K: Lotta buzz going around the inter-webs about Wonder Woman being cast in the new Superman/Batman joint.
D: Yeah. SUPERMAN/BATMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE? Laaame. Snore. Yawn.
K: Hey! She doesn’t even get title credits?! I mean she’s freaking WONDER WOMAN!!! Linda Carter wouldn’t put up with this.
::picks up wall phone, dials, stares at receiver, forgets we longer have land-line::
D: ::Googles movie Wonder Woman images:: Does Lucy Lawless know these movie folks bit her look? WW is looking a bit like the Warrior Princess in these stills.
K: True enough. But let’s look at this for a second. I mean, Linda Carter? This Xena-style WW? The current book has got tons of gods and monsters in it. So wheres an impressionable young lady gotta go to find the straight up, true-blue distilled Wonder Woman?
D: When in doubt, steer your Internet-machine to Gail Simone. She’s helping to launch WW’s new Internet first, non-continuity, stand alone book SENSATION COMICS. Now she joins Superman (ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN) and Batman (LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT) with a digital first series.
K: Finally!! Diana gets the respect that she deserves! Equal billing with the Big Boy Scout and the Dark Knight! So… ::looks left, looks right, whispers:: you got one of these new “Internet first” Wonder Woman books? What’sa gal gotta do to get a peak at one of these comics?
D: It isn’t exactly contraband. Like I said, you can just download it onto your device. Or wait a bit, and DC prints them on paper. Anyone with $3.99 (+ tax) can get one of these comic books at your local comic shop. There’s no need to be sneaky about getting it.
K: Oh, well then. If that’s the case, hand over the Amazon Princess’s comic book already! Or else…
D: Or else what, Tough Gal?
K: ::rolls up sleeves:: Or else… you know…I dunno. I guess I’ll track down the book on my own. ::rolls down sleeves::
D: That’s what I thought. Sister is doin’ it for herself. I’ll save you the trip to the store. ::slides SENSATION COMICS FEATURING WONDER WOMAN across table::
K: Hah! Dan reads girl comics!
D: Correction: Dan reads kicks ass comics!
…
K: You know who’s not good at keeping Gotham City safe? Batman. Bruce Wayne spends all of his time trying to protect the city from the same band of bad guys, but they keep coming back. He isn’t the hero that Gotham deserves, he’s the one that they’re stuck with.
D: Well, if he dispatched all of the villains, the stories would end up being pretty short. Or we’d get stories like “Batman vs. The Slow Moving Line At Target.”
K: I ALWAYS get stuck in the slow lane at Target!
SENSATION COMICS opens with the Band of Bad Guys, the one Batman has fought a million times, finally putting their differences aside and working together to blow up the Batmobile with The Bat at the wheel. If he had taken care of them previously, then he wouldn’t be in this explosive situation. So who does Oracle (my personal favorite red-headed super-genius) call in to clean up his mess? The one. The only. Wonder Woman!!! ::spins in a circle like Linda Carter. Gets dizzy. Falls over::
D: ::steps over puddle of puke:: As graceful as ever. As you said, Simone starts the story with literal BANG! The bad-guys put aside their differences and remove Batman from the board. Oracle runs through the list of Super Good Guys, and calls in the only one who is tough enough to deal with the problem at hand. The Princess.
K: And when Ethan van Sciver shows her walking out of the flames? Woah. Chills.
D: Right on. This is some of my favorite van Sciver work ever. Sometimes I feel that his work can be a bit over-done. But every panel in this story is clean, imaginative, and damn impressive.
K: So… you like?
D: I like.
K: This is so the perfect book to give someone who may not only be new to Wonder Woman, but to comics in general. The way the story focuses on each Bat-Baddie and how WW deals with them is so great. Again, since this is an out-of-continuity story, we get the classic versions of the Joker, Harley Quinn, Man-Bat, the Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Two- Face, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy. Perfect for folks who may only know these characters from pop-culture.
D: So great to see Harley’s classic outfit!
K: ::dances around all jester-like::
D: Final word of praise: This is especially relevant in light of the recent dark tone of the Warner Brothers movies. I cheered when Simone and van Sciver show WW dealing with the Bat-Baddies in many dark and terminal ways, and then having her turn back from these thoughts with the words, “No. I will remain Diana.” Sure, Wonder Woman is an Amazon warrior. She fights to win. She’s no stranger to battle, but she knows the difference between Right and Wrong because she’s a hero.
K:::deflects imaginary bullets with tinfoil Wonder Woman bracelets:: Wonder Woman does rock! Let’s hope next year’s Superman/Batman movie does her justice. Then maybe we’ll get the solo Wonder Woman movie we deserve and not the one we’ll be stuck with!
