A year(ish) later... my experiment with Wonder Woman

Last Wednesday, I dropped by my usual local comic shop for my weekly fix.  Amidst my mostly-Marvel pile, there was a single issue from DC: Wonder Woman #614.  The guy behind the counter mentioned he was a huge Wonder Woman fan and he asked how I had enjoyed the "new" Wonder Woman.  I told him that I thought it started strong and that it had my interest initially, but by the end I could summarize my reaction up in one word: huh?

Obviously that isn't a knock against the character as a whole.  This was clearly just a story that didn't work out for me.  It started out with a fresh, interesting take on the character that just sort of disintegrated into something vaguely existential.  In theory, the journey of a person trying to figure out who she is would be a fantastic story for a new reader to pick up.  They can go on that journey with the character and make those discoveries right along side her.  This, unfortunately, fails when it starts getting just plain confusing.  I would elaborate on the points I didn't quite understand, but it's all a bit too foggy now.  In fact, I should probably give the thing a reread just to get the whole story at once and see if it works any better.

The funny thing about this 14th issue of the Wonder Woman reboot is that it's the final issue for Diana before she gets rebooted (again) along with the rest of the DC Universe. Seeing as this whole "women in comics" bit is such an important topic to me, I always figured I should be reading Wonder Woman.  So, I figured last year's relaunch would be a good jumping on point for me.  Needless to say, it didn't work out so well.  So I find myself asking a very important (at least within the confines of my own little world) question:

Should I try this again?

Her costume changed again!

This is obviously another logical jumping on point.  I desperately want to read and enjoy Wonder Woman, if only as a matter of principle.  I have always been a very character-driven reader.  If I get attached to a character, I will stick by her through thick and thin, good story or bad story, great art or stick figures.  It's very difficult to get me to give up.  So, if this reboot can actually let me get to know and like her (not that I didn't like her on the last round, I was just a bit confused), it could work out for me.  Writer Tim Callahan even tweeted that it was the best title of The New 52.  If it's genuinely that good, I might even forgive the fact that they removed my favorite part of the new costume - the criss-crossing arm straps that gave it a vague hint of Ancient Greece.  The flip side of it is, I know my Marvel.  I love my Marvel.  I'm stubborn.  Should I continue trying to make myself like DC and Wonder Woman just out of principle, or should I just stick with what I like and be happy with it?  I often say I'll pick up the first issue of anything.  I guess we'll see.

Of course, this all leads to a few more questions...

Should I try any of the other new DC titles?  Batwoman?  JLA?

Can my bank account survive this?

Stay tuned for answers to these and other earth-shattering questions.

Time for a Makeover: Redux

Wonder Woman was not the only one in need of a makeover.  This blog certainly was too.  Fortunately, that job is complete as of tonight.  The makeover was also applied to the Wannabe Heroine twitter.

Though in interest of keeping this entry longer than three sentences, this seems like a wonderful time to revisit Wonder Woman's new costume.  Apparently at the DC Nation panel at NYCC today Dan DiDio asked the fans what they thought of it now that it's had some time to settle in.  Second-hand reports indicate that there are still plenty of haters, but that the response seems to be mostly positive.

My opinion hasn't changed much since the last time I talked about it.  Four issues later, I still like it.  Following issue #603, I might even say I like it more.  Here's why:

Issue #603 marks the first time the jacket has come off.  I may have said something about the drape of the jacket's fabric given a vaguely ancient feel.  I admit, you'd probably have to squint really, really hard to see that.  It would have been pretty easy to argue that the new costume was very modern and didn't carry much of a warrior feel.  Apparently what's under the jacket takes care of it.  Those completely-superfluous straps around her arms are a great touch.  They really allude to the ancient Greek warrior look.

My only new opinion about the costume is that Diana should consider just leaving the jacket behind.  It covers the coolest part of her new costume.

Ally McWonderWoman?

Over the weekend, it was announced by just about every single superhero news outlet that David E. Kelley is working on relaunching Wonder Woman as a TV series.  Fans reacted immediately with a range from curious to full out nerdrage.

Myself?  I'll go with skeptical.

Ignoring the fact that approximately 0.003% of the tv/movie projects somebody is "working on" ever make it to the screen, I have other reasons for my skepticism.

When I was still an undergrad working on my ultimately-useless degree, I spent a lot of time analyzing media and pop culture.  For one class, I wrote (what I thought to be) a particularly inspired paper comparing Ally McBeal to The Mary Tyler Moore Show in terms of their respective portrayals of a "progressive" woman.  I'm pretty sure my argument was that Moore was more progressive, despite being two decades earlier, because she was more focused on defining herself as an individual, independent woman while McBeal was trying to find a date.  I'm sure it sounded better under the sleep-deprived, caffeinated haze I wrote it under.

Lots of critics will argue until the end of time as to whether or not Ally McBeal was a positive or negative depiction of a woman and feminism.  In my somewhat-educated opinion, she was an excellent example of a professional woman headlining a TV series successfully.  Not every woman on TV is going to match a feminist ideal.  Ally probably didn't, but she was still important.  The worry is that Kelley (using Ally as the point of reference and completely forgetting his entire body of other work) can't portray a feminist icon without it getting more than a bit silly.  Perhaps one should argue that Ally was a bit of a feminist parody at times.  Also conveniently ignoring the fact that the last time we saw Diana Prince on TV, her portrayal was often downright goofy... most fans would hope that Kelley can take Wonder Woman, portray her with the strength and without the silly, and give her the gravitas that people expect from modern superhero adaptations.  That's something a lot of people seem to be concerned he can't handle: a strong and serious leading woman.

But is that the true source of my skepticism?  Not at all.

The real problem I have is that nearly every series Kelley has won his acclaim for is about people in a professional setting wearing suits.  There are lots of cute heels and silk ties.  How is the man going to handle a patriotic, eagle-emblazoned bustier and all of the adventures that ought to be oh-so-inappropriate for the suit and tie set?

Mythology, fantasy and kick ass fight scenes are really best when they travel outside of the office.  And THAT is what Kelley has not proven he can do.

... but yeah, I'd watch it.

Time for a Makeover: Wonder Woman #600

It has been widely announced over the past day that today's Wonder Woman #600 will include a drastic retooling of its titular character including a retcon of her origin and more importantly, a new costume. This news even made the front page of CNN, putting Diana's new outfit roughly on par with the death of Captain America in terms of mass media exposure.

I was prepared to write this blog post last night, but I thought I would wait until I actually had issue #600 in my hands. I'm glad I did. Having read the real thing as opposed to a bunch of news articles definitely changed my opinions. I did appreciate being given more of Lee and Straczynski's insights into the new design, plus being able to see it in action.

Disclaimer:
This is the first issue of Wonder Woman I have ever read in my life.

I'm sure it seems almost wrong that I am writing about women and comic books, yet I don't read the books of the most famous and iconic superheroine to grace printed page. My introduction to the world of spandex and heroics was via the X-Men. My reading of comic books began there and expanded mostly outward into the Avengers franchise, giving me a very Marvel-centric worldview. However, despite my lack of reading, I do know who Diana is and what she stands for... both as a hero and as a cultural icon. Despite extremely damning evidence to the contrary, I have not actually been living under a rock.

To begin with, a few comments on my impression of issue #600 itself:

• The collection of pin-ups and portraits peppered throughout the issue were a lovely celebration of Wonder Woman's iconic look. I think the Ivan Reis and Greg Horn pieces were my favorites. Given the much-publicized nature of the new costume, I did find it curious that not a single one of the standalone art pieces featured it.
• With every monumental, publicized issue, there is an ulterior motive of drawing in new readers. Since I bought this issue, it seems that the marketing and press releases worked their magic on at least one person. However, I'm not sure that this issue accomplished the goal of making Wonder Woman accessible to these new readers. The first three stories seemed design to display her character qualities; the first displaying the juxtaposition between the icon and the human, the second her wisdom along with her apparent affinity for cats, and the third her level of power. The brief forth story read like a short teaser trailer. It was the fifth story, the one establishing the new direction for the character, that lost me.
• The fifth story is sprinkled with bits of exposition about Diana's past, obviously in an attempt to catch people up to her current status quo. Yet, I was still left wondering what this book is supposed to be about. It seems that the current goal is for Wonder Woman to rediscover her purpose and find her relevance in this modern world. In theory, this would be a fantastic point for a new reader to jump on. The new reader can go on this journey of discovery with Diana, learning as she does. Nevertheless, I was still left feeling that I missed something vital and thus I didn't quite get it. The previous four stories told me how wise, strong and wonderful she was. So why is it exactly that she feels so lost? Someone will have to explain this to me. Hopefully the next few issues will. (Yes, I'll give it a few issues. I wouldn't want the only DC comic book in my collection to feel lonely.)

As the news leads me to believe, the most important part of this issue is, of course, Wonder Woman's new costume. In a way, this may be true. For an illustrated super hero, the costume is often the core of their identity. It is their most recognizable attribute and thus a shift in costume is often a signifier for a greater change in a character herself. I was prepared to declare that Jim Lee had designed a very nice costume from the pure superhero fashion standpoint. It was modern, detailed and practical. However, I was going to follow this by saying Wonder Woman is too much of an icon, her costume being an inextricable aspect of this, to change her look.

I've changed my mind.

I want to give this new costume a chance.

Let's face it. Her old costume was rather dated. One thing that struck me as I read this issue is how much she seemed to fit in with the gritty, urban environment that surrounded her. I could not help but to think of how Wonder Woman would stand out like a sore thumb if she were in her classic costume. If her new journey is about her trying to find her way and purpose in today's world, she does need to look like she belongs there rather than looking like a wandering relic of another era. Not to mention, this costume doesn't leave me wondering just when the Amazons got around to inventing double-sided tape.

I also decided that the sketch released to the public among the myriad of news stories didn't necessarily do the costume justice. In particular, I think the promo sketch failed to really show us the jacket. The sketch makes it look like a vaguely Rogue-esque bomber jacket. Before seeing the costume in the actual issue, I had intended to propose that DC try a more armored look if they wanted to give Diana a more practical outfit and cite Marvel's Valkyrie as an example. After getting a closer look, however, we can see that the jacket may be one of the more interesting components of the new look. It is heavily armored, reminding me of a mix between a SHIELD uniform and a linebacker. Yet, the fabric beneath the armored shoulders has an interesting drape to it that subtly alludes to a classic Grecian look. Overall, I find the new outfit combines a lot of different elements, fusing the classic with the modern for a remarkably cohesive look. Most importantly, enough of the old look is still there in some form that she still looks like Wonder Woman... at least to me.

I believe the last, lingering question (that naturally ties in to how long this costume will survive) is whether or not it will be able to work its way into the public consciousness as a known image of a heroine. Will people be able to see a picture of Diana in this costume and recognize her as Wonder Woman? The tiara, the bracelets, the stars, the eagles - all of her symbols - are present, but will that be enough? Or, will people expect the golden age style with the bold patriotism, despite the fact that Wonder Woman is now trying to navigate the 21st century? Only time will tell. Unfortunately, in this day and age, it is a rare thing that an experiment is ever given the time it truly needs to prove itself as viable.