Thursday, July 1, 2010

Wonder Woman new look~


So, Wonder Woman will change her costume for issue 601, after using mostly the same costume for nearly 70 years....
And I'm thinking... maybe you'd like my view on it? At least a comment on the whole deal from my own point of view. (well you're still reading these very lines, aren't you?).

So here goes: (warning, long-ass paragraph ahead)


First of, I'd like to comment on the fact that this whole idea is part of J. Michael Straczynski's "big plan".
He's a very good professional comic writer. For years he has been creating original tales at the house of ideas (that's Marvel's comics). His last stories were pretty darn creative. Including The Other, a Spider-man story I was really loving, introducing new concepts (a "totem" view on Peter Parker's life and enemies), new ideas (power changes, a "evolution" for Spidey...), etc.. But Joe Quesada being an ass like usual the man he is, had to scrap everything, for you see this Editor-in-chief didn't like evolution or change. Straczynski wanted to quit Marvel but his contract forced him to stay until the very end of the One More Day story line (aunt May's dying, Peter makes a deal with Satan, Peter and MJ marriage "never happened", story resets, he's back living with his aunt, not a professor anymore but a photgraph for the Bugle again, how does it work?!? - Hey! It's magic!)

Anyway, Straczynski joins the ranks of one more good writer that had to run from Marvel to DC because of "creative differences". He joins now Joe Kelly (Deadpool writer in the past but has been making some Marvel since 2008 again), Fabian Nicieza (awesome Deadpool creator & writer now on everything Robin/Red Robin) and Judd Winick (Exile's writer and since then has done Shazam!, Green Arrow,..), etc..

Back on Wonder Woman~
So Straczynski has always been a big fan of Superman, he said that many times on interviews (ign, comicbookresources..), Superman's been since he was a kid his "window to the comic book world". Through Supes he discovered the JLA, Bats, Wonder woman...
But he isn't happy with Wonder Woman current condition, you see she's supposed to be one of the "big try", DC's Trinity. While in fact she isn't a very loved character...
The mainstream audience knows her very well, as much as Supes and Bats, but her book doesn't sell that much. Heck, Green Lantern sells a ton more! (thanks to Geoff Johns...)

From Superman #700 and Wonder Woman #600, Straczynski will be writing both series.
And since DC is doing the awesome "no big comic event/crossover for a year, which I appreciate and offers the books a chance to breath (where Marvel is putting big events one after the other; Skrulls, Dark Avengers, Siege, World Ward Hulks, Heroic Age, Shadowland, etc..)...
Superman will have a year to travel America and then the world.. Which is nice, brings back Supes to his "popular roots".
And Wonder Woman...well, Straczynsk's goal is to bring her back to Superman/Batman level!

And he seems to be on the right way!
He had the fantastic artist Jim Lee redesign a new costume for her.

It looks very different from what you imagine when you think "Wonder Woman".
Kinda "street"-like. Not very far from Black Canary (and less trashy- sorry Dinah!), modern and seems practical!
I've seen some great reaction from comic readers and geeks alike!
Already fans talking about doing cosplays of this new costume (true!)

But on the internet you'll always find people dissing it, the usual~
And now the mainstream audience is talking about and bashing it... It has been mentioned on the New York Times... It seems the mainstream audience criticise it while in fact they're not the ones who will buy the books!.... Bah...


Final words? I like it. It's different, it's creating a huge response and the attention of medias, exactly the goal Straczynski probably had while having Jim Lee redesign it I'm sure. I'll leave you with these quotes now:

“I think Wonder Woman has a mind of her own. And I think she was just kind of ready for something new. She’s got an attitude and if this is the new thing that she wants to wear, well, by God, she’s going to wear it. And I like that. And I hope that in the story someone mentions, where’s the old one? And she says, get over it!" [From the Daily What.]
--Lynda Carter, speaking to ABC News.

"Now, I want to ask Adam West of his opinion on this matter."
--JWMC


In the pages, it looks pretty kickass~

1 comment:

  1. I'd say, he succeded in his task if me, someone who never bought nor read a Wonder Woman story, is interested in checking this out!

    More proof that she may be well known for the mainstream audience but doesn't really sell books:
    her only recent event, Amazon Attack, needed the charismatic power of the whole JLA, Batman, Superman, etc.. to work out.
    Usually, character-centric event like say Batman:Knightfall, No man's land, Superman: New Krypton, etc.. don't need "external" characters to sell copies.

    Only Linkara buys/read Wonder Woman! *huhu*

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