A 40TH ANNIVERSARY celebration…
By PETER STONE
Wonder Woman has had a colorful and brilliant history. William Moulton Marsdon to begin with, the legendary creator of the Amazing Amazon. Many argue that his wife had a lot to do with it, but I wasn’t there, so I don’t know for sure.
Then there is Gene Colan, a legendary artist who took his turn at the demi-goddess in the very early 1980s. His work, was truly new and exciting. There’s also been Phil Jimenez, who brought a particularly detailed look to the character. Liam Sharp, David Finch, and Terry Dodson also provided luminous visions of the Warrior from Themyscira… or Paradise Island. There are so many others, too many to name. Writers alone include Greg Rucka, Denny O’Neil, William Messner-Loebs, Gail Simone.
On a personal note, I love 1977’s Superman vs. Wonder Woman (aka All New Collectors Edition #C45), the treasury edition written by Gerry Conway and drawn by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Dan Adkins. It features some of the greatest art that both of those heroes ever had. With the backdrop of World War II and the atomic bomb, our heroes fight it out on… the MOON. I read that comic a million times and still love it today.
However, for extended runs, I personally think the late George Perez created the best. When he started his run — Wonder Woman #1 was released Oct. 14, 1986 — I had seen his work on The New Teen Titans (a series that rivaled The Uncanny X-Men), Crisis on Infinite Earths (he is the ONLY artist who could have pulled that epic together), Justice League of America, The Avengers, Marvel Two-in-One, and too many more comics to even mention. Then, he took a very personal stab at Wonder Woman.
Plotting and penciling, Perez brought the Amazonian Princess back to her roots… and then elaborated upon it. With dialogue writers like Greg Potter and Len Wein, Perez’s plots would sing triumphantly. He journeyed all the way back to 1200 B.C. and Olympus. The female goddesses gather together, and to battle Ares’ belief that the world is controlled by men and war, they create a new race of only women… the Amazons.
The goddesses carefully guide Hippolyta to her greatest desire, a daughter. To honor the Greek goddess of the hunt and protector of young women, Artemis, Hippolyta named her mud-created daughter Diana, which is the Roman version of the name. This was the most dramatic origin story of Wonder Woman that I recall. Well researched and executed. George was totally invested in bringing life to one of DC Comics’ Trinity. And the only woman.
Once established, Wonder Woman spends the next six issues discovering and battling Ares and his destructive plan to destroy the world through nuclear weapons and senseless combat. In the end, Ares realizes that if he succeeds with his plan, the world will be left as nothing but a lifeless cinder. He would be left ruling… nothing. Although the conclusion of the story is intellectual, there is plenty of action. Ares throws the daughter of Medusa at Diana’s new compatriots. Then there are the twin sons of Ares, Phobos and Deimos… gods of fear and dread. The battle takes place in the underworld, where many horrible things are possible. Diana, however, proves to be the better of all of them. She is a beacon of love, justice and compassion, with the strength and weapons of the gods behind her.
Perez stayed with Wonder Woman for 66 issues, allowing him to explore the character and her cohorts extensively. Some readers criticize the attention to some of the subplots, but I fully enjoyed the sincerity that Perez brought to Diana and her world. After his time with Wonder Girl in the Teen Titans (especially the story Who is Donna Troy?, written with Marv Wolfman), it was a pleasure to see George take on the source. He looked at the gods with seriousness, giving them depth and back stories. He understood who Wonder Woman was supposed to be… a delicate balance between action, sincerity, and love for all humanity. She came from an island of women, but loved Steve Trevor more than anyone else.
It was so entertaining that much of Perez’s run was used for the very successful first Wonder Woman movie, starring Gal Gadot. It is a shame the same sincerity was not applied to the second movie, but Zack Snyder understood the character in his Justice League. “They don’t know how to honor him except as a soldier” was a perfect line from Diana when mourning the death of Superman.
There are many other stories with well-written and well-drawn versions of Wonder Woman, but the run by George Perez is heartfelt and is the writer/artist’s signature work.
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NOTE from Dan: Don’t forget, Wonder Woman’s first-ever solo treasury — Limited Collectors’ Edition #64 — is due in November and will collect Perez’s first three issues. Link below!
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MORE
— WONDER WOMAN Gets First-Ever Classic TREASURY EDITION — and It’s by GEORGE PEREZ. Click here.
— How GEORGE PEREZ Saved WONDER WOMAN From Becoming a ‘Raunchy Sex Object’. Click here.
