WONDER WOMAN EARTH ONE Volume 1
DC Comics
On Sale Date: April 6th
A number of years back Marvel comics launched a line of comics under the heading Ultimate. Spider-man, E-Men, Fantastic Four and a new version of the Avengers all rebooted in a separate universe with no continuity baggage or history to bog down story telling. It was cool and exciting and the first few years felt really hip. Of course over the years it developed its own continuity issues and baggage and this past summer was folded into the regular Marvel Universe.
DC Comics has established multiple earths within the DC Universe and each is designated a number. Earth One is now home to many of the same characters we know and love, but each rebooted. It’s been fun to read a different take on these characters in a situation that offers us the familiar with new at the same time in stand-alone graphic novels. So far we have Earth One Superman (three volumes) Batman (two volumes, Teen Titans (one volume) and now Wonder Woman with her first volume.
Grant Morrison along with Yanick Paquette are re-imagining Wonder Woman as if she were a new character today and it’s loads of fun. Paquette does an amazing job with the art and I love his expressions on all the characters. Morrison, as fans know is a big fan of DC’s past and his run on Batman and Justice League showed us that with many characters we thought long gone making a comeback. He brings his love of Wonder Woman and what has gone before to this work. Most notably was his portrayal of Diana, Wonder Woman, as a playful happy warrior who wants everyone to be equal and get along. Her origin is fairly traditional, though she discovers that she really wasn’t molded from clay. While loving her life on Paradise Island she is restless. Her Mother doesn’t want her competing against other Amazons (we find out why later in the book) and because her mother has a window to man’s world she is curious what is outside her limited landscape. It comes to a head when a plane crashes with pilot Steve Trevor and she discovers she can’t use Amazon tech to save him. She goes against her mother’s wishes and wins the annual competition which gives her access to a cool plane which she the uses to save Trevor. Along the way she meets and rescues so Sorority girls including one Etta Candy, who in this universe is bit of a party girl and outspoken and loads of fun.
By the end of all the book, after the fighting and disagreements and misunderstandings Diana truly becomes Wonder Woman and decides it is time for man’s world to meet the Amazons. She wants to bring equality and peace and I for one can’t wait for the next volume of Earth One Wonder Woman to see her do it. The Earth One books have been great and tis latest is like watching a homerun after seeing an already great game.
Jon
