jonwesleyhuff's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this book was really fantastic. The artwork and design of the characters and the world are really gorgeous to look at. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, there a lot of beauty in this book. And I thought Grant Morrison's take on Wonder Woman (in some ways, taking her back to her roots) was pretty fascinating. I'm a little shocked by some of the reviews on here, which seem to be based on a very shallow, surface-level engagement with the book.
Just because a work of fiction presents problematic things to us, does not make that work of fiction in and of itself problematic, in my view. Especially when it's clearly creating comparisons and contrasts for a specific purpose.
Just because a work of fiction presents problematic things to us, does not make that work of fiction in and of itself problematic, in my view. Especially when it's clearly creating comparisons and contrasts for a specific purpose.
jkpiowa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I've read a lot of WW, and I know a lot about WW, and this just ain't it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
its_melissa0's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
theamazingmrg's review against another edition
2.0
Why is it Grant Morrison is generally regarded as one of comics great writers, but whenever I read anything by him, I'm always disappointed.
This is, by far, the worst of the 'Earth One' Original Graphic Novels. Utter drivel. Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang's New 52 showcased how great Wonder Woman and her mythos can be. This was just sexist trash.
This is, by far, the worst of the 'Earth One' Original Graphic Novels. Utter drivel. Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang's New 52 showcased how great Wonder Woman and her mythos can be. This was just sexist trash.
ricoocri's review against another edition
5.0
God, we are just so fucking lucky to be alive at the same time Grant Morrison is doing their thing.
tylertylertyler's review against another edition
2.0
I'll preface this to say I've never been that impressed by Grant Morrison as a writer, regardless of which hero he's writing. And I'll follow that by saying this volume of Wonder Woman definitely did not change this fact.
There are definitely some good ideas in this book. There are some general changes that I would love to see in the main Wonder Woman comics. Steve Trevor, for instance, was done well; the change to make him a black man and the speech about subjugation was a nice touch. Etta/Beth Candy was an interesting update. One thing I definitely approved of was the addition of more blatantly queer aspects to Wonder Woman and the Amazons (and Beth/Etta as well).
On the other hand... while it was all well-intentioned, the efforts at 'feminism' came off poorly if not like a parody of actual feminist thought. We're talking a staging of radical feminism and gender essentialism. There was body shaming, too, and strangely the use of 'girls' as a derogatory term (ie saying the soldiers were more girls than men--from an Amazon?).
The interesting ideas mean that this wasn't a total waste of time, but had it been much longer then I'm not sure it would have been worth the time. I probably won't pick up volume two, but it was interesting to see what Morrison's take on Diana was.
There are definitely some good ideas in this book. There are some general changes that I would love to see in the main Wonder Woman comics. Steve Trevor, for instance, was done well; the change to make him a black man and the speech about subjugation was a nice touch. Etta/Beth Candy was an interesting update. One thing I definitely approved of was the addition of more blatantly queer aspects to Wonder Woman and the Amazons (and Beth/Etta as well).
On the other hand... while it was all well-intentioned, the efforts at 'feminism' came off poorly if not like a parody of actual feminist thought. We're talking a staging of radical feminism and gender essentialism. There was body shaming, too, and strangely the use of 'girls' as a derogatory term (ie saying the soldiers were more girls than men--from an Amazon?).
The interesting ideas mean that this wasn't a total waste of time, but had it been much longer then I'm not sure it would have been worth the time. I probably won't pick up volume two, but it was interesting to see what Morrison's take on Diana was.
ajreadsbooks_'s review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I’m not into superhero’s but this comic book was soooo good. I finished it in literally 2 hours. The artwork was amazing and the plot was so good. I’m so glad I read this one.
cmanson16's review against another edition
3.0
I had high hopes for this, however it of falls flat with weird, and a tad sexist, undertones. The writing is okay, not s great epic but not a horrible misfire. The art is by fart that best part of the story, it's gorgeous and is very different in style. The art can sometimes make the story confusing but most of the time it just aides is masterly storytelling. However, if you want to get into Wonder Woman, this isn't the masterpiece you want. Go find some of Greg Ruck's of Brian Azzerrello's those are by far mor
mschlat's review against another edition
3.0
Now, I'm a big Grant Morrison fanboy and I like Wonder Woman, but I didn't pick this up in my comic book store, partly because the Earth One DC volumes have been hit or miss for me and mainly because of the art. Specifically, that cover.
I've liked [a:Yanick Paquette|229802|Yanick Paquette|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] before, especially on the [b:Terra Obscura|1109208|Terra Obscura Volume 1|Alan Moore|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1410738685s/1109208.jpg|6564898] books. But he does focus quite a bit on (ahem!) healthy women. (I think of him as firmly in the [a:Frank Cho|18160|Frank Cho|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1335707041p2/18160.jpg] school.) And the cover emphasizes the bondage that was a hallmark of [a:William Moulton Marston|89375|William Moulton Marston|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s early work on Wonder Woman. So when I look at that cover, I get concerned about how far the work is moving towards the area of exploitation comics.
It doesn't get too far, thankfully, but Morrison and Paquette do go all in on the idea of Paradise Island as a lesbian culture with affection expressed through submission, authority, and bondage. (Well, as "all in" as you can go in a book presumably intended for all ages.) There is a lot of respect for the characters, and almost every woman is depicted as powerful instead of just an opportunity for cheesecake. But there's cheesecake too. (To be fair, the depiction of Steve Trevor is heavily beefcake.)
There's some interesting stuff here. Morrison does his best when he shows how Diana makes her way to man's world and discovers the mortality and poor treatment of women. Steve Trevor is African-American and makes an explicit connection between the historical exploitation of Amazons and slavery in America. And Etta Candy (named here as Beth Candy) shows up as a sorority girl who speaks up for Diana (and appears to be a Rebel Wilson clone.)
But all of the above doesn't mix well, and worse, everything happens either on Paradise Island or in flashbacks delivered to Hippolyta and the Fates on Paradise Island. And the dialogue here is tough going. Not only do we get a ton of stilted speech, but Morrison is hitting us over the head with Diana's wish to be free of her mother. We even get a plot point focused on Diana's real identity, as if the work is channeling a YA story through the bodies of adults.
In the end, nothing really hangs together, and the interesting concepts have trouble rising above the dialogue and the art.
I've liked [a:Yanick Paquette|229802|Yanick Paquette|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] before, especially on the [b:Terra Obscura|1109208|Terra Obscura Volume 1|Alan Moore|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1410738685s/1109208.jpg|6564898] books. But he does focus quite a bit on (ahem!) healthy women. (I think of him as firmly in the [a:Frank Cho|18160|Frank Cho|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1335707041p2/18160.jpg] school.) And the cover emphasizes the bondage that was a hallmark of [a:William Moulton Marston|89375|William Moulton Marston|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s early work on Wonder Woman. So when I look at that cover, I get concerned about how far the work is moving towards the area of exploitation comics.
It doesn't get too far, thankfully, but Morrison and Paquette do go all in on the idea of Paradise Island as a lesbian culture with affection expressed through submission, authority, and bondage. (Well, as "all in" as you can go in a book presumably intended for all ages.) There is a lot of respect for the characters, and almost every woman is depicted as powerful instead of just an opportunity for cheesecake. But there's cheesecake too. (To be fair, the depiction of Steve Trevor is heavily beefcake.)
There's some interesting stuff here. Morrison does his best when he shows how Diana makes her way to man's world and discovers the mortality and poor treatment of women. Steve Trevor is African-American and makes an explicit connection between the historical exploitation of Amazons and slavery in America. And Etta Candy (named here as Beth Candy) shows up as a sorority girl who speaks up for Diana (and appears to be a Rebel Wilson clone.)
But all of the above doesn't mix well, and worse, everything happens either on Paradise Island or in flashbacks delivered to Hippolyta and the Fates on Paradise Island. And the dialogue here is tough going. Not only do we get a ton of stilted speech, but Morrison is hitting us over the head with Diana's wish to be free of her mother. We even get a plot point focused on Diana's real identity, as if the work is channeling a YA story through the bodies of adults.
In the end, nothing really hangs together, and the interesting concepts have trouble rising above the dialogue and the art.