George Perez homages in Stray #6art.of.steven.a.wilcox writes:
ACTIONVERSE: STRAY #6 (28 Feb 2018)
Action Lab
I was talking about my George Perez homage pin up that appeared in Actionverse featuring The ...
Posted by Vu Nguyen
I love comic books, and for a time, I thought about framing some of my
books for display. Unfortunately, because of the odd shape of comics
(6.63" x 10.24"), you basically need to order a custom frame. I have
inquired about custom frames before, and the quote I got back (with
“Museum-quality glass” and acid-free matt) would cost about $80.
Earlier this week, I discovered these 7x11 Special Moments Memories Collection: Wall Art Reproduction Encadrée prints at Dollar Tree
for $1 each. This size is nearly perfect for comics, the width is
just about right, but the height is slightly taller than modern sized
comics. It’s hardly noticeable, though.
I know it’s not meant for comics, but if I were head of the Special
Moments people, I would recycle these frames and market it to comic
collectors. Maybe upgrade the backing to a firmer acid-free cardboard or
“comic book styling” frames. Charge about $5 to $10, and I can
guarantee you can sell them.
Anyway, I bought 15 prints, and one of them was defective. At $1 each,
I’m not going to complain... but just inspect your frames when you make
your purchase. I pulled out some comics I thought is worth something or
have a special meaning for me. Some are autographed, some I just like
the cover artwork. It was kind of fun to go through some of my comic
boxes.
Some tips when you put your comics in:
Use brand new bag and board, you don’t want to put your comics in naked.
Use standard sized books; double-size or monster anniversary books don’t fit in too well.
Flip the art print to show the plain white back to blend with the comic book backing board.
If the metal hanger on the back is horizontal, you can move it to vertical by removing the tape behind the cardboard.
I didn’t really care what the frames looked like, but if you have a preference, there seems to be four types of frames: Black,
Gold, Gold with Bumps, and Brown with Gold Bumps.
If you don't live near a Dollar Tree store, their website sells these frame size (7x11) by the case - 24 frames for $24 - via dollartree.com. You might not have 24 comics you want to frame, but at that price, it’s still cheaper than one $80 custom frame.
posted Jun 26, 2018, 7:16 PM by Vu Nguyen
[
updated Jun 27, 2018, 7:32 AM
]
From Vu
I absolutely love Dollar Tree. Everything in their store is $1,
what a deal! I discovered these 7x11 art prints in their store, they are
perfect for displaying your comics! The height is only slightly taller
than modern sized comics, but it's hardly noticeable (see photo).
If you don't live near a Dollar Tree store, their website sells these frame size (7x11) by the case - 24 frames for $24.
WONDER WOMAN: Easter Eggs! Published on Jun 8, 2017 DC Entertainment
Wonder
Woman isn't just an exciting, emotional cinematic journey—it's packed
full of Easter eggs! In this DC All Access movies clip, we look to
Diana's 75-year comic legacy and reveal some of the ways the movie pays
homage to it, from a significant song title to Dr. Poison's medical
scrubs to that now classic ice cream scene.
DC
All Access is your connection to all of the latest DC news and
announcements. Subscribe so you don't miss a segment, and be sure to
visit DCComics.com for articles, features, character bios and more.
The Untold Tale of the Comics Story That Redefined Wonder Woman
By Abraham Riesman June 1, 20174:28 pm
As
1986 dawned, the most famous woman in superhero fiction was in trouble,
and not the fun kind. Wonder Woman faced a deadlier villain than any
preening megalomaniac or gimmicky sadist: irrelevance. “For almost four
decades, there really had been almost no memorable Wonder Woman stories,”
recalls Paul Levitz, comics historian and longtime executive at the
character’s publisher, DC Comics. “Stories were just sorta there for the
month. It was unusual for one of the legendary characters of the comics
field to have that long a dry spell.”
Then, along came George.
If you stick around for the end of the credits at this weekend’s Wonder Woman,
you’ll see a list of comics creators the producers wish to thank for
cooking up ideas that influenced the film. One name appears at the top
of that list, bigger than all the others and given the pride of an extra
line break: George Pérez. If you’ve achieved a certain level of comics
geekdom, you’ll know full well why that’s the case. Thirty years ago,
Pérez — a writer and artist of astounding talent — became the man who
reinvented Wonder Woman and told what is arguably still her greatest
story.
At
the Wonder Woman panel at WonderCon, when asked if DC was staying true
to the Wonder Woman source material, DC Entertainment Chief Creative
Officer Geoff Johns answered, “We’ve really pulled from all the comics,
obviously the original ones. George Pérez, all of his books. That was a
big influence. New 52. Greg Rucka. Phil Jimenez. We look at all those
comics — you’re panning for gold, and you’re just getting gold every
time.”
There is an unlisted DC Rebirth video suggesting the new Wonder Woman
Rebirth will be closer to George Perez's vision of the Amazing Amazon,
according to bleedingcool.com.
Wonder Woman #1 will ship twice monthly, starting in June 2016.
Way back in 1941's ALL-STAR COMICS #8, Wonder Woman made her debut. Little did the world know this powerful heroine from Themyscira
would eventually become one of the planet's most iconic superheroes and
appear in an overwhelming amount of comics. Those comics have featured
an impressive amount of terrific covers and we had the incredibly
difficult task of selecting just ten awesome ones. Seriously, it was't
easy narrowing down the options. Obviously, there's dozens upon dozens
of great covers focusing on our latest Character of the Month, so if
your top ones aren't below, go ahead and post them in the comments.
(excerpt)
WONDER WOMAN #1
(Feb 1987)
DC Comics
WONDER WOMAN #1 (1987 series)
Yes,
this draws parallels to the cliche "throw everything on it!" movie
posters we often see, but there's two very big reasons why this is
making the list. First and foremost, this is by the hugely talented George Pérez.
There's a ton of variety going on here and Pérez makes it all flow
together very well. Secondly, this does a fantastic job pulling us into
Wonder Woman's world. These aren't just heads floating near Diana as she
stands in the center; they help tell the story and show us both the
beauty and danger that Diana's world has to offer.
WONDER WOMAN #31
(Jun 1989)
DC Comics
WONDER WOMAN #31 (1987 series)
Pérez's cover for WONDER WOMAN #31 says just about everything you need to know about the issue. Wonder Woman and Cheetah
have clashed time and time again, but this one piece of artwork
displays all of the ferocity and relentless you can expect to find
within the issue. Drenching the characters in darkness and placing them
in front of the bright and bloody moon -- which does turn red in the
comic -- is downright awesome and lets you know they sure mean it when
they're using the word "savage." This cover really does a perfect job
letting you know the battle between Wonder Woman and Cheetah is totally
gripping.
DC Comics is having a sale on its Wonder Woman digital comics at ComiXology.
As you can see from the images below, WONDER WOMAN #2-24 are finally
available in digital. I don't need to tell you that even at a 99 cents
sale, the price is still well above the original 75 cents cover price.
To its credit, there are no advertisements in the digital version.
I'm
also very unhappy at ComiXology iPad application, which crashes all the
time (especially on first launch). It's annoying, real comics don't
crash when you open its pages.
Over the weekend, we saw a few George Perez comics available digitally -
Wonder Woman #1 (Feb 1987) and the entire Infinity Gauntlet series
(1991). The later made sense because Marvel recently reissued Infinity Gauntlet in a deluxe hardcover (available in stores July 14th), so they probably already digitalized and enhanced the pages for reprint.
As I have previously mentioned, I really think the future of comics,
especially for strictly reading, is digitally. Since getting my iPad, I
have been downloading comics to read - however, the main problem I have
is that all the books are OLD. Nobody wants to read Astonishing X-Men from 2004, we already own the physical comics or trades.
I also have a big problem with pricing. The original price on Wonder
Woman #1 is 75 cents, but the digital comics is 99 cents. What's wrong
with that picture? You can argue that because there are no
advertisements in the digital version, that you're making up for that
cost - however, I DO NOT mind advertisements if it means a lower
price. In fact, sometime I actually enjoy or appreciate advertisements
as it keeps me in the loop when it comes to pop culture.
And really: WHO HASN'T READ or OWN that issue ??? I own the original,
Millennium edition, and the first Wonder Woman trade paperback. The
issue should be free as an introduction to new readers, as far as I'm
concern.
INFINITY GAUNTLET #1
(Jul 1991)
Anyway, Marvel sort of got it right, they gave the first issue of
Infinity Gauntlet for free, but the rest of the series will cost you
$1.99 each. If you want to read the entire epic series, it will cost you
$10, well below the $25 trade paperback. Which also brings me up to
the point that I just wish they'd sell "trade"/collected bundles at a
discounted price. Twenty-four pages is much shorter than you think.
The other thing I'd like to see is a subscription model: 12 issues of the latest Batman for a discount.
What about "Mystery" random bundle, you know $4.99 for 10 comics, what a
great way for you to discover new books (since it knows what you
already downloaded, you'll never get a dupe).
At the moment, both the Marvel app and DC app
the Comixology engine, and as nice as it looks, it's not perfect.
Searching is still a problem, you're limited to what you can search -
and you also have to drill down and know what you're searching for.
Comixology occasionally crashes, especially if you're listening to your
music. I don't like the look/design/interface. Would love to software
lock the rotation to read only in vertical without having to physically
lock the rotation on the iPad. Would also like a way to organize them
(like grouping all the X-Men under a folder by series or artists,
instead of displaying all the books I own). Would also love to export
it to my computer or other devices. Maybe the ability to lend or give a
copy to a friend ? You can do that with real books, you know.
Me? I still buy the floppies, but I don't always have time to stop in
the comic store. I just want to read or preview the comics, when I'm on
the road. I still prefer the printed books, so that's not really going
away anytime soon for me.
Wise as Athena. Beautiful as
Aphrodite. Stronger than Hercules. Swifter than Mercury. These
descriptions seem pretty straightforward, but surprisingly, the most
consistent thing about Wonder Woman's powers and abilities is their
inconsistency. How strong, fast, smart, resilient and capable she is
varies wildly from story to story. Often, writers seem unsure about how
powerful she is and allow the stories to dictate her capabilities as
opposed to writing to her physical and other strengths.
(excerpt)
Perez's Wonder Woman
The Perez Doctrine
At birth, Wonder Woman was granted superhuman abilities by five
Olympian goddesses and an Olympian god. As she grew and matured, so did
her powers. And, according to "52" #11, her abilities are, at their
peak, equal to the Olympian gods who bestowed them upon her - unlike
the similarly-powered Captain Marvel, who receives only a portion of
his benefactors' abilities.
Coincidental
to Jim's post on who's an A lister amongst comics super-heroes, I'm
revisiting 1987 and the post-Crisis re-birth of Wonder Woman. While
many find the John Byrne re-boot of Superman to be definitive of that
character, and I certainly enjoyed the six issue Man of Steel, I've
found this series to have held up better over time. George Perez's art
has certainly stayed popular with the fans longer.
In
the inside cover of the first issue, there's a little background from
Perez about how he came to be on the book. What was originally a
volunteer moment for a limited number of issues turned into a long
term, open ended commitment. It was also vastly to the good of the
book. The writer in the first two issues was Greg Potter, of whom I
know nothing. Perez was the second bill as co-plotter and pencils, but
that inside cover introduction was a sure foreshadowing of who would be
controlling where this book went. By the third issue Perez had top
billing as penciller and co-plotter while Len Wein came on as writer
and co-plotter.
This is my fourth post on Wonder Woman this week; for the earlier ones see one, two, three.
(excerpt)
Time passed, and with all the filling up with bile and what-not...well,
anyway, I haven't read or much thought of either George Perez or his
run on Wonder Woman in a long, long time. But since I was writing about
Wonder Woman, I thought I'd disentomb the back issues from the
fossilized long boxes, redistributing large piles of lint and small
piles of cats.
So, now that I've reread these things for the first time in at least a decade, what's the verdict?
First,
and somewhat inevitably, I have to admit that Perez is no longer one of
my favorite artists. Not that I think he's bad, by any means. He's
obviously quite technically gifted, and he has an especial gift for
faces. I actually remembered the sequence below, where Diana first does
her bullets and bracelets thing, and I still think it's pretty great,
with a lot of the expressive charm that I appreciate in good shojo:
Ranking the Runs on Wonder Woman
July 16, 2008 by Chris Fluit
Last fall, I wrote a series of in-depth reviews of the
George Perez run on Wonder Woman that launched the second volume of that
title....
(excerpt)
WONDER WOMAN #1 (Feb 1987)
DC Comics
#1: George Perez, issues 1-62
What’s Good: If you read my reviews from last fall, then you already
know what I think is good. First and foremost, there is the incredible
George Perez art. There’s such attention to detail, such beauty, such
variety of panel and page construction. But the George Perez run is not
just about the beautiful art. Perez also does an excellent job of
world-building. He crafts four separate environments for Wonder Woman,
each of which has their own complexities, relationships and
distinctiveness. There is Olympus and the pantheon of the Greek gods;
there is Themyscira, Paradise Island, and the Amazon women; there is
Boston, Wonder Woman’s new home in patriarch’s and her friends that
live there, Julia and Vanessa Kapatelis; and there is the U.S. military
with its friends and allies and enemies, most notably Etta Candy and
Steve Trevor. Against the back-drop of these settings, George Perez
alternates between epic stories with big villains like Ares God of War,
the Cheetah and Circe and intimate personal stories such as the death
of a friend in “Who Killed Myndi Mayer?”
What’s Not Good: I have two complaints, one of which is minor; the
other more significant. The minor complaint is that, like a lot of ‘80s
comics and television shows, George Perez’s Wonder Woman had a certain
earnestness when dealing with social issues that sacrificed story for
message. The more significant complaint is that the run went on a
little too long. The last year, from issues 51 to 62, were confusing,
especially when Perez tried to use Wonder Woman as an anchor for the
“War of the Gods” crossover.
CBG #1624 Features Meltzer's Favorite Covers
News |
Sat, 20 Jan 2007 15:07:15 CST | Ilke
Comics Buyer's Guide #1624 (released in October 2006) includes Brad Meltzer's comments on his '10 Favorite Covers,' and 4 of them were drawn by George:
- The New Teen Titans (Vol.1) #4
- The New Teen Titans (Vol.1) #39
- Justice League of America #195
- Wonder Woman (Vol.2) #1
It's been 10 years since Marvel "reimagined" a batch of its major
characters in the "Heroes Reborn" universe and Comics Buyer's Guide
#1624 celebrates the anniversary event with an advance peek at the
upcoming Onslaught Reborn mini-series written by Jeph Loeb with art by
Rob Liefeld, who also provides this issue's cover. The duo talk about
their experiences then and now in an exclusive interview.
Our coverage of NBC's new Heroes series
continues with interviews with series creator Tim Kring and actor Masi
Oka who plays Hiro Nakamura. Click here for details on how you can win
one of eight promo comics from the show.
Geppi's Entertainment Museum opened to
the public in September and CBG Editor Maggie Thompson was on hand for
the festivities. Check out her multi-page report this issue!
So with Mama the Foul placated I was
planning to, in the spirit of tradition, saturate this blog in the
dubious pleasure of being completely unfair to some poor schmuck who
was just trying to bring some joy into the collective heart of fandom
and educate the comics blogging community about all of the numerous
flaws in George Perez's Wonder Woman reboot. However, I've rambled on
long enough for one post, and there really isn'?t enough memory on
Blogger to accommodate a detailed explanation of everything that was
wrong with George Perez's reboot of Wonder Woman. Still, if tomorrow I
find myself in a foul mood towards comic book creators again, this
would be a safe rant to expect.
I've collected comics for years. Was once involved with an artist. Went to my first San Diego Comic Con
this past July. Yet its only now that i'm comfortable in calling myself
as a fan girl. I don't know why I was uncomfortable that in the past.
I'm not hiding it anymore. :) I recently joined Livejournal and was
looking for communities and discoverd this one. :)
Judd Winick is the reason why I fell in
love with comics. It was George Perez who made me fall in love with
Wonder Woman. It was Grant Morrison who made me fall in love with Emma
Frost. Geoff Johns made DC less complicated like that.
Earth-Smorgasbord
Thursday November 9, 2006, 12:00 pm
Posted by Tom Bondurant
Let's say that, somehow or another, DC will manufacture a (singular) parallel world...
(excerpt)
So, with all that said,
who makes the cut for Earth-Smorgasbord's freshman class? Superman,
Batman, and Wonder Woman are givens, considering their place in DC
history. For the most part they haven't been changed - at least not in
any significant Jay-to-Barry way — and I doubt they would be on
Earth-Smorgasbord. I would use the current version of Wonder Woman, as
revamped by George Perez et al. and developed by many others, if it
makes a difference.
AS WONDER WOMAN celebrates her 65th
birthday with an impressive relaunch of her comic series by writer
Allan Heinberg and artists Terry and Rachel Dodson, it is clear that
the character is an icon that transcends the comic-book world.
(excerpt)
Then in 1987, DC relaunched the
character with a new #1, spearheaded by George Perez, who emphasized
the character's mythological roots.
For two decades, his interpretation has
been considered the definitive version of character and has influenced
all subsequent writers.
But after just one issue, Heinberg's 2006 relaunch seems poised to redefine Wonder Woman for years to come.
When I was offered WONDER WOMAN there were a
lot of things that came immediately to mind -- not the
least of which being that I would have to be out of my
frigging mind to follow George Perez, even if it was
ten years later.
One of the actual story concepts that came to me,
tho, in the midst of my fear and trepidation, was to
wonder just how our Decent, God Fearing Nation
would respond to a woman who was walking around
claiming to have, you know, actually met the Greek
Gods. Bound not to sit too well with the Jerry
Falwells, I figured.
Unfortunately, this also seemed like a story that I
could not really handle properly in a monthly
superhero comic. (Hey! This was ten years ago!
Today, I know, I could do 200 pages of Wonder
Woman pacing her apartment worrying about all this.
Now that's comic books!) Then I was asked to
do the novel, and I realized that was a perfect place
to explore all the themes this idea suggested.
Yes, she has been here before, but in
January, DC’s Wonder Woman hits #200 in a double-sized issue with
plenty of extras. In addition to the main story, the special issue has
back ups, set ups for the next year, and pin ups. It’s also got Greg
Rucka writing and Ivan Cohen editing, and we chatted them up.
First off, yes, this is the second time
past the #200 mark for Wonder Woman at DC. The first series (which
started in 1942) hit the mark in 1972, and ended with #329 in 1986 – a
direct result of Crisis on Infinite Earths. The current Wonder Woman
series (with a revised origin and written and drawn by George Perez)
started in 1987, year after the first concluded.
November 1, 2003 | WW: Ultimate Guide Available Now
According to us.dk.com the item ships November 3rd, but it is already at book stores.
Looks like the direct market (aka Diamond) lost once again to the book market.
If you ordered this book through Diamond, look for it sometime next Wednesday (if it makes it at all).
To be fair, Diamond's distribution have
always been bad of any products outside of comic books. Do not even
think about ordering a DVD from them, chances are the DVD will be
available long before Diamond gets a hold of it.
I did flip through the book and there are a lot of reprinted material from George Pérez's WONDER WOMAN #1 as well as other issues. The other interesting thing is that the cover is by Adam Hughes, instead of Phil Jimenez.
Wonder Woman - The Ultimate Guide to the Amazon Princess
Scott Beatty - Author
Roger Stewart - Illustrator
$24.99
Book: Hardcover | 10.27 x 12.16in | 144 pages | ISBN 078949616X | 03 Nov 2003 | 8+ years
Culled
from the archives of DC Comics, Wonder Woman: The Ultimate Guide to the
Amazon Princess details the amazing exploits, incredible adversaries,
and magical weapons of the greatest comic book heroine. Packed with
original comic book images and a timeline charting Wonder Woman's
entire career, this comprehensive illustrated treatment will delight
fans of all ages-and win over many new ones.
Though several of the revamps that followed were successes for DC - George Pérez's Wonder Woman
represented one of the few times the characters sold well, he remarked
- the fixes in some cases created as many problems as they solved.
"I have to admit that, after Crisis
was over, I wasn't watching things as closely and we got new continuity
glitches built in by the writers and editors who were there," he said.
Giordano said that one mistake he made was not following writer [Marv] Wolfman's suggestion to restart the entire line with new first issue following Crisis. However, he said he didn't feel that he had the creative personnel for such a comprehensive relaunch.
REEL WORLD: Wizard's guide to the coolest upcoming comic-related movie projects
Wednesday, April 30
written by The Wizard Staff
(excerpt)
Wonder Woman (Warner Bros.)
MAJOR PLAYERS: Joel Silver (producer), Becky Johnson (screenwriter)
RELEASE DATE: In early pre-production
PREMISE: An Amazon princess born and
raised on Paradise Island far from the eyes of men, Diana becomes
protector of the free world. Possessing the strength and beauty of the
Greek goddesses Aphrodite and Athena, she is Wonder Woman!
THE LOWDOWN: While still in the early
stages of production, producer Joel Silver assures fans that a Wonder
Woman film will definitely come to fruition; it’s just a question of
when and who will play the Amazonian goddess. “We're going to make
‘Wonder Woman’ at some point,” says Silver, who was quick to mention
that the long-rumored Sandra Bullock won’t be starring. “At one point,
we talked to her about it and she was intrigued with it. It’s come a
long way since then.”
DID YOU KNOW: Sure, Lucy Lawless would
make the perfect Wonder Woman. We’d take Sandra Bullock or even
Catherine Zeta-Jones, but would you believe Kelly Osbourne has been
rumored to be up for the role? Sources at Warner Bros. indicate Ozzy’s
foul-mouthed offspring actually had a screen test. God bless the
personal trainer who’s recruited to whip Osbourne into shape!
Oh, The Wonder of Her Virginity
February 2003
by Rebecca Salek
Wonder Woman, Sex, An Island Fulla Maybe-Lesbians, And What the Heck Is a Virgin, Anyway?
(excerpt)
When the series was relaunched in 1986
by George Perez, that origin changed only a little structurally; but
the changes were profound mythologically. In the new series, the
Amazons were created from clay by all the Goddesses of Olympus; they
were the reborn souls of women whose lives were cut short by the
violence of men; Queen Hippolyte herself had been murdered by an
enraged husband millennia earlier. The Amazons made their home in the
beautiful city of Themiscyra, but, while they interacted with men,
theirs was a single-sex society. When Herakles (Hercules) and his men
marched against the city, the Amazons were seduced, tricked, defeated,
chained, slaughtered, and raped. The Goddesses freed the Amazons, who
then turned on their attackers. But the Amazons' freedom had a heavy
price: they were exiled to a distant island where, in exchange for
watching over an ancient evil buried by the Gods, they were granted
eternal life and eternal youth.
How, then, to understand the Amazons?
How do we define them sexually? Can they be understood as strictly
heterosexual or strictly homosexual, as we define the terms in our
two-gender world? Or even bisexual?
Release Date Notes: (7/25/02)
This will probably be a summer tentpole release of whatever year it's
eventually slotted for; as of this writing, with it expected to follow
Batman vs Superman, the earliest it's likely to be seen is in 2005 or
later.
Based Upon: The long-running and
popular superheroine, as published by DC Comics. This will be the first
feature film about her, although there was a flurry of activity on TV
in the 1970's. First, Cathy Lee Crosby starred in a 1974 telefilm. A
year later, Lynda Carter starred in another telefilm that placed
Princess Diana in World War II (where she got her start in the comics),
which became a popular TV series that aired in 1976-1979. 1977 brought
a move from ABC to CBS, and a modern setting. Oh, and Debra Winger's
career pretty much started with her supporting role as Wonder Girl in
three episodes in season one. NBC was considering a new TV series in
1998, but scrapped it.
Official Site:WonderWomantheMovie.com (probably won't be active until filming gets started, someday)
(Vu: As of this writing, this project isn't based on anything created by George Pérez, but it should be interesting to see.)
October 25, 2002 |
Wizard: The Ultimate Move
From WIZARD #135 (Dec 2002)
THE ULTIMATE MOVE
written by James McDonough and the WIZARD staff
Should it or shouldn't it? With controversy swirling, WIZARD lets loose
the 10 reasons why Marvel should 'Ultimize' its entire universe.
(excerpt)
10. IT'S BEEN DONE BEFORE DC's
been there done that. Way back in 1986, DC Comics was in a similar fix.
After half a century, their heroes had grown stale and their universe
convoluted. With the multiverse epic Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC streamlined its entire line, ushering in a series of unheard of relaunches for its most popular heroes.
"I wouldn't have read DC Comics if it weren't for Crisis [and relaunches]," reveals JSA
co-writer Geoff Johns. "It made a lot of their books really strong
again. I became a DC guy because I started right on the heels of all
those relaunches and #1s."
With Crisis' conclusion, big-name
creators like John Byrne and George Pérez overhauled DC's icons with
updated origins. The move proved so controversial that it created a
media sensation, getting coverage from print, radio and television.
Byrne's Man of Steel rebooted the Last Son of Krypton's entire
history from square one. The mini-series starred a younger, less
experienced Superman learning the ropes and confronting villains for
the first time- basically an Ultimate Superman.
The book was a resounding success and DC quickly followed suit with Frank Miller's Batman: Year One
opus, where a rookie Dark Knight used terrorist tactics on criminals.
Pérez re-established Wonder Woman as comics' premier heroine by imbuing
her with a deep sense of Greek mythology.
[ Read more in WIZARD #135 (Dec 2002) ]
October 7, 2002 |
Stopping the Bonze Age
From COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE #1509 (18 Oct 02)
STOPPING THE BRONZE AGE
published in COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE #1509 (18 Oct 02)
written by Craig Shutt
WONDER WOMAN #1 (Feb 1987)
DC Comics
Gerry Sorek and Dave Blanchard argued that it was actually Crisis on Infinite Earths #1
(Apr 85) that ended the Bronze Age. Gerry noted that DC "was changing
direction and leaving the past behind and creating a new version of
things (whether they were completely successful or not). This was the
first of several companies' retooling projects, leading into a new
era." As a result, he says, it indicates "a fitting place to mark the
end of that previous time period."
…
I understand their point, because Crisis
certainly was a change, and a new ages are invoked by great change. But
I believe the changes added more superhero excitement to what was
there; it didn't stop it. Sure, to a long-time fans who had embraced
the multiple Earths and loved the characters as they were, the changes
could have been a disappointment and even a betrayal. But in the last
10 years, I've heard a lot of fans say they returned to reading comics
because of Crisis.
Comics' ages are about excitement and
about super-hero comics. That's how both the Golden Age and the Silver
Age claimed their names, and it's why another age would lay claim to
the title of Bronze Age. And the bottom line is that Crisis (and Secret Wars before it) added excitement and new fans to super-hero comics.
Besides, Crisis actually didn't change too
many characters. It killed some of the duplicated Earth 2 characters
who had caused confusion (mostly for editors). It also passed the Flash
mantel to Kid Flash. But the major DC reboots didn't occur during or as
a result of Crisis.
Only Wonder Woman truly was rebooted based on events from Crisis, and it took one year before her new #1 (Feb 87). Superman was rebooted a few months after Crisis, in the Man of Steel mini-series, but it just happened with no precursor (negating Supergirl's Crisis sacrifice and making the effort to revert Wondie to clay for a fresh start seem wasted)….
[ Read more in COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE #1509 (18 Oct 02) ]
It's proven hard for Wonder Woman
to sustain her own comic book and to keep sales high. However, the
1980s began a new era of potential greatness for our Amazon Princess.
George Perez's now-legendary reboot, following on the heels of John
Byrne's famous Superman reboot, was perhaps the most successful
interpretation of Diana. Incorporating her Greek mythology roots,
addressing her non-superhero nature and instead emphasizing her
frustration at being an ambassador of peace who was frequently forced
to battle evil forces, Perez's run was truly great for about the first
twenty issues or so. Then Perez turned the art over to someone else,
and somehow the writing seemed to stray a bit from there on.
But Perez also gave Diana an intriguing
new supporting cast, full of complex characters (mostly women). He gave
Diana a publicist, the ill-fated and complex Mindi Mayer. He gave her
Julia Kapetilis and her daughter. He showed Diana speaking at the UN,
as well as designing outfits for her that emphasized her regal,
classical status over her swimsuit attire. I think most writers agree
that it's hard to take Wonder Woman seriously when she's wearing a
swimsuit that we all try to accept is supposed to be battle armor.
Perez emphasized the Amazon heritage and showed us the society on Paradise Island. He re-imagined classic WW
villains like Cheetah, Dr. Psycho, the Silver Swan, and introduced
Circe and Ares, the God of War, as primary new adversaries. He gave us
a fun twist on the Steve Trevor/Etta Candy relationship, and gave us
some fascinating reasons why an Amazon warrior's costume would sport
such distinctively American symbols.
But Perez's great run on the book (sales of which were high, if I recall correctly) soon withered, and by the '40s, vol. II of Wonder Woman
had fallen back to its usual status: a book few paid attention to.
Despite some interesting story ideas (one tale featuring Eris, Goddess
of Discord, and her famous apples, was commendable), WW seemed to be mediocre once again.
WONDER WOMAN #1 (Feb 1987)
WONDER WOMAN #1 (Digital) (2 Jul 2010)
LENDAS DO UNIVERSO DC VOL 1: MULHER MARAVILHA (Legends of the DC Universe: Wonder Woman) (Brazil) (28 Feb 2017)
Tue, 05 Dec 2006 18:38:45 CST
