 AM

20 bucks says Heinberg works harder and for longer than me and you put together.

Its ok, writing for a tv show takes live 5 minutes.:whatever:

Darthphere

12-21-2006, 10:50 AM

though that may be the case, i should point out that the gentleman he shares a studio with definately work harder... johns and loeb :)

He is consistantly late as well. Might be a gas leak or something.:o

sethcohen

12-21-2006, 10:57 AM

ill take john's tardiness to hienberg's anyday... atleast im getting 3 books outta him and they are more consitant then ww... i wish hienberg would keep wrting ww... this new writer frightens me... makes me think back to when they were hyping bilson and demateo for the flash :(

Darthphere

12-21-2006, 10:58 AM

Consistently bad? (except for JSA)

yenaled

12-21-2006, 11:01 AM

I'm surprised Heinberg is bowing out so soon, I expected him to have a long run on the title.

Well not too surprised considering the lateness.

Not that I read Wonder Woman anyway.

Darthphere

12-21-2006, 11:02 AM

I'm betting that if he can write some scripts in advance and all that, he'll be back.

sethcohen

12-21-2006, 11:10 AM

Consistently bad? (except for JSA)

both GL and TT are much much better than flash... action comics makes me want to inflict bodily harm on people...

phoenixflight

01-09-2007, 04:44 PM

Eros

01-09-2007, 11:58 PM

whats up with this book? It has become an afterthought.

Kevin

01-10-2007, 12:28 AM

Yeah, I completely forgot about this thread. wow.

Binker

01-10-2007, 10:16 AM

A slightly off-topic question:

Can anyone post an image of Cassie as Wonder Woman from Teen Titans #17? (specifically the 2 page spread of her and her teammates...when Batman tells Superman to use his TK on the younger Teen Titans.) I just don't want the image with the page break down the middle.

Thanks

Here you go:

http://img217.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dcpteentitans17p1213yw1.jpg

I didn't know if you wanted the whole thing or jst the team. But enjoy.

whats up with this book? It has become an afterthought

Once the enxt issue comes out, and this book changes from bi-monthly back to monthly, then it won't be that feeling anymore.

phoenixflight

01-11-2007, 08:05 AM

Hey Binker,

Thanks a bunch, the pic is perfect. Good work.

spark627

01-15-2007, 07:51 PM

I want to start reading Wonder Woman but I have a few questions..

-Does WW still have her powers (and what are they, I heard she can no longer fly)

- Why did Diana walk away from being WW for a year? Is she back to being WW yet and if not, will she?

- Is her romance with Steve Trevor still going?

-Is the identity of WW known to the public now?

THANKS!

Primal Slayer

01-15-2007, 09:11 PM

Yes she has all of her powers(she has been able to fly for a long time now)

She wanted to find herself and connect with humanity. She is WW again but due to the title being a bi monthly for the first writers run, she isnt WW yet in her own title.

No

No, they know she is Diana, but not that she is Diana Prince.

sethcohen

01-15-2007, 10:05 PM

I want to start reading Wonder Woman but I have a few questions..

-Does WW still have her powers (and what are they, I heard she can no longer fly)
she has retained all of the abilities she had prior to OYL

- Why did Diana walk away from being WW for a year?
she felt after the maxwell lord incident, she was no longer fit to be wonder woman and continue her mission

Is she back to being WW yet and if not, will she?
no she is not, but as JLA has already spoiled, yes she will

- Is her romance with Steve Trevor still going?
i dont believe so

-Is the identity of WW known to the public now?
no, i believe most of the world is aware that wonder woman is currently a different person... if you are referring to her secret identity, no one is aware of that

THANKS!

spark627

01-15-2007, 10:07 PM

Thanks for your answers. I'm gonna pick up the new issues. I'm skeptical of reading the series when Diana is not WW, but from what I have read she will be back in the uniform soon

Anubis

01-15-2007, 11:18 PM

Well if you wanna see her as WW, then read JLof A or Manhunter.

BrianWilly

01-15-2007, 11:41 PM

Steve Trevor?? Wow, you're really behind. Steve Trevor hasn't been a romance factor for twenty years or so.

The current series is actually a pretty good jumping-on point for WW. She's not Wonder Woman at the moment, but neither is anyone else, really. They're taking time to establish the status quo.

The Leaguer

01-16-2007, 11:41 AM

Well if you wanna see her as WW, then read JLof A or Manhunter.

No, don't read Manhunter if you just want to read WW. It's pretty insulting.

LouFerignoDemon

01-16-2007, 01:02 PM

she has retained all of the abilities she had prior to OYL

she felt after the maxwell lord incident, she was no longer fit to be wonder woman and continue her mission

no she is not, but as JLA has already spoiled, yes she will

i dont believe so

no, i believe most of the world is aware that wonder woman is currently a different person... if you are referring to her secret identity, no one is aware of that

THANKS!

She currently is lacking her powers in her own book.

sethcohen

01-16-2007, 01:10 PM

i didnt get that impression... i just thought she wasnt using them

LouFerignoDemon

01-16-2007, 01:12 PM

Circe just ninja'd them. It's temporary. But it's the most up to date.

Manic

01-16-2007, 01:13 PM

At the end of issue #3, Circe supposedly took away Diana's powers. Obviously, it's not gonna stick.

--EDIT--
Fine, it's tagged.

LouFerignoDemon

01-16-2007, 01:13 PM

Spoiler tag that.

sethcohen

01-16-2007, 01:15 PM

oh ya, i forgot about that... bad thing about bimonthly books... too much time inbetween makes me forgetful

BrianWilly

01-16-2007, 01:16 PM

She'll have them back by the end of the arc, of course.

LouFerignoDemon

01-16-2007, 01:17 PM

Of course, but, like said, it's currently the most accurate. And it's always about accurate information.

Manic

01-16-2007, 01:17 PM

That's why I used the Brian Posehn method of "flying by the seat of my pants" whenever I buy comics. If I see an unfamiliar cover to a comic I usually pick up, I grab it.

Anubis

01-16-2007, 02:11 PM

No, don't read Manhunter if you just want to read WW. It's pretty insulting.

You're right, Manhunter f**king rocks on it's own and you should be reading it anyway. (But, if WW being in it will get you to pick it up, then go for it. )

Darthphere

01-16-2007, 02:13 PM

I like Wonder Woman's boobs.

Anubis

01-16-2007, 02:14 PM

I like her camel toe.