Comic Book Review: Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman Volumes 1 & 2 edited by Kristy Quinn
Wonder Woman is a favorite character of many comics readers, but her regular series often disappoints. The powers that be will assign writers that are a poor fit, or a promising storyline will be derailed by needing to tie in with a cross-company event, or a good writer will be removed just as they’re building up steam or finished fixing the damage from the last writer. Plus a number of writers only have one good Wonder Woman story in them. Thus this series, originally published online, which is all “done in one” stories by a grab bag of writers and artists, and named after the comic book where Wonder Woman first appeared.
Volume 1 opens with “Gothamazon”, written by Gail Simone with art by Ethan Van Sciver and Marcelo di Chiara. Gotham City’s villains are on the rampage and Batman’s unavailable, so Oracle calls in Wonder Woman to clean house. Ms. Simone is working with a couple of her favorite characters here and it shows. The “not in continuity” nature of these stories allows some slightly different takes on the Bat-villains, and a more hopeful ending than most recent Gotham-based stories.
It ends with “Dig for Fire” written by Corinna Bechko & Gabriel Hardman, with art by Gabriel Hardman. Diana must travel to the nightmare planet Apokolips to rescue two Amazon agents who’ve been captured. However, when she realizes what her sisters have been up to, the mission turns into an entirely different kind of rescue. This is a darker tale with a more bittersweet conclusion due to the monstrous society of Apokolips, but not without a ray of hope.
In between, a couple of stories I found especially interesting were “Morning Coffee” by Ollie Masters and Amy Mebberson, in which Diana has to deal with a tricky plan of Selina (Catwoman) Kyle to get away with a fabulous treasure; and “No Chains Can Hold Her” by Gilbert Hernandez, in which Wonder Woman is hypnotized by Kanjar Ro into battling Supergirl and surprise guest Mary Marvel. The latter is mostly slam-bang action, but does feature a WW design that’s more obviously muscular than most.
Volume 2 opens with “Generations” written by Michael Jelenic with art by Drew Johnson and Ray Snyder. Diana’s search for a birthday present for her mother is interrupted by Cheetah’s attempt to gain the same object. Some nice coloring effects.
The closing piece is “Casualties of War” by Aaron Lopresti. Wonder Woman is attacked by a dragon with a long grudge against the Amazons for killing its relatives, who’d chosen the wrong side in a war. Because it is unable to give up its grudge, Ares was able to manipulate it into a tragic mistake.
In between stories I really liked include “Venus Rising” by Alex di Campi and Neil Googe, in which Wonder Woman must solve the mystery of monsters attacking a space station (and has some nifty alternative costumes) and “Rescue Angel” by Amy Chu and Bernard Chang, about a female pilot in Afghanistan in a world where Wonder Woman isn’t real–or is she?
The format allows a lot of different artists and writers to try their hands at a Wonder Woman story, including some that would never be chosen for the main series, or whose styles aren’t suited to long-form comics. I like it when the stories emphasize the qualities that make Diana special among superheroes, her compassion and willingness to seek out peaceful solutions, rather than her combat prowess.
Also, there’s something in here for almost every kind of Wonder Woman fan: Golden Age, Silver Age, modern age, Diana as a child or young teen, compare and contrast with other heroes who are women, stories where she just inspires girls.
On the other hand, there’s no connection to the main comics, so elements introduced here won’t carry on to other stories, and no changes for the better for minor characters will stick.
Recommended to Wonder Woman fans, and to comics fans who want an introduction to the character.
