Wonder Woman #2 - A Review

It has been an open but dirty secret of mine for years that I consider Greg Rucka to be highly overrated as a writer. Maybe I never worked past my assessment of his work on various Batman titles, but I've found all of his heroines to be the same one-note generic strong female protagonist. And I'll be damned if I can understand why his past run on Wonder Woman is so beloved compared to the likes of Gail Simone or Phil Jiminez.

So why am I reading this book? Purely because Nicola Scott is one of my favorite artists. It is for that reason and that reason alone that I threw down my 24 bits to pick up Wonder Woman #2. I wanted to see if an artist I love could make a writer I detest tolerable.


Alas, much as one cannot improve the smell of a cow pie by painting it, neither can Nicola Scott save such a lackluster and uninspired story. Rucka continues to plod along, retelling the tale of how Steve Trevor came to Themyscira without a single deviation from the classic text nor any innovation save the idea that Diana had at least one lesbian relationship before discovering boys and the idea that even life in a Utopian society will not stop the greatest of women from slut-shamming one another. Paradise Island indeed!

I suppose I can't blame Rucka for his take on Steve Trevor having the emotional range of a cardboard cut-out. It's not like Trevor was ever a memorable protagonist and the post-Crisis revamp of Wonder Woman did just fine without him as a love interest. Yet for all the New 52 got wrong, they did manage to give Trevor something of a personality and that's completely absent here.

Nicola Scott's artwork is beautiful, as expected. Yet what she's asked to draw is so lackluster and dull. Rucka's script tells us what is happening, allowing Scott no chance to show us the action - such as it is. The closest thing to an action sequence in this issue comes at the end, when Steve Trevor's transport crashes. Yet this scene is shown entirely from the perspective of Diana and her sisters spying the crash from a distance - not the soldiers inside as the crash occurs!

Bottom Line: As much as it pains me to not support one of my favorite artists, I cannot recommend the even-numbered issues of Wonder Woman in good conscience. Readers who want to read a good Wonder Woman comic would do well to check out Sensational Comics or the Wonder Woman '77 series.

Superman #48 - A Review

The Justice League is held hostage as Vandal Savage makes a play for world domination. This would be a job for Superman... if he weren't running on empty. To refuel his powers, he will attempt a mad plan that could kill him faster than Savage's newest minion The Puzzler can. But that plan will require the help of one person Clark Kent would rather not talk to - Col. Steve Trevor of ARGUS.


The story this month is something of a mixed bag. Gene Luen Yang does a good job explaining the crossover so far for those readers, like me, who aren't reading any of the other Superman titles. And the concept for the new Puzzler - who absorbs technology into himself piecemeal - is an interesting one. Nevertheless, Yang his hampered by the fact that he's one writer at work at one part of a crossover and there's so much to be addressed that he doesn't have time to linger on some of the social scenes he's so good at writing. There's a lot of material to be mined between Clark and Steve's status as Wonder Woman's ex-boyfriends but Yang has little time to examine that here.


Unfortunately, the artwork is as conflicted as as the writing. With two artists and three inkers at work, there's very little visual continuity from page to page. About the only thing that is consistent is the coloration by Hi-Fi, which seems bright to the point of glowing like a neon sign.

Justice League of America #1 - A Review

Expectations were high going into this book, written as it was by veteran writer Geoff Johns with art by popular artist David Finch.  Thankfully, those expectations were met.  And then they were exceeded. 

Johns' script does a grand job of explaining the status quo of the DCU at the moment and giving the reader a rundown of all the players, for those of you who might not have been reading Justice League or any of the other titles whose characters this issue involves.  No previous experience with Stormfront, Hawkman, Catwoman, Green Arrow or Birds of Prey is needed.  It may help you appreciate some of the past events that are referred to but you don't have to have been reading six or seven different books to understand this one.


Here's the story so far.  Iit's been five years since the Justice League was formed.  In the wake of several disasters, The United States government has grown nervous about the League's independence and what might happen should they begin to actively work against the USA's interests.  To that end, they've fired Steve Trevor from his position as the government's liaison to the Justice League, having decided that maybe having Wonder Woman's ex-boyfriend acting as their go-between might be diplomatically questionable. 

In his place is Suicide Squad director Amanda Waller, who is tasked with putting together a team that can match the Justice League 1 to 1 should it be necessary.  Her first recruit?  Steve Trevor, who has proven himself a capable field commander and the one man who knows the Justice League better than anyone.    The rest of her picks are selected based purely on their potential to match the other team in terms of power - a motley assortment of mysterious vigilantes, wanted criminals and promising newcomers.


It is the newcomers - Vibe and Stargirl - who Johns spends the most time developing. There's no surprise there as, being new characters, they require the most development.  There's also the little matter of Johns being the writer on Vibe's new solo-title and Stargirl being Johns' original creation, dating back to the classic Stars and STRIPE series.  Yet this version of Courtey Whitmore is greatly changed from Johns' original concept, apparently suffering from night terrors regarding the death of the hero who wielded her Cosmic Staff before.  And Johns' take on Vibe, in just two pages, receives far more respect and development than the original character ever did. 


I've found that you either hate David Finch's art or you love it.  Personally?  I love it.  His famous eye for detail is as strong as ever but I think he's lightened up his usual shadowy inks somewhat.  There's still a hint of darkness in every corner, fitting considering the conspiracy-minded tone of the book so far.  Yet all of the high-action superhero moments are big and bright, with the inks enhancing the pencils rather than obscuring them.

Rejoice, comics fans!  This is the Justice League book we've been waiting for.