Wonder Woman (vol.2) #113 (1996)

Wonder Woman (vol.2) #113 (September, 1996)
"Are You Out of Your Minds?!"
Writer/Artist - John Byrne
Colorist - Patricia Mulvihill
Assistant Editor - Jason Hernandez-Rosenblatt
Editor - Paul Kupperberg
Cover Price: $1.95

Here's one from the "striking cover" pile... but perhaps for all the wrong reasons.  I mean, this one's just a bit on the creepy side, no?  This is one of those books I'd keep face-down on the table just in case company stopped by.

I mean, how am I supposed to explain how Estelle Getty was Wonder Girl anyway?

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We open with Diana and Cassie trying to sell Helena (Cassie's mom) Sandsmark on her daughter entering into training to become the next Wonder Girl... after all, she was a big help during a fight with a Doomsday clone.  She (Helena, that is) ain't hearing it though.  Also, Jason Blood is there... and it would seem that he's put a hex on Cassie... ya see, she knows that Blood can change into Etrigan... but is unable to vocalize her findings.

Diana comes down on mom's side... and explains to Cassie that she cannot go against her wishes.  And so, Cassie stomps off to her room to do some homework before she's supposed to head off for a babysitting gig later that evening.  I always dig seeing superheroes' bedrooms... there's usually a lot of cool stuff (and little Easter Eggs) to see.  Here though, it also proves that girls are messier than boys.

Cassie sulks for a bit before deciding, "screw it"... and so, she dons her Wonder Girl gear and sneaks out the window.

Meanwhile... or, make that "Two Hours Ago", a woman that we will come to call "Decay" breaks into a warehouse... facility... place.  It would seem that her touch causes people to... well, decay... so, there's some truth in advertising for ya.  She's looking for... something.

Wonder Girl flies by, and hears a report of the robbery via her trusty transistor radio.  Almost immediately she finds Decay, and enters into a fight.  Like, literally... right away.  She kicks whatever it is that Decay is holding out of her hands.

The box falls to the ground, and Cassie heads to check it out.  It looks to be a power source... and it's humming.  Decay arrives a moment later and lays hands on Cassie's shoulder... making it begin to decay.

Wonder Girl is able to collect herself (and the box) and goes to make a run for it.  With Decay hot on her trail, Cassie decides to just drop the box and make with the escape.  Then... an Earthquake?

Yes, an Earthquake... which Diana feels as well.  She flips on the television to find Channel 7 is already all over it.  I mean, it just happened... how do they already have Earthquake experts on the line?  The Earthquake expert in question?  Why, it's our main man with the Cybernetic Eye... Calvin "Cave" Carson!

Diana wonders why Cassie didn't run out of her room when the Earth started quaking... then discovers that the new Wonder Chick has snuck out.  Back on the street... Wonder Girl and Decay are still playing cat and mouse... for some reason.  I mean, Decay has the little box, so what's the point of the chase?  Anyhoo, Decay then lays hands on Cassie... and she starts to decay but good.  Before every ounce of moisture can be sucked out, Diana arrives on the scene with a sock to the mush.

After setting Wonder Girl down, Diana barrels directly toward Decay... and the impact makes her target go to pieces!

B-but how could this be?  Well... it was a piece of cake.  Ya see, when Cassie had the box... she traded out the power source for her transistor radio!  Diana then collects all the bits and bobs of Decay and packs them into separate drums so she doesn't bother them anymore.  Sounds nearly as bad as the Phantom Zone, doesn't it?  May as well just kill her at this point, right?

We wrap up with Cassie being dropped off at her babysitting gig... and well, wouldja lookit that... she's babysitting for Sugar and Spike!

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Well... I can't deny that there is a certain charm to this book... while at the same time, it's almost aggressively dull.

It does allow us to see that Cassie is (almost) capable when left to her own devices... literally and figuratively.  Her swapping the transistor radio for the nebulous humming "power source" was a good bit of kid-heroics... but I mean, if not for Diana... there's a really good chance that she would've been "sucked dry" by Decay there at the end.

So, we kinda wind up... right where we started.  We know Cassie's a clever kid... but, in the heat of battle... she's a liability at best.  I guess that's one way to "sell" Mom on her need to be trained... so, there's that.  Of course, mom could (and probably should) still say "no".

I appreciate the little cameos here.  That's always a good and easy way to get me to "pop".  Especially when it comes from someone as dialed in on all that silly Silver Age stuff as John Byrne.  It feels less pandering from him... and more genuinely "let's see if anybody gets this."  Wasn't expecting a Cave Carson mention... and sure as heck didn't figure on seeing Sugar and Spike today!

The art here is... well, it's Byrne.  It's not as tight as his earlier work, but still has a firm grip on what makes comic books work.  I know, that's what people always seem to say... but, what can I tell ya... sometimes the hive mind is right!  I will say that the transitions were a bit clumsy... things happened like instantly (Cassie locating Decay, news of the Earthquake).

Overall... I guess if you're a Cassie Sandsmark completionist, you're going to want this issue.  Otherwise... ehhh.  If you want it... and need it now, it is available digitally.

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Wonder Woman (vol.2) #190 (2003)

Wonder Woman (vol.2) #190 (May, 2003)
"The Game of the Gods, Part 2: Red Eyes in the Morning..."
Writer - Walter Simonson
Penciller - Jerry Ordway
Inker - P. Craig Russell
Letterer - John E. Workman, Jr.
Coloring - Trish Mulvihill
Separations - WildStorm FX
Editor - Ivan Cohen
Cover Price: $2.25

Welcome to Wonder Weekend... where we'll pretend that the weekend consists of Friday and Saturday in celebration of some movie that I'm not going to see* coming out!  Let's not get it twisted, I don't have any problem with this film in particular... I just don't see comic book movies... ever.  If you're a long time reader/listener, you already know the deal.

Anyhoo, I wasn't quite sure where to start with Wonder Woman... which reminded me that, back around the turn of the century... I felt quite the same way.  Wonder Woman was the only member of the JLA who had an ongoing book that I just couldn't get into.  It felt like it was too dense, and far too uninviting for a relatively-new DC Comics fanatic... and I don't think there were trades (at least easily-accessible ones) collecting the Perez run at that time.

I kept waiting for an opportunity to jump on... and in early 2003, the news broke that there was a jumping-on point on the horizon!  You couldn't miss the news if you were a comics (or pop-culture) fan, because this one was going to start with... Wonder Woman getting a haircut.  Sounds silly, yes... but this tweak in Wondy's appearance made the actual (non-comic) news.  I saw it in the newspaper... and it got a mention on the television news as well!

I figured, well hell... here's my opportunity to finally get "in" on this character that had eluded/intimidated me for so long.  Then I get to the store to pick up the iconic "haircut issue"... and find that it's Part Two of a story-arc.  Wonk wonk wonkkkk.

Well, no bother... we're gonna discuss it anyway.  In honor of the film, here is the first issue of Wonder Woman I ever bought.

* This doesn't mean I don't want anyone else to see it.  I hope everyone who goes... which I'm guessing will be a lot of you... has a Wonder-ful time, and enjoys her long-time-coming silver screen feature!

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We open with Diana appearing in the middle of Columbus Circle in New York City.  Her clothes are torn, she looks freaked out, and... oh yeah, she's carrying a baby... or a figurine that looks like one.  She works her way through some very confused New Yorkers and heads toward the park... with designs on stashing the tot.  She uses an errant kite-string to tie the tike high in a tree for safe keeping while she... tries to figure out who she is!  She's got amnesia, by the way.

As she walks down the crowded street, the eyes of each person she passes begin to glow red.  One ordinary-looking (if we discount the glowing eyes and vampire teeth) businessman coming out of the subway suddenly pounces!  Diana easily mops the floor with him... slamming him into the wall.  His eyes go normal, and he has no idea how he wound up there.  He offers her all the money in his wallet not to involve the police.  Just so happens Diana needs a few bucks for some non-ripped duds, so she takes him up on it.  She chops him in his carotid to ensure she gets far enough away from him in case he "goes red" again.

And so, she buys herself a new non-ripped outfit and peruses the web at an internet cafe.  Imagine a time before folks didn't carry the internet around with them in their pockets all the time!  I should mention that the computer she uses is one of those old chunky Macs with the bright colored housing around the monitor... haven't thought about one of those in... probably 15 years!  As she leaves the cafe, a pair of elderly folks take notice... and their eyes glow red!  They follow her back onto the street.

Diana's no dummy, she knows she's being tailed.  She leads the couple into an empty park... which Diana knows is usually empty, so it would seem that her amnesia is limited to things about herself.  Anyway, before they can jump her... she grabs them... and before she can question them, they whither away to dust.

Confused and frustrated, she plops down on a park bench to think.  In a nearby tree, it would appear that a pigeon and a squirrel are having a full-blown conversation.  The pigeon flies off, and Diana gets it in her head that she ought to follow.  It's a good thing too... because it leads her to... her number one fan?

The young lady excitedly invites Diana inside... and she accepts.  Her small basement apartment is almost completely decorated with Wonder Woman tchotchkes... and it's here that Diana learns that she is actually Princess Diana... otherwise known as, well... you know.  She ain't buyin' it.

The fan, Becca Doherty, intends to prove it... and makes sure there's nobody on the streets before asking Diana to... spin!  Diana's still not convinced, but in order to pacify her pal... spins!  Before long, she is Wonder Woman... only without her bracelets or tiara.

Wonder Woman is still confused, however, it just so happens that Becca has been keeping a scrapbook of Diana's exploits since she arrived on the scene.  Convenient, sure... but a helluva way to give a new reader some exposition without it feeling forced.  We (and she) learn about Paradise Island, and Diana's upbringing... her tenderness as well as her combat prowess.  The story continues to include Steve Trevor, the man who arrived and would ultimately change her life.  I should mention that, at the moment, Diana is dating... a different Trevor... Trevor Barnes.

We shift scenes to a place that reminds me of Zeal from ChronoTrigger.  I'm not entirely sure where we are, but there are Amazons here, including Artemis and Chancellor Phillipus.  They are concerned that they haven't seen Diana in two-weeks... in fact, nobody has seen her.  She's skipped out on Justice League meetings and everything.  While they talk, a panicked Catalyn arrives to inform them that she had just returned from Olympus... where she found that all of the Gods have disappeared!

We shift scenes again, this time we're back on Earth... the Deccan Plateau in India to be (more) precise.  It's here that we (well, I... for all I know, you already knew him) meet Trevor Barnes.  He's arrived at a small settlement in search of a called Darryl Souder.  The locals tell him that his friend has entered the "cycle of rebirth"... which, back in 2003 India didn't mean you were getting a bi-weekly ongoing... instead it meant you was dead.  Trevor is a bit incredulous... and asks to be taken to the last place he was seen.  They take him into the fields... where it is believed that demons tread.  Barnes manages to find Souder's body, however, when he goes to touch it... it turns to dust!

And that dust stirs into a dust devil, and begins to spin out of control.  At this point, Trevor begins to hear a voice... one he's heard before.  He looks to the sky and sees Karisin, the Hindu God of Wealth looming over the city.  She speaks to him of receiving sacraments.  No sooner does a plane arrive, with news of a dire emergency in Zambia which requires his attention.  At this point, Karisin has vanished.

Back at Becca's apartment, Diana realizes that there is someone or something tracking her... trying to kill her, and so she decides that she might be able to buy herself more time by... changing her appearance.  She asks for a pair of scissors and plunges them into her hair... until, Becca stops her.  She cries that it is sacrilege to do such a thing, but agrees to perform the haircut for her... as luck would have it she is a hairstylist by trade.

She says it's better for her to do it, because if Diana does it herself, it would look like she stuck her head in a blender.  Hmm... it's funny you say that, Becca... considering the "style" you foist upon her. After the deed is done, Diana bids Becca adieu... and heads off on her way to the Amazonian Embassy.

The issue wraps up on, of all places, Oa.  There's a mean bit of energy at work... and it's causing all sorts of havoc at the center of the universe.

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Well, I'll be damned... this was a pretty good jumping on point.  As I read through this today, I'm about 90% certain that I never had before.  I gotta figure that I got home... saw that it was a "Part 2", had thoughts about heading back to see if I might find Part 1... then ate and slept... and completely spaced it.

I have somehow amassed a decent-sized collection of Wonder Woman in the time since... mostly grabbing whatever I could out of the cheap-o bins, which, lemme tell ya... pre-New 52! Wonder Woman is an absolute rarity in the cheap-o's in my neck of the woods... so they immediately stand out.  I just haven't really had the opportunity to sit down and give them a fair shot.  I'm probably at a point in my fandom where I need to do a little less buying and a lot more reading.

Now, for the issue... it was a good jumping on point, yes.  We got some Paradise Island (which I'm gonna call it here because I can't spell Theme... Thema... Themy... ya know, the other name) backstory and we were introduced to some of the current cast.  With all that said... was it a good issue?  Well, I enjoyed it... so, I'd say yeah... this was a good issue.  Having Diana be partially amnesiac for this issue was an excellent narrative tool to allow exposition to be shared without it feeling like we were being clobbered by it.  Having her run into her #1 fan was a nice touch as well... it facilitates there being a scrapbook from which to educate her... and me.  Really liked that.

Now... the "big deal" of the book, Diana sticks her head in a blender.  I kid, but... wow, that's not a good look for her... for the couple of panels we see it.  I definitely gotta say she looks excellent on the (Adam Hughes) cover though.  He makes the new-look work in all of the covers for this arc.  It's funny how back in 2003, after the initial mainstream reaction to the "event", it kinda just went away.  Nobody really complained about it... nobody swore off the book... nobody made any silly comments.  Maybe that's just because this is from the halcyon days before Twitter and Facebook (you can follow me at both places by the way, links on the top right) where people could lob complaints and insults at a creative team without abandon.

I'm thinking about when, in 2010, J. Michael Straczynski took over the title and Diana was put in those Jim Lee designed duds, which included the tiny jacket and pants.  People were ticked... and that was just an outfit.  What Simonson and Ordway did in 2003 was a much more (relatively) permanent change to the character.  I mean, she could have kept the shorter hair from that point on for all we know... it's not like she had a movie coming out back then.

Hindsight (and Google) tells us that this new look only lasts until Greg Rucka arrives on the title about 6 months down the line.  I haven't read this arc through, so I'm unsure if there is any in-story reason for her rapid hair growth, or if the next creative team just decided to go back to the way it was.  If I remember right, she didn't appear in JLA with this look... or anywhere outside this title, not that that really matters.

Overall... I think this was a lot of fun.  A nice introduction to the character, a strange, almost horror-inspired threat, and nice dialogue and art.  I now really want to see what I missed in Part One of Game of the Gods.  I'd certainly recommend this to Wonder Woman fans, new and old.  Great novelty value with her new appearance, and a good story to boot.  This is available digitally.

Hope everyone who got out to the Thursday showing of the film had a Wonder-ful time!

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Wonder Woman (vol.2) #121 (1997)

Wonder Woman (vol.2) #121 (May, 1997)
"Stone May Grow"
Writer/Artist - John Byrne
Colorist - Patricia Mulvihill
Assistant Editor - Jason Hernandez-Rosenblatt
Editor - Paul Kupperberg
Cover Price: $1.95

How curious... just a random issue of Wonder Woman from the late 1990's.  I wonder why we might be discussing this book...

Well, to explain why... I will write this as though it's a line item in an Wizard Magazine's price guide:

                   Terry Long: appears (dies)

Yup... today we're shuffling our old friend off this mortal coil... in a random issue of Wonder Woman.  Hell, I've made my indifference-slash-dislike for this character well known, but even I think he deserves better... well, we'll go further in depth after the spoilery synopsis.  Let's see just how well we do reading an unfamiliar era of Wonder Woman, with absolutely nothing in the way of context!

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We open with Randu Singh doing some astral plane mojojojo to follow up on a mental message Diana had received regarding the death of her mother, Hippolyta.  Singh is most certain that a young woman did indeed make contact.  Speaking of which, that woman is named Angelica Wallis... and is no stranger to psychic flashes.  These, however, are different... these are controllable.  We see that she is in the same hospital as Hippolyta, who lies in the Intensive Care Unit... and has been turned completely to stone!

Wonder Woman and the gang, including a very young Cassie Sandsmark and Jason Blood, head to the roof of the latter's apartment building.  Diana attempts to summon her invisible jet so she and Singh might seek out this astral interloper, but only produces a coagulous mess.  I should mention that she currently has a badly injured right arm/hand.

Diana has no choice but to request the aid from a Harold Campion... the Champion!  It seems her current entourage is less than comfortable with this idea, and suggest she reach out to the Justice League instead.  She declines.  Champion arrives and immediately agrees to aid Diana in her travels.  Jason Blood grabs Randu Singh and asks that he keep Mr. Campion at arm's reach... as he fears there's much more to him than meets the eye.  And, we soon learn that he is wise to think that.  The gang leaves, and a Satyr all but confirms that the master has a "true nature" not yet seen by Wondy.

In the panels that follow, Diana arrives at the Wallis' doorstep.  That was a mighty quick trip... especially with the vague directions Randu provided.

Next we get the first of two interludes.  This one has Artemis receiving some intel by a Nathaniel (who I wouldn't recognize if he delivered a pizza to my house).  The information involves Etrigan the Demon.  Artemis promises to do what she must.

We rejoin Diana as she enters her Mother's hospital room.  She grows ever weaker (and whiter!) the closer she gets to her.  She concludes that they must return to Paradise Island, lest they both become completely stone.

They board Campion's airliner, and head toward Themyscira.  Along the way, Diana faints.  Ol' Hank carries her to a bed... and reveals (at least to us, Di is on dream-street) that he came to Gateway City in order to coerce her into falling in love with him... this would somehow grant him vengeance against Hippolyta... okay.  Anyhoo, he claims it is he who fell in love at this juncture.  He feeds Diana some of Dionysus' wine as the craft descends on the island.

We shift to the second of our interludes... and ladies and gents, this be our main event.  The reason why I'm discussing this issue.  We see Terry Long, and his children Jennifer and Robert driving along a New England road in the midst of a terrible storm.  He becomes distracted by the high-beams of an oncoming truck, and veers off to the side... where he winds up driving off a cliff!  Upon impact, his mid-sized sedan goes boom.  Hmmph... that was underwhelming, wuddn't it?

Back on Paradise Island, Diana and company head into the square.  What they find there is of great distress to Wonder Woman... everyone she knew and loved on the island has been turned into statues!

Diana goes deeper... until she comes across a body who hasn't completely transitioned into crag.  It's a blind Amazon named Eudia.  She reveals that Champion is in fact Heracles... the son of Zeus!  Hmm, well... that makes certain New-52! revelations a bit icky, right?

Diana is furious... and proceeds to beat on her would-be lover... different-timeline lover... until she begins to come apart, like literally.  Her body parts just begin to shatter upon impact!

Until all that's left is a pile of shards and a leotard.  Obviously, we are... [to be continued].

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Well... I'm gonna start with what made me pick this issue up... the death of Terry Long.  Ya ever dislike someone for such a long time that when you actually stop to think about why you dislike them... you just can't figure out why?  Well, make no bones about it, I'm not becoming a Terry Long fan here... but I'm starting to realize that my initial reaction to seeing him in a given comic is far less "Grrr!" and more "Oh brother... it's him".

The dude's not fun... he kills the joy of most scenes he takes part in... If I were in charge of the Crisis, I'd have had the Anti-Monitor snuff him out as though he were a cigarette in an ashtray... but even I gotta say, he deserved a better exit.

While we're at it... he deserved his own exit.  Perishing alongside his children makes his death seem far less important.  He cannot (and would not) be mourned as a man... just one of the victims of an accident.  Whether we like it or not, he was a supporting character in one of the biggest books of the 1980's.

Seems his death was something of a throwaway... and, honestly an unnecessary one.  Terry was already divorced from Donna by this point, and could have just disappeared into the world.  Not sure why Byrne felt the need to draw such a dramatic line under the Longs.

Well... not much left to say about Terry (for today), so I'll end this bit with our first... and last look at Terry Long.  Abyssinia, you creepy bastard.

Terrence Arthur Long

March 5, 1981 - March 26, 1997

Forever in Our Hearts

For the actual Wonder Woman story... it was interesting.  Can't say that I was captivated by it or anything, but it was a decent enough read.  I dig the idea of Wonder Woman, a hero born of clay... returning to a clay-like form.  The issue was perhaps a bit on the talky side... but whattayagonnado?  

I've noticed that folks point to this era as when Byrne's art quality was deteriorating somewhat.  Unfortunately, I think I'd have to agree.  The art here is a bit on the rough side... almost feeling rushed.  The lack of backgrounds in many of the panels also lends to that.

Overall... I'm not sure I'd recommend this one, unless you just really gotta see/own the death of Terry Long (like I did).  If you do wanna check this out, it has been made available digitally.

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