New Writer for Wonder Woman

 J.Michael Straczynski is going to be writing Wonder Woman starting on #601. Here is what he has to say about this exciting new assignment:

As Superman has been for me, so Wonder Woman has been for a lot of women readers, so the chance to dive into that character is something I’m eagerly anticipating. This is a strong, mythic, powerful character who for some time now has been kind of drowning under the weight of her own mythos, so I’m looking forward to paring away some of the layers of debris and undergrowth that have piled up around her in order to get to the core of the character. Coming from the world of TV and film, the first rule you learn is to service the main character more than anything else, so I’ll be writing with an eye firmly fixed on that rule.
As part of that process, we’re going to be looking more closely at how Wonder Woman appears, and functions, and her role in the DCU…and what we have planned will, we hope, come across as dynamic and powerful as she deserves to be.

I have great hopes for this. He did some great stuff with Thor at Marvel Comics.  Cant wait till July! 

Wonder Woman #41

Wonder Woman #41 came out almost two weeks ago and I am finally posting about it. I am sorry for that. I will admit, it's been on my mind, but I have been watching as much Doctor Who as I can and that means sometimes putting Diana on the back burner.  This will not happen again! (But it might... We're still have 3 seasons of the Dr. to go!)  Another reason for the delay, this issue was really not a favorite of mine. 
 When we left Diana she was fighting Power Girl.  Wonder Woman was "peeved" as you may recall.  This issue starts out with Achilles leaving his island of crystal and changing his clothes to enter a mansion that Diana found for him. Yeah? Diana found for him? I cant even mention anything more about that since even the comic does not give you more about it, but I had to mention it mainly based on how strange it was.

The splash pageshows the THROW-DOWN that was promised at the end of #40.  Power Girl makes way more punches at our Amazon that I would like to see.  Karen actually draws blood from Diana.  There have been many topics in forums wondering if Diana is as strong as a Kryptonian.  Sure, they have the power of the sun and skin that is like steel, but Diana has the power of the Gods!   Of course she is just as strong as they are, but writers tend to be afraid to state it.  I am not sure why... Even in this issue, Power Girl punches Wonder Woman to Canada.  All the way to freaking Canada?!?  (shaking my head in shame)

Our Amazon flys right back and gives Power Girl a well deserved punch to the gut. More punches, buses get involved, buildings break, windows shatter and still Power Girl has the upper hand.  Mainly because the five children of Ares have Karen thinking that Diana is not Diana.  They have tricked her into thinking she is some dragon wearing demon. (I know)  Power Girl then feels like she has to defend the five children from this demon, and starts to again wipe the streets with Diana.

Karen may have super strength and speed, but that is all that Karen can rely on. More than half way through the book, Diana reminds herself, and us, that she has one advantage over Power Girl.  Diana is an AMAZON.  Karen has not spent every day of her life learning the sculpture of War. Finally she realizes this? After getting her arse kicked all over the city, Diana finally realzes that she has the upper hand? (I know!)

Diana convinces Karen that she is not a demon and that she has been tricked by the five children, and they decide to go after them.  During the fight, these kids have gone to the hospital and have convinced Etta Candy and Steve Trevor that Steve must shoot Etta in the head to save the burning town.  (Again, I know)
Karen then leaves to help the other people that have been tricked by the children while Diana takes the kids head on.  Now comes the part in the book where it almost saves itself! Wonder Woman knows about the mind control that the children can create, and in order to make sure she sees the truth, Diana wraps her lasso around her body.

She takes on four of the five kids and dishes out a punishment they will remember! I of course have no clue what that is, because the book neither tells you or shows you.  I hope that we get to find out what happens, but seeing as how Gail Simone is leaving this book, I think not.  Etta and Steve are saved by one of the giant apes that serve Diana, Karen convinces everyone that love is the answer, and Power Girl and Wonder Woman share a bonding moment in the clouds.

Like I mentioned, this issue was not one of my favorites.  The art, though not bad, was definitely not up to par with how it usually is with Aaron Lopresti at the helm. His Diana is strong and beautiful. The last half of the book, the artist draws her so manly.  I like my Wonder Woman to have the upper hand, to be the strongest in a fight and show that she is the warrior in DCU.  I just hope that this next arc will be as spectacular as is being promised. After this issue, I need it.

Gail Simone is leaving "Wonder Woman"

The headline’s true. After a lengthy and impressive run on WONDER WOMAN, writer Gail Simone is moving on to other projects.
Gail’s work on WONDER WOMAN has become a staple of the DC Universe, and her take on Princess Diana has resonated with readers from the get-go, and will continue to connect with newer fans as they discover her work. But let’s not get overly maudlin here, gang. Gail’s not disappearing. Quite the opposite. Her work on SECRET SIX, which has garnered stellar reviews, will continue and it’s hard not to get excited about her upcoming BIRDS OF PREY relaunch. We even managed to wrangle a new piece of BIRDS art from artist Ed Benes to serve as a gentle reminder that big things are indeed on the horizon:

We’ll have lots more news and info on Gail’s upcoming work, but let’s take a moment to give her a well-deserved round of applause and hear her thoughts on an epic run on WONDER WOMAN. Take it away, Gail:
“Working on Wonder Woman has been one of the most thrilling things in my career. There aren’t many jobs in comics as cool as writing dialogue for Hippolyta as she’s riding a flying horse and stabbing giant sea monsters. I had a blast and as always when I leave a book, I’m going to miss the cast terribly.
When you write this book, you meet these remarkable, amazing Wonder Woman fans and it’s quite unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, just this wave of love and kindness.  Diana means something to these people in a way that few other superhero characters really ever seem to do, and I can’t thank the readers enough for their undying affection for the character. I’ve met people whose stories about what
Wonder Woman meant to them are going to stay with me forever. It’s a pretty rare gift.
I have to also thank, once again, the writers and creators who came before me on the book. I’ve said it many times, but the club of Wonder Woman writers seems to be a group of people bonded forever. Whenever I needed help or advice or answers, they were always, always there.  The endless support and generosity of these people is astounding and I am grateful forever to Phil, Greg (both of whom were endlessly patient and helpful as I asked a thousand questions about their runs), Trina, Kurt, Dan Mishkin, Allan, Jodi, J. Torres, Bill Messner-Loebs, Mindy Newell, and of course, the great George Perez. When you have those people in your corner, you feel like you can do anything.
And above all I want to thank some of the most amazing artists in the business, people who somehow managed not to kill me when I would write panel descriptions like, “Then a thousand warriors attack…”  These people were supremely dedicated and professional and any applause you might have for the book should be squarely aimed at them.  Thank you so much, Chris Batista, Nicola Scott, Matt Ryan, Brad Anderson, Fernando Dagnino, Terry and Rachel Dodson, and above all, the amazing Bernard Chang and Aaron Lopresti. They did Diana proud and I also appreciate them not killing me for asking for pages and pages of Themysciran architecture.
I’m sad to leave but very, very proud of the work we did together and delighted to have been a small part of Diana’s ongoing epic saga.  It’s really been a joy.  And I have to say in complete honestly, I am genuinely thrilled by who is taking over the book.  It’s someone who is going to rock this book like there’s no tomorrow, and I could not be happier with this choice. They got this one 100% right. I think it’s going to be a new era of greatness for our princess.  People are going to freak and that makes me smile a lot.
My schedule is packed full, as well…and I’m doing books that make me happy every day, like the incredibly fun and horrid SECRET SIX, which has some really shocking surprises coming, and then of course  a book very dear to my heart, the return of BIRDS OF PREY in May, with artist Ed Benes doing the finest work of his career.  And I can announce for the first time officially, a really exciting WELCOME TO TRANQUILITY mini-series starts in July!  Add to that a little treat that is a life-long dream of mine coming true in WONDER WOMAN #600 and it’s turning out to be a great, great year.  Aside all that, a huge surprise with one of my all-time favorite artists is coming, but we can’t even hint at that now, so pretend you didn’t read that last bit.
Thank you again, everyone. Be sure to check out Birds of Prey number one…it is CRAZY fun. You can’t see it, but I’m giving the Amazon salute. Thanks, everyone!”