Wonder Woman #601 - DC

So . . Wonder Woman's reality . . the reality of Themyscira, has been changed. We don't know yet what caused it all, but . . this issue a young visionary is showing Diana the events that lead up to her mother's death. In fact, in this reality, Diana doesn't even know her mother much past the age of adolescence. Anyways, it seems that for some reason Hippolyta lowers the barriers around the island. It isn't long before the world of man discovers that and starts sending wave after wave of attacks to pelt the island. They've also had the weapons ensorcelled by some source that enables them to take down even the strongest of the Amazons. They fought bitterly hard to their dying breath, and Diana only survived because Hippolyta had the foresight to send her away. As well as a majority of the Amazons. Now they're scattered across the globe . . hiding, waiting for Diana to rally them. Now that she's learned the story of what happened, she's ready to do just that. She's trying to follow some of the soldiers back to their base. Obviously the only way to shut this down it to take down it's leader. But before she can do so she finds out that they've tracked a tribe of her sisters to a remote spot it Turkey. They've got them pinned down, so they're sending in more troops to take them out. Which leaves Diana with a choice. The leader, or her sisters. Obviously she chooses the latter and heads off to Turkey. The only thing that bothers me about this story-line . . and I really do like it, alot . . is that Diana is pissing at windmills. All she's doing right now is reacting to the problem. She needs to trace it back to it's source and eliminate it there. And I don't mean the leader. I mean the original event that caused this divergent reality. If that's even possible. J Michael Straczynski has set up a really cool chain of events here. And I know this is only the opening chapter, but . . I really like the look and feel of what he's doing here. He seems to have a great handle on Diana's character. And I think it's a formidable task that he's set out in front of her. And, having said all of that, what really impressed me about this book was Don Kramer's art. I was a staunch supporter of his when he was on Detective. I thought he was hugely underrated and was doing a superb job there. But now? Now his work seems even better. I think part of that is probably Michael Babinski's inks. He does no less that 4 full-page panels. And his frames and flow are sheer perfection. Also, as with the Detective books, everything just seems so vibrant. The art and the color just seems to jump right out at us. I think it's a spectacular looking book. And don't forget his beautiful cover. Or the spectacular painted one by Alex Garner. I've been a fan of this book for quite a while now. But I think this is one of it's most excitingly anticipated chapters. The future is definitely looking bright. Well, for us . . the reader. Not necessarily for Wonder Woman. But . . we'll see what happens.

Wonder Woman #600 - DC

First of all . . Congratulations Wonder Woman!! Issue #600! Finally! Secondly . . look at these amazing covers by George Perez, Adam Hughes and the 2nd print variant cover showing Wonder Woman in her new costume by JH Williams III. All 3 are simply fantastic looking. This issue is also loaded with pin-ups. We have beautiful contributions by Adam Hughes, George Perez, Nicola Scott, Ivan Reis, Guillem March, Greg Horn, Francis Manapul, Phil Jimenez, Jock, Shane Davis, Scott Kolins, and Jim Lee with his new design of her look. There's also a page in the front by Lynda Carter, and some comments by J Michael Straczynski on the changes he has in store for Wonder Woman in the future. And then, on top of all that, we have 4 fantastic tales. The first is by Gail Simone and George Perez. It starts our with Diana assembling a large group of warriors, all women, to help protect the President for the latest threat of Professor Ivo's. It's kind of neat to see and hear all the different ways that everyone perceives her. But the real point of the story is when Diana returns to watch Vanessa Kapatelis graduate from High School . . as Valedictorian. If anyone deserves the 'good' day, it's definitely her. She's been through a lot. In the second story, Amanda Connors brings us a team up of sorts with Wonder Woman and Power Girl. We come in at the end of their battle with Chang Tsu. But then PG asks Diana for a favor. She's having a hard time with her cat and she's hoping that Diana can help explain things to her. As a person who has 2 cats of his own, I thought that Diana's interpretation of PG's cat's desires and needs was both unique and specific. I could totally see my cat thinking what Diana was interpreting as Streaky's (?) needs. Next Louise Simonson and Eduardo Pansica bring us a story of Wonder Woman and Superman teaming up to fight Aegeus. It was a pretty straight forward story, but . . the real story was in the unspoken dialogue between Clark and Diana. The respect and team-work that they displayed was unequalled. They truly are reflections of the same coin. Next Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins tell a tale that sets up what's happening in Diana's life currently. It seems that the gods feel that Diana is grossly under-appreciated by the world at large. So they've set her on a new odyssey to prove her value. Which leads directly into J Michael Straczynski's story about Diana's new reality. We

see from JMS story that Diana is setting out anew to enter man's world. But she doesn't seem to have any recollection of her past. At least not the past that we know. She's being trained to enter man's world, and to fight for Themyscira. But to her, it's all just something that she's been told about. It's not anything that she's actually experienced. JMS also introduces a new character in the Oracle. Not the Oracle like Barbara Gordon, but like the Greek Oracle. Someone who's denied sight, physically, but can see the past and the future. She tells Diana, 'The world you see isn't always that is, or has been. In the world that I see you have always been exactly as you are right now. And you have never been anything like what you are right now. Just as I . . was not always what I am now. When the Gods play music, they play it on the instruments of our bodies, on our past . . present . . future. And from time to time, they . . change the rhythm.' She makes reference to a man who's dark purposes rely on Diana staying as she is now. And she gives her a glimpse of Themiscyra . . what she's fighting for. I thought JMS did a great job with the story, but Don Kramer's art was equally incredible. Overall I thought this was a great issue and I can't wait to see where we go from here. Especially with JMS on board. It should be a fantastic trip.

Wonder Woman #44 - DC

This was a great issue, and a great lead-in to issue #600. First of all, Diana has to fight Theana, daughter of Astarte. She is the sister of Hippolyta. Apparently, at some time, this Citizenry came to our world. At the time it took one child from every world where it stopped for supplies, as a way to perpetuate their ranks. On our world, it was supposed to be Hippolyta. However, Astarte loved her sister so much that she offered herself up instead. Somewhere along the line she became the Captain of her vessel, and apparently her Amazon instincts kicked in as they began to not only plunder worlds for their supplies, but also pillage and raze them in the process. Leaving nothing behind. Maybe it was the 3000 years that they spent doing this, I don't know, but somehow they evolved into thugs and thieves. Anyways, Astarte decides to have Diana fight her daughter Theana. But of course she's not fighting fair. So Diana decides to pull a few fast ones herself. In the end, Diana doesn't beat Theana, so much as she gets her to consider her existence and position. However, to Astarte it's still a sign of weakness and she has her shot. Diana then proceeds to work her way through the ship until she finds and defeats Astarte. By their own laws, that makes Diana their new Captain. Her first decision is to take Astarte back to Themyscira where she wants to rehabilitate her. Good luck with that. And secondly . .'The Citizenry will never again kill, for any reason. You will find your resources on uninhabited planets.' In the end . . everyone comes together . . Diana and Hippolyta, the Amazons and the Olympians . . and Tolifhar and the white gorillas have been forgiven and are returning home. Thus cleaning the slate and setting the stage for issue #600. And it appears that with that issue J Michael Straczynski will be taking over the scripts on this title. There's a host of artists on that issue, but after that . . Don Kramer and Michael Babinski will be handling the art chores. I thought this was a great run by Gail Simone and Aaron Lopresti. Although, Nicola Scott and Travis Moore do the art on this issue. I'm sad to see Gail go. But I'm also thrilled that Birds of Prey is back. Which is where we'll find her resuming her fabulous writing. This issue was a great way to end the current run, but . . I'm really, really looking forward to the future. Bring it on!

Wonder Woman #43 - DC

It appears that whatever the original intentions of this space-faring race of women warriors . . it think that calling them Amazons would not only be a stretch, but an indignity to the true Amazons . . their intentions were forever changed when then captured a true Amazon, Astarte. Astarte is Hippolyta's older sister. Back then, this Citizenry would stop on various worlds to restock their supplies. This included their actual Citizenry. Apparently they would take 100 exceptional females from the planets where they stopped, and these would become the future of their race . . coalition . . species . . I'm not sure what you'd call it. They would take babies, and on their stop here . . they wanted Hippolyta. But Astarte offered herself up in Hippolyta's place. She loved her sister and she didn't want to see her taken away from her mother. The Citizenry would then erase the memory of the babies from those around it. 'It is our way to heal some of the hurt of those left behind.' Which is why no one remembers that Astarte even existed. Anyways, Astarte was deeply hurt and anguished over her acquisition. And I think it was her feelings and emotions which turned the Citizenry into this sharp sword that's slashing it's way across the galaxy. She's been their slave for over 3000 years. Astarte is not their leader, but . . she is responsible for feeding and fueling the fleet. It seems that the Citizenry has turned a blind eye to the methods in which she chooses to do that. Anyways, Astarte and Diana come up with a deal. Astarte knows that those beneath her are already plotting to kill her. They think she grows weak with age. And, I think, despite her responsibilities to the Citizenry, she still holds an affinity for this world. So they agree to a duel. This will entertain the masses while serving as a demonstration of Astarte's authority. If Diana wins, they will leave this world alone. Should she lose . . they'll set everything they have loose on it. Her opponent? Theana, Astarte's daughter. 'The most vicious Citizen soldier we've ever raised. Every cruel impulse ever imagined. She is our Princess. She is our champion. And she is my daughter.' So actually . . it's like vs like. This should be entertaining. I think Gail Simone is doing a tremendous job with this series. I think she definitely shows an affinity for this character. She really seems to be enjoying herself here. Also, while I miss Aaron Lopresti, Nicola Scott and Fernando Dagnino are doing a tremendous job. Both are very talented artists, and their styles seem to compliment each other nicely. I've been a Wonder Woman fan for a long time. And I think . . right here, right now . . this is some of the best I've ever seen.

Wonder Woman #42 - DC

At first . . the beginning of this story I was a little confused about. It seemed more like a story out of Green Lantern Corps, than necessarily Wonder Woman. But . . it's all pertinent to the story later on in the book. We see a Green Lantern, and his 2 team-mates, return to a world in his sector that has been wiped out by an unknown enemy. This was a rather primitive and peaceful world. Almost naive in it's stature. But when they return they find nothing but decimation and holocaust. When asked when was the last time he visited this world, he responds . . 'Seventy-five minutes ago!' They find one little girl alive, but they're soon attacked by some of the 'animals' that were let loose here. And a Lantern falls in the process. The relevance of the first part of this story is that now these creatures have come to Earth. They arrive in large Khund ships, but they aren't Khund. And they now use a green force-field to envelope Washington DC and begin their beach-head on this new world. First of all, the race is made up entirely of women. In fact at the end of this issue, Diana recognizes one of them as a sister Amazon. 'My eyes Diana. Take a look in my eyes. I am one whom fortune did not favor. I am your Aunt, Princess. Your mother is my sister.' Huh? So apparently this is another offshoot of the Amazons, as are the Bana-Mighdall? Anyways, it appears that their power lies in the acclimation of technology, weapons and information of the worlds that they conquer. Basically, they swarm the world with eggs. Snake eggs. When they hatch, the tiny snakes start to devour everything. Until they get to the point where everything is gone and they have to devour each other. With one creature left, it returns to their ship and the 'Amazons' eat it, absorbing what it has absorbed. Which is how they got the Green Lantern power when they killed that one on the back-water world. Right now things don't look to good for Diana, or Washington DC. Gail Simone does a great job with this story. She gives us just enough information to start to see some of the pieces involved . . but now enough to start putting them together. Nicola Scott and Fernando Dagnino do the art for this issue. Overall, I think it's looks pretty good. I thoroughly enjoy this book. I can't wait to see what the future holds for this character.

Wonder Woman #41 - DC

While I was thrilled to see Wonder Woman and Power Girl beating on each other . . these women are hot, it's like watching the ultimate 'chick fight' . . my libido enjoyed that aspect, it just seemed like it took them way to long to realize that someone was manipulating them. As soon as they do . . and as soon as Wonder Woman catches a glimpse of these little boys . . it doesn't take long for her to put the pieces together and realize that these are the sons of Ares. She also realizes, through some instinct or feeling, that these children are also of Amazonian blood. So know she knows what those surprise pregnancies were all about. Of course it didn't help that Diana kept punching back. When she doesn't react to Karen . . when she acts like the 'hero', and attempts to help the innocent bystanders that their tussle may be affecting . . Power Girl starts to see her for who she is, and the smoke of the illusion begins to fade. But as soon as they start fighting again . . Karen's back at full rage. Eventually Dinah gets through to Karen enough that she can help her with the boys. First she has Karen tie her up with her own lasso. This way the boys can't get through to her because she's protected by the truth. Now she can approach them and scold them for the chaos that they're sowing. The only problem I really had was that in the end, for punishment, Diana banishes them to Themiscyra. Well that and . . she spanks them. Oookay! Not what I was expecting. I'm sure this isn't the last we've seen of these boys. I can't believe that Gail Simone would create such interesting characters, just to have them taken down so easily. It's just a matter of where? . . and when? As usual Aaron Lopresti turns some great pages of art. I especially liked the scenes of Karen and Diana going at it. I enjoy this book and look forward to it every month. Thanks, for that!

Blackest Night Wonder Woman #3 - DC

Wonder Woman is such a fantastic character. And her beliefs of hope and love have made her the perfect addition to the Star Sapphire ranks. In fact, had she not already had another mission in life, she probably could have quite easily been their leader. As it is though . . she follows Carol's lead. She is her deputy after all. This issue kind of takes place between panels of Blackest Night #6. In it, Carol has deputized Diana, and then they're off with Hal and the rest of the Guardians to confront Nekron. However, in this issue, Diana first faces Max Lord . . the Black Ring version of him, and then Mera. There's really not much of a fight between her and Max. Basically she encases him in her Sapphire projection, and then kicks him to pieces. Several times actually. Mera on the other hand is another matter entirely. She's been deputized by the Atrocitus, so she's now a Red Lantern. And she appears to have embraced the anger and blood-lust completely. So much so that she appears to have lost herself. When Diana comes upon her she's fighting the Black Lanterns. However, upon seeing Diana . . all of her rage is transferred on to her. It takes everything Diana has to get through to her. In fact, she has to use a combination of the ring and her lasso to finally get her head and her heart clear from the cloud of rage. And she finds out that her and Mera are more alike than either of them ever knew. They're both very strong and passionate women. And they both have a love in their life that is unaware of the depth of their feelings. Arthur loves Mera, but . . he doesn't realize what she's done, or is willing to do for that love. I also enjoyed the conversation between Diana and Carol when they first get together. All in all, I thought it was a fantastic series. Greg Rucka did a great job with the story. And I was very impressed with Nicola Scott's pencils. She's come a long way since Birds of Prey. And I think she's just getting better and better. Not to mention the beautiful Greg Horn and Ryan Sook covers. Now we just have to wait a couple of weeks for Blackest Night #7 so we can see how all of these heroes fare against Nekron. It should be a doozie!

Wonder Woman #40 - DC

This issue, Wonder Woman faces off against a couple of threats in our nation's capital. But . . it seems like most of these occurrences have been manipulated by this band of young boys that we see on the cover here. They don't really have a name, other than Scorpion, Adder, Goat, Spider, and . . I don't know what the fifth one's name is. They kind of remind me of the Cuckoo's from the X-Men. Except, you know . . evil! They seem to have some sort of psychic sway over the people they talk to . . something that convinces them to believe what they're saying. Oh wait . . you know what? It just occur ed to me . . I bet these are the children of Ares that we saw being born last issue on Themiscyra. At the time they aged rapidly, so . . they might be about this age by now. And they do seem to be sowing the seeds of discord among the eclectic potpourri of people that reside in Washington DC. Basically, they seem to be turning everyone against everyone. Including Power Girl. During a fire at a Synagogue, Karen shows up to offer her help. At the meantime, Diana has gone to the hospital to check up on Etta. She still feels guilty for her taking that beating from Genocide. But, come to find out . . Etta has actually been deputized by Checkmate to help them keep an eye on the DMA. She said that with people like Steve and Diana constantly around her, she was starting to feel inadequate. And once she got in the field, she found out that she enjoyed it . . immensely. Anyways, this held Diana up, but by the time she gets to the scene it appears that the 'boys' have turned Karen against Diana. 'They said you'd lie. You always were good with speeches. Never thought you'd sink this low, Amazon. I'm taking you down.' Which leads us to the final page where Diana decides that she's had enough of this and she's ready to go toe-to-toe with Power Girl. I absolutely love what Gail Simone and Aaron Lopresti have done with this book. Yeah, they've put Diana through a lot, but . . I think she's come out the other side stronger than ever. Gail writes some fantastic stories, with brilliant character development. While Aaron continues to improve with his already beautiful art. I liked him way back when he was doing Ultraverse comics. Sludge . . I think it was. But he's even better now. This is a great book with some fantastic characters. You definitely should be reading it . . if you're not.

Blackest Night Wonder Woman #2 - DC

Ok . . a couple of things happen here that have me asking some big questions. First of all . . in Blackest Night #6 we see Diana and Mera getting ready to square off. That fight takes place here. Obviously, we knew that Diana would kick her butt, but . . I think Mera actually put up one hell of a fight. Of course, Diana's heart wasn't really in it. We see, as she's fighting, that she's also fighting the Black Ring's influence. She doesn't want to do the things that the ring is forcing her to do, but I think it's like a dream where she's watching herself do them . . unable to control her own actions. She stops herself before killing Mera, but then when she's confronted by Donna, whom is already a Black Lantern, and Cassie . . she ends up killing them both. And then her next opponent is . . Hippolyta. And she's about to kill her also. It isn't until Bruce shows up and distracts her, that she's overwhelmed with a feeling of love. Which is strong enough for her to fight the rings influence. Then, as we saw in Blackest Night #6, the Star Sapphire ring comes to her for acceptance. However, what we didn't see in Blackest Night is that the ring is also accompanied by . . Aphrodite . . Goddess of Love. At first Diana can't accept the ring because of the things she's been forced to do . . she feels to guilty. That is until Aphrodite tells her that she's done nothing . .'Nothing. They, like this place, only a figment. A place I made where your possession could run free and without harm . . to save you from yourself. I would not see you destroyed by this evil, Diana.' That's a good thing. So Donna and Cassie are ok. But . . that also means that Batman didn't really show up. I first I thought this was the spot where he made his reappearance. But, Diana does have to admit now that she definitely has feelings for him. The issue ends with Diana flying off . . now a Wonder Woman and a Star Sapphire. She's definitely going to be a power to be reckoned with. Greg Rucka did a fantastic job with this story. I liked the way that the action started out in Blackest Night #6, but then we got to watch it unfold in it's entirety this issue. Also, Nicola Scott did a fantastic job with the art. Covers were by Greg Horn and Ryan Sook. I can't wait to see what happens next month. It should be a hell of an issue.

Wonder Woman #39 - DC

This issue wraps up this whole story-line with Princess Diana and Achilles. Well . . sort of. First we find out that this outbreak of pregnancy around the island seems to have been because of the machinations of Ares. For some reason he wants a pack of children to do his bidding, so . . he's decided to sacrifice these Amazons in the process. I guess he doesn't figure that they'll be missed. At the end of last issue we saw that Alkyone had sent Diana to her death with some monster that lived under Paradise Island. This outrages Achilles. In the ensuing battle, Alkyone shows her true colors when she tries to kill him. However, 'When purging the vital organs of an enemy . . perhaps you should not choose a heart that once belonged to a god!' Anyways, Artemis has rallied all the support of the remaining Amazons, and Achilles has taken the Thalarions to fight by their side. Together they both jump into the deep to save their beloved Princess. It's actually kind of sad because Alkyone has convinced herself that everything she's doing she's done for Themyscira and Hippolyta. Somehow she just got all twisted around . . probably by Ares, or maybe Genocide's influence. We also learn that Zeus' recent transgressions are a result of their being captured and tortured by the New Gods. If not for the interference of the Ichor, they could still be in their clutches. After seeing what's happened with Diana, he decides to repent for his sins. He actually asks Athena to help him fix things. The Ichor, it seems only wanted one thing in return . .'They wanted me to choose the most worthy among my people, to join them. To be something greater than a god. They wanted . . an Olympian.' He thought he would send Achilles, but after the recent events he's decided that the honor should go to Diana. However . . she declines. So in the end . . Zeus is going to live with the Ichor. But before he leaves, he banishes Ares, both body and spirit, from Themyscira forever. And we see that Ares' children have been birthed and matured rather rapidly. 'It's fine. I need more space for my growing family anyway.' That's something that's going to come back to bite the Amazons sometime in the future. Plus, we don't really know the final fate of Alkyone or her 'circle'. We assume she's dead, but . . who knows. This was a fantastic story by Gail Simone and Aaron Lopresti. These 2 have really taken this book to greater heights. I've really enjoyed their stellar run on this book. Aaron will be here for a bit longer, until Nicola Scott shows up for issue #42. After that? Who knows. But I know with Gail, this book is in great hands.

Blackest Night Wonder Woman #1 - DC

First of all . . check out that fantastic Greg Horn cover. It's incredible. But the variant by Ryan Sook looks pretty impressive to. In fact, when I first looked at it, I thought it was Adam Hughes. Anyways, Greg Rucka writes this book, and Nicola Scott provides some amazing art. And of course, in this book, Diana's number one regret comes back to haunt her . . Maxwell Lord. She's talked to Ray Palmer so she knows that the beings that are portrayed by these rings are not the actual people that they appear to be. In Ray's words . . 'The ring wears the body, not the body wears the ring. Thus the ring is not the person. Only it's form, it's shape, it's memories. And it's powers.' But having that knowledge, and not reacting to the grotesque actions that thier loved ones and enemies have perpetrated . . are two entirely different things. Max taunts Diana by leading her to the military cemetery. He uses his power to control 2 of the honor guards stationed there, but . . the Black Lantern rings come in and bring the rest of the fallen soldiers to life. This puts Diana in a moral dilemma because she can't fight these men whom she respects. In fact Max questions her as to why she feels no anger or rage . . only love. But then she realizes that love is a light also. So she uses her lasso, her powers and her love to protect the honor guards by encircling all the soldiers in the power and fire of love. It leaves them all in piles of ashes. 'Honored dead . . forgive me.' Except for Max. There's a finger lying on top of his pile of ashes . . and it's talking. 'I'll be seeing you again real soon . . ' And that's when the Flash calls her off to Coast City. Barry has warned them about everything else, I wonder why he hasn't warned them about the power the Black Rings have over them since they've been resurrected. Diana has died and come back many times. The latest of which was by the hands of Neron. When Diana gets to Coast City she's going to fall under the influence of Nekron without any warning. I thought this was a great issue. I really like the way that Greg handles Diana's emotions and feelings. But Nicola was the real star of the book. It's amazing how far she's come since she first appeared doing the Birds of Prey. At least I think that's where she started. That's where I first noticed her. She was doing the Secret Six too, but then she wasn't. Now I know why. This should be an interesting mini-series, and again . . I think Diana is one of the key players in all of this. I just don't know how yet.

Wonder Woman #38 - DC

It appears that Alkyone is going to get her way . . Diana is scheduled to be executed. I'm not sure what her ultimate goal is, but . . she's trying to knock out some of the others along the way. For some reason she's got Achilles wrapped around her finger. I don't even think they've consummated their marriage. So he must be afraid of her, but I don't understand why. Anyways, she manipulates him into following through with her plans. She's got to know that Artemis and the rest of the Bana-Mighdall will raise up with arms before they'll let this happen. But I think that's what she's counting on. I think she's hoping that in the melee the Amazons will wipe out most of the men. But the part I don't understand is . . Alkyone has risen to this position of power. I can't imagine that she'd want to give that up. But she keeps saying that once Diana is killed, their homeland can return to paradise island, with Hippolyta as their queen. In order to ensure this . . Alkyone has released the spirit of Genocide and allowed it to enter hers, and the rest of her circle's souls. While Alkyone is going through with the false execution . . remember, she just wants the Amazons to raise thier arms against the men . . Achilles has gone to Diana in her cell and they have come to an agreement. 'Diana, please. If I know anything about you, I know one thing. That you forgive those who have been foolish and come to regret their foolishness. I need you to use that forgiveness, on both of us. Alkyone must be stopped, Princess. I have done many misdeeds. But I will not allow you to sacrifice yourself. And we have a war to kill.' But it's a false execution because Alkyone has Phinea dressed up as Diana with a sack over her head. Remember, she's doing all of this to start a war. So . . she sacrifices Phinea anyways. It appears that besides all her other deceptions, she's also playing with some dark magic. 'Yes, I took poor Phinea in your stead. Because I made a bargain with the dark heart of Themyscira, Diana. And he wanted you alive. Meet the Cottus, Diana. Meet the maker of your flesh.' It's a big giant centipede looking demon . . with hundreds of human arms making up it's body. Next issue wraps up this story-arc, but . . I don't know if it'll wrap up this story, or just this chapter of it. I have a feeling it's going to be a pretty packed issue. I think Gail Simone is doing a terrific job here. Yes she's brought some changes, but . . it's ok to shake things up every now and then. These events, I think, are taking Diana to her lowest point . . ever! I have a feeling that it's going to be a while before she gets back to the person she was before all of this . . if ever. Aaron Lopresti, as usual, turns in some fantastic pages this issue. I've been a fan of his for quite a while, but I think I like his stuff on this book more and more with every issue. I can't wait to see where we go from here.

Wonder Woman #37 - DC

This book serves to kind of set the tone for what's been happening back on Themyscira. First of all, Alkyone has married Achilles . . making her the Queen. A fact that Hippolyta explains to Diana this issue. While chained, Hippolyta professes he love for the Amazons and her island. She would die to protect them. Which may not be to far out of reach. On the other hand, I think that all Alkyone thinks about is the obtaining, and usurping of power. Sure she's the Queen, but the island has a King now . . Achilles. And he was appointed by Zeus himself. Alkyone doesn't really have any power. Or does she? As with any man in power, we see that while his resolve is strong, Achilles still has the voice of a woman whispering in his ear . . second guessing his every move . . manipulating his choices. So we have to ask ourselves, which 'voice' is the true voice of the King? We also are dealing with the immaculate conception of 5 various Amazons. Something that hasn't happened on this island since Diana was born. And we finally see the return of Artemis and the rest of the 'imprisoned ones', after the recent events in the Secret Six book. They've come to rejoin their sisters, and return their dead. I wonder how she's going to feel about the new regime change? I enjoyed all of the machinations and manipulations, but to me the best part of the book was the fight between Diana and Donna. During the fight with Genocide, she poisoned Donna's thoughts. She believes Diana to be responsible for the death of her family. The battle is heated, but Diana figures out that it's through her lasso that Donna is reacting so violently. She renounces it, and throws it into the ocean to prove to Donna that her intentions are true. With that act, and Alkyone taking her bracers and girdle . . Diana doesn't really have any of the 'gifts of the gods' left. And since she's renounced her Amazon heritage . . she really has no place left with her own people, or mother. What a revoltin' development! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention . . in the beginning of the book, Ares with his split head sewn back together, visits Diana in a dream. 'We're not done, Diana. Did you think, merely because you split my skull in two, that I was finished with you? The innocent, Diana. I will break your heart. By destroying the innocent. Now. As forever. You will be mine. And you will suffer.' Wow! Gail Simone is doing a tremendous job here. I absolutely love what she's done with this book. Yeah, sure . . Diana isn't really an Amazon anymore, but . . I still think there's great things in store here. I can't wait to see how Gail works this all out. Aaron Lopresti does the cover, but Bernard Chang covers him on the interiors this issue. Bernard's style fits well with this book. But don't fret, Aaron will be back next issue. And what do you think . . will they be renumbering this title soon . . will we see issue #600 in Wonder Woman's future? I know the question has been tossed out there, but I haven't heard what the decision is yet. I guess it all depends on if Dan Didio gets 600 postcards before issue #45 is put to print. Here's a copy of a postcard I found on the net, if anyone's interested.

Wonder Woman #36 - DC

I really cannot say enough about what Gail Simone and Aaron Lopresti have brought to this series. First of all, I love Gail's writing. The subtle and dry humor that she weaves into her stories is fantastic. Diana and Tom are standing on the wing of her invisible plane. They're discussing their relationship and the fact that they're standing over the Amazon rain-forest. Both seem to be important at the time. Anyways, Diana is talking about how the coast-line changes during rainy season, and Tom assumes that she's expressing some symbolism for their relationship. She replies . . 'Oh Tom. I think I'm a little less deep than you imagine, sometimes.' Also the story starts out with Diana pounding Giganta into the surf. She came out to the beach to think, and Dr Zuel just happened to be there also. It takes Doris to calm Diana down. She grabs he with her giant hand and screams, 'Stop! Stop, all right? I wasn't doing anything. Just stop! I'm here for a date Wonder Woman. To get some eggs florentine and watch the sunrise.' Of course she doesn't tell her that her dates with Professor Choi. Remember? They have some kind of relationship going on. Anyways, they end up sitting on the beach talking about their 'guy' problems. And later when Diana has to fight with Achilles . . Dr Zuel is there by her side. Anyways, we get a lot of information about Diana and Tom's relationship. Apparently she's bringing it to an end. And we see that Alkyone has married Achilles . . to become the Queen of Themyscira. It's an arranged marriage, and purely out of convenience, but . . only they'll know that. Well . . them and her warrior guards. They also find out that apparently 5 of the Amazon women seem to have come down with a rare illness . . immaculate conception. Also Diana finds out, when she confronts Achilles, that they're holding her mother hostage . . as leverage. They're trying to keep Wonder Woman out of their way. Anyways, all of that was brought to us by the brilliant scripting of Gail. But equally brilliant is the way Aaron interprets her stories with his fantastic pages of art. I know Diana seems a little disconnected from her heritage, and people right now, but . . I also love where this book is at right now. It has a great feel and look to it. And I look forward to reading it every month. What more could I ask for? Thanks!!

Wednesday Comics #12 - DC

This being the final issue of this 'experiment', I assume all the stories will be wrapped up here. I guess Luna shot herself, and then jumped out the window. She tells Batman that she couldn't see herself locked up, and apologized for not finishing it the way he would've wanted. He just looks at her and says her name . . and has he touches her cheek . . she realizes . ."Bru . ." But then she's gone. Orora dies from her wounds, but before she does she gives Kamandi her compass. She points at the face and says "Humans". So as Tuftan, Caesar, the Lion and Tiger nation head off to finish off the Apes, Kamandi decides to go off alone. South. Maybe to find some more of his kind. Superman checks on Lois, but she's fine. As he's talking to her on the phone, she's looking at a heading about Batman stopping an alien attack on the Daily Planet. It's good to have friends to watch your back. Deadman makes it back to Earth, but he's still scolded by Rama Kushna. She's upset because he upset the balance between Neron and his dukes. So now she's got some extra work for Boston to do to try to balance things out. Hal watches as the rest of the alien armada leaves Earth's atmosphere, and then he goes back to his watering hole to check up on Dillon. Rex Mason and company make it out of the pyramid, and a CIA transport shows up to pick them up. End of story. The Titans beat Deathstroke easily, now that he knows who he really is. I guess he really does have some psychological barrier that stops him from defeating them. Now that Korgo has been sent to Earth, Rann's little uprising is all fading away. Now Adam just has to worry about how Alanna would feel about him if she knew that he was a withered up old man back on Earth. Supergirl has passed out from when she was shot by the sun. But the aliens feel bad for assuming that she was threatening. While she was passed out, it turns out that Krypto and Streaky explained it all to them. You know . . universal translators and all. But after they leave and the aliens remove their helmets, we find out that they're a race of intelligent dogs and cats. Who knew? Chemo explodes and apparently takes all the Metal Men with him. Well . . except for Mercury. Now Magnus is just going to have to rebuild them again. Wonder Woman beats Dr Poison and the Cheetah, but . . I'm not really sure what she gained out of the whole thing. It was all a bit confusing . . right up until the end. Sgt Rock says goodbye to the villagers, and Easy Co heads home. And in the Flash strip . . we find out that all that crazy stuff that was happening was actually a comic strip itself that Barry wrote and Iris was reading. After Morgaine is defeated, the Demon reverts to his Jason Blood form. And Selina does a little flirting. And finally, with Aquaman's help, Hawkman defeats the T Rex while the rest of the JLA stop in alien invasion. All in all . . this was probably the most boring issue. Everything wrapped up this time, but most of the action was last issue. However . . it was ok. Again . . hats off to all the amazing talent. There was a great cast of writers . . Brian Azzarello, Dave Gibbons, John Arcudi, Dave Bullock, Kurt Busiek, Jimmy Palmiotti, Neil Gaiman, Eddie Berganza, Paul Pope, Kyle Baker, Dan Didio, Ben Caldwell, Adam Kubert, Karl Kerschl, and Walt Simonson. And then for the art we had . . Eduardo Risso, Ryan Sook, Lee Bermejo, Vinton Heuck, Amanda Conner, Joe Quinones, Mike Allred, Sean Galloway, Paul Pope, Kyle Baker, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, Kevin Nowlan, Ben Caldwell, Joe Kubert, Brenden Fletcher, and Brian Stelfreeze. Quite a cast of characters . . on the creative side as well as in the actual pages. I wonder if they'll ever try this again?

Wednesday Comics #11 - DC

Only 2 more weeks to go, and it looks like Batman's got this all figured out. Luna had killed her husband . . well . . she used Hardy to kill her husband, and then she was going to kill Hardy. You know . . so he couldn't talk. Anyways, since there's another issue left . . we're left with a cliff-hanger ending. There's a shot fired, and we see Luna falling, or jumping through a big glass window. But . . did she shoot Batman, or herself? Or . . was there someone else there that we haven't seen yet? Hmmm!! Now that Tuftan and Caesar have been rescued from the Apes, Kamandi is looking forward to getting to know his human stray, Orora. But before they even get a chance to speak, she's shot down by an Ape sniper. Is she dead? Will Kamandi once again be the only living example of his species? Superman finally has the upper hand on the aliens. He snapped out of their telepathic influence when they threatened his parents. But as he pummeling the alien, he realizes . . he forgot about Lois! Have the aliens gone after her? And will he be able to reach her in time? In Hell, Boston realizes that he's being played by these women that were captured by the demon. He finds out that they just wanted him to release them so that they in turn could release Neron. He ends up leaving them behind, and walks out of this crazy place. But that leaves the question . . what's next? All it says is . . 'Loose Ends!'. Hal confronts the alien race that's trying to attack the Earth, but they quickly find out that they're no match for the power of his ring. Metamorpho and Element Girl take out Algon as he tries to power up the ship with the Star of Atlantis. However their deception pays off as the foil his plans. He then tries to bring the ship down around their ears. 'If I die . . you all die!' Trident, thinking that he had defeated the Titans, drops his disguise. He was actually Slade. Gizmo had rigged him up with a psychic implant so he forgot who he was . . he actually thought he was Trident. But then on the last panel . . . . On Rann, Adam Strange has sent lord Korgo to Earth . . on his Zeta-beam. We see him trapped in a museum display. Supergirl has gone off to the sun to try to stop the aliens from dumping their crap into it. But once there . . she doesn't know how she's going to communicate with them. They fire their guns at her . . which actually hurt her. But it looks like Krypto and Streaky are coming to her rescue. The Metal Men have Chemo contained, but he's still going to explode. The shove him into the basement of a nearby construction site, and as the story ends he and all the Metal Men go up in a cloud of smoke. Wonder Woman finds out that everything she's been through has been because of the machinations of Ares. Now she has to trust the Cheetah to protect Etta and the Professor while she fights Ares offspring. They were trying to manipulate it so that he would be the recipient of the Seven Stars of the Amazons. Easy Co. finally makes it into the building where they're holding Rock. And with their help, it looks like he's finally defeated the Germans. Grodd is trying to save his world. Barry is still trying to save Iris. It looks like the only way Barry is going to be able to do it is if he and Iris work together. He doesn't have to be the lone hero. It looks like the Demon has finally defeated Morgaine . . freeing Selina. And as Hawkman battles the T-Rex, on the beach . . Carter soon finds out that he has some help from the denizens of the deep . . and their master, Aquaman. It looks like the League has finally arrived. Now that we're almost done . . I'm finally getting in to this series. Of course . . all the cliff-hanger endings don't hurt either. But whether you like the format or not, you have to admit that some of the art looks amazing. Only 1 more issue to go. I think.

Wednesday Comics #10 - DC

We're on issue #10 now, so we're getting close to the end. Batman goes after Luna for the murder. He tells her that the Police are right behind him, but before he can do anything he's attacked by some wolves? Where did they come from? With the weapons that Kamandi found, and his help from the Lions, they quickly overpower the Apes in Shintun and Kamandi himself takes out Baaku, their leader. After they release Caesar and Tuftan they're ready to press the attack, but the Apes quickly retreat. Superman overloads the alien's minds with a tidal-wave of information. They're a hive mind, so by doing so he's stunned them all at once. Now he's pressing his advantage. Deadman impales the rune stone and stabs Kalak with the sword while it's attached. Apparently that's enough to take him out. He, and the rest of the females are free now. They just have to find a way out of here. Hal goes out to meet the invading force, and try to warn them off. But they aren't easily impressed. It looks like he's going to have to fight for it. It appears that both Rex and the Element Girl expired on the maze of elements . . or periodic maze, if you will. Apparently this temple is actually a space-ship. When Algon, the last remaining elemental, touches the Star of Atlantis he will turn into the fuel that's required for it to leave Earth. Unfortunately, it will destroy the Earth in the process. It appears that Triton has defeated Tim/Robin. He then tells the story of how the Titans destroyed the future of Earth. But before he can kill him he's confronted by Gizmo. Who asks him, "Do you remember who you really are?" Adam Strange has sent Korgo through the Zeta-beam back to Earth. He's hoping that since he has no counterpart there, he'll be diminished from the blue baboon that he is on Rann. Supergirl approaches the alien space-ship that's causing the solar-flares. Unfortunately she doesn't have any way to communicate with them. And it looks like they're viewing her arrival as hostile. Will Magnus puts a plan in place to slow the reaction that's occurring in Chemo right now. Unfortunately, I don't think they're going to be able to stop it, just contain the explosion. The question is . . will they survive the experience? In the Wonder Woman story . . I'm still a little confused about what's going on. It has to do with the Seven Stars of the Amazons, and Etta and Cheetah are involved. After that . . it's all more than a bit confusing. Plus every issue they seem to be experimenting with the panel lay-out. I'm not thrilled about this one, at all. Sgt Rock is attempted to escape. However, he's not making much progress. But the rest of Easy Co appear to be knocking at the door . . literally. It appears that Barry's problems are all coming from Grodd. Some 50 years in the future he's trying to communicate with himself in the past. Somehow the whole process has cause a problem that has sucked Barry, and Iris, right into the middle of it. Barry's trying to save Iris, but . . he may have to save the future also. It appears that Etrigan and Catwoman have the upper-hand over Morgaine, until Catwoman with the sword she's given. When it strikes Morgaine she turns into a swarm of locusts and quickly take over Selina. It looks like she's in control now. And Hawkman is trying to fight a T Rex to keep the survivors from the airplane crash safe. It's hard to tell if he's winning or not. Overall, I'm enjoying this little experiment. I still think the price-tag is to high, but . . I still bought it. So who am I to complain. There's some great talent here . . and only 2 issues to go. I guess I'll stick around and see how it all wraps up.

Wednesday Comics #9 - DC

Ok, I finally made it through that big stack of books last week. It was ok though. For the most part I enjoyed almost all of them. And I have a little breathing room this week as the new books won't be out till Thursday, because of the holiday. Speaking of which . . what exactly does Labor Day celebrate? I mean . . if it's for the 'working-class' people of this country . . most of us still have to work today. I mean . . the only people I know that don't work are either Federal employees, banks or union-workers. Anymore, all 3 of those categories seem to be a diminishing lot. Oh yeah . . students get it off also. Anyways . . I was just wondering. After that little respite . . I'll get back now to Wednesday's Comics. Batman breaks up Luna and Hardy's little romantic engagement. But as he pulls Hardy through the front window, Luna shoots Hardy twice in the chest. Killing him. And then Luna takes off. Like that's ever a good plan. In Kamandi, it appears the Shintun, the Ape city, is actually Washington DC. Kamandi, Dr Canus and Orora . . as well as the new Lion allies . . reach the city just as the Apes about to execute Ceasar and Tuftan. On thier way there, they found some plans for the underground armories . . so they're loaded for bear. Superman has decided to use his brain a bit. The aliens put some kind of signal into his head that been showing them all the important parts of his life. It's also what led to the depression and soul-searching he was experiencing. And it's also created a telepathic link between them. That's when Superman figures out that if he's sending a signal, then he's probably also receiving. When he stops and listens, he soon figures out the aliens weakness. Or so he says. Boston Brand decides to try to get these girls out of this 'hell' that they've been assigned to. He tries to take on the demon himself, but . . that doesn't go exactly as planned. There's something not quite right about the rune stone, but he doesn't know what it is yet. It's just a nagging suspicion right now. Anyways, the demon brings up a horde of lesser demons to fight him. Hal uses his ring to get the rest of the alien fungus out of his friend Dill. But then learns that what had inhabited him was only a 'scout'. While it was in there, it sent out a signal to a race of aliens that are looking for inhabitable planets. Hal could have his hands full next time. Rex and the Element Girl have discovered Algon, the original Elemental Man, in these caverns and caves while they were searching for this diamond for Stagg. Last time they started chasing him across the periodic table, and this issue they finish that. Did you think they could get all those elements into one story? Anyways, there's something in here about the end of the world, and as Rex reaches the end of the Periodic Table, it looks like he may be dying. The Titans seem to be falling to Trident. Even though they knew they were walking into a trap . . they weren't prepared. And they weren't acting as a team. They find out that all these villains they're fighting aren't real. Probably just hard-light images of Tridents. And then when Tim goes to release Blue Beetle, he finds out that it's actually Trident and now he's captured him. In Strange Adventures, Alanna and Sardath are fighting Korgo when Adam finally makes a reappearance . . right over Korgo's head. Adam's been gone for a while now . . and he see's that his love is in danger. You better believe he's ready to fight. Doctor Mid-Nite is getting closer to helping Kara find out what's wrong with her pets. It appears that there's an alien vessel floating around the sun . . about 200 miles out, and it's dumping things into it which are causing unusual flare activity. So now Supergirl is going to have to fly there to figure out what's going on. While Doctor Mid-Nite tries to keep track of Krypto and Streaky. Dr Pretorius has explained to Doc Magnus, and the Metal Men, that what's happening in Chemo is a chemical reaction. His shell was cracked, exposing the chemicals inside to the air. Once they reach a boiling point, the explosion will take out most of the city. Now the Metal Men have to jump into action and fix this. Wonder Woman is getting closer to figuring out what the plans of this Dr Poison are. She now has all the Seven Stars, except for the girdle. But the Dr knows where that's at, so I'm sure that'll somehow come to light during their altercation. However, Etta and some kids are involved, so she's going to approach this one cautiously. Sgt Rock is trying to make a break from his captives and the rest of Easy Co. are trying to find him. It doesn't appear that either of them are making much progress. We don't make much progress with the Flash story. Barry's caught in some type of fever dream and he's reliving some of his past memories . . with a Sunday comic kind of twist to them. He goes under with Iris over him, and wakes up to a gorilla. Morgaine is still trying to take possession of Selina . . she wants her virility and youth. But during the process, because of Selina's resistance, Morgaine is distracted enough that the Demon can finally break free of his restraints. But the process has already begun and they're in a kind of half-merged state. And in Hawkman, he tries to convince the others to run away as they're being approached by a T-Rex. Remember, apparently they're stuck on Dinosaur Island. As I said last time, I'm enjoying this more. Now that I have a better understanding of the stories. Overall, I think it'll turn out to be a successful project. Some of the art in here really is amazing.

Wonder Woman #35 - DC

First of all, I think that the teaming up of Diana and Dinah is brilliant. They play off of each other perfectly and they truly are some hot fem-fatales. Now, when you marry that with the phenomenal writing of Gail Simone . . . I kinda' wish this team would go on and on. I absolutely love Gail's sense of humor. She puts just the right amount in her stories. It's not over the top, and it keeps the pace of the story flowing smoothly. Truly, a fantastic job. And then . . on top of all that . . we get the eye-popping art of Aaron Lopresti? What more could you ask for. Of course you know the girls are in Japan trying to retrieve Sarge Steel, so that they can get Dr Psycho to switch their bodies back. Anyways, in-between bouts at Roulette's arena, they're walking around town relaxing and sight-seeing. So they walk into this toy store, and our opening page is this Manga type picture of a Wonder Woman action figure. It's beautiful and funny at the same time. They're marveling at all the various toy portrayals of each other when Dinah says, "If my mother had seen the unapproved variant edition collector's resin kit . . she'd slap my face." And they can't believe how many different Power Girls they have. I'm sorry. It wasn't an important scene . . it was just funny. Anyways, the girls subterfuge goes along swimmingly until Pele, the Goddess of Violence shows up in the ring to fight. She's Kane Milohai's daughter. The one that Zeus stole his heart to give it to Achilles . . his new champion. So she feels that it's because of Diana that she lost her father. And she's pissed. Pele and Diana's spirit go back to the island where she lives . . I believe it's in a different dimension. Anyways, Pele kicks the snot out of her until Diana finally finds the moment to reason with her. On bended knee she says, "I am sorry. My vow to him . . now passes to you. What amends would you have me make?" There's some terrible promise made between them, but . . we don't know what that is. Yet. It should pose an interesting angle for a future story-line. So the girls get Steel . . trapped in Psycho's body, and take him back to have them revert. And in the end, Diana finally gets some time to go see Tom. However . . on the final page, he breaks up with her. What is he . . nuts? She comes back beaten and battered . . offers to shower with him to clean up . . and he breaks up with her? Ok! Apparently whatever happened during Escape has warped his perceptions . . or his manhood! The guys nuts! We have got to find out what his deal is. This book is fantastic. As you can tell . . I love everything about it. But now I have to wait 4 weeks. Bummer!

Wednesday Comics #8 - DC

I'm getting into these stories more . . I love the art on most of them, but I don't get what the big draw is. I mean . . I know it's an experiment . . I know it's something different, but . . I don't think it's so fantastic that my shop should keep selling out of them. They're already doing 2nd prints of #1 & #2. The only thing I can think is that most shop owners underestimated their appeal. With lower orders, they're probably on smaller print runs. That would make them more collectible. Plus it's on this cheap newspaper print, so once they've been read, it's probably hard to find many in NM condition. My guy told me that sales started out very slow weeks 1 and 2, but then after that people started going back for what was left. He sold out of week 1 in the 3rd week, but then he's been selling out ever since. Crazy! Oh yeah, there's also about 30 people listing them on E-Bay right now. Anyways, on the Batman story Hardy Stone was arrested last issue, but he's out of jail already. And Batman follows him straight to . . Luna. Kamandi is still on his way to Shintun with Dr Canus and the girl they found. They're trying to get Tuftan and his father released from the Apes. Along the way they pick up an army of Lions. I believe Superman has started to figure out who these aliens are. He's come to the realization that he's intimately connected to these people on Earth . . as he races to try to save Ma & Pa. But as he's tackled to the ground by one of the aliens, he says . . "I got you!" Deadman, I think, is being seduced by Julianna, one of the girls captured by this demon, Kalak. He frees them from captivity be releasing a rune-stone, but they still have to go past Kalak to get out. But something just doesn't seem right. Green Lantern starts to get through to Dill a little bit. He shows him who he is and it startles him enough that he breaks his grip. Now all he has to do is crack his shell with his ring. Rex and Rainy chase after Algon, the ancient elemental, and as they do they shift from element to element and we're given a science lesson in the form of the Periodic Table. The Titans have come to face Triton in their old headquarters . . the cave. But it's a trap. As each member counters up with an enemy, Robin is left alone with Triton. He's scared, but he's trying to save Blue Beetle. We don't see Adam Strange this issue, but Alanna has gone to talk to Prince Zotar of the Northern Rock People. They decide to ally with each other to fight against Korgo who is trying to steal the Zeta-beam. Supergirl has gone to Doctor Mid-Nite to try to find out what's wrong with Krypto and Streaky. I don't think he's making much headway, until they both act out and attack his owl. The Metal Men are still fighting Chemo, but in doing so they've cracked his shell. Pretorius informs them that he's about to go Nuclear and take the entire city with him. Wonder Woman gets the Golden Lasso from some rather large wolf in her dreams, one of the Seven Stars, but she's also given a warning, "The thread does give you control, but . . perhaps not as you think." Sgt Rock tries to escape with the photographer, but he comes across some Nazi's who have gained advantage of the situation. Flash . . or rather, all the Flashes . .have worked together to tear apart this gravity field they've discovered by making a million tiny black holes. However, upon completion, I think they're all blinking out of existence as they develop nose bleeds and writhe in agony. Morgaine looks like she's about to gain Selina's body as her own, and there's nothing Jason Blood can do about it. Meanwhile, Hawkman . . now stuck on Dinosaur Island . . has called the JLA for help, but there's no one available. They're all still fighting the alien invasion. However . . Aquaman is free, so he's on his way to help. Overall I thought it was a pretty decent issue. Not enough information in each installment for me, but . . I'm getting used to it. Finally! However . . there's only 4 issues to go.