Wonder Woman 4 and 5

Wonder Woman (Volume 3) #4
Written by Allan Heinberg
Art and Cover by Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson

Okay so yes this was a good issue. It just was definitely not worth the long ass wait. Heinberg has proven with this book that he is just not up to the task of being a monthly comic book writer. This was just too long of a delay and this story isn’t going to be finished for a while because of him. Anyways, the art was gorgeous and the story is still compelling. Circe has one badass Wonder Woman costume but by the end of this issue you really get the feeling that Diana deserves to be the one true Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman (Volume 3) #5
Written by Will Pfeifer
Art by Jean Diaz, Geraldo Borges and Wellington Diaz

Pfeifer writes a spectacular little fill-in this issue. It is a heartwarming story showing how Wonder Woman inspires Women all over the DCU to stand up for their rights and not let themselves get abused. Pfeifer would make a great regualar writer of this title if he was given the chance. This was a real good issue. Reminds me of Rucka’s run sort of.

Wonder Woman 2 and 3

Wonder Woman (Volume 3) #2
Written by Allan Heinberg
Art and Cover by Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson

Heinberg continues this series’ debut arc this issue, a little, but it does not matter because he certainly deliver this issue. This was more fun super-hero action. This issue we find out that Bruce Wayne set Wonder Woman up with the Diana Prince ID. It is hard to accept the idea that no one recognizes Wonder Woman because she has glasses on and her hair is up, but I suppose if it works for Superman, it can work for Wonder Woman. Great issue.

Wonder Woman (Volume 3) #3
Written by Allan Heinberg
Art and Cover by Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson

This issue was fun, just like the last two, but I have to say that the lateness of this book is getting rudiculous. I know Allan has other things to do but if you sign on to write a comic book, in my opinion, you should be ready to have it on time. End of rant. Besides that, the art in this is wonderful and the story is fun. I am not that familiar with Circe as a character but she seems like a cool villain, it interesting to find out she is the reason why Wonder Woman’s villains are getting upgrades. Wasn’t Cheetah a regular woman last issue. Why does she look all Cheetah-like again? Is that Circe’s doing, I am not sure.

Birds of Prey 95 - 99

Birds of Prey #95
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Joe Prado

This issue marks the conclusion to the first one year later story arc and I must say I think it ended perfectly. Some may be dissapointed that the Birds did not actually take down prometheus, but let’s face it, if they did it would be completely unrealistic. He is just too powerful for them to stop. I also think Sin will be a welcome addition to the supporting cast and seeing Dinah try to be a mother should be interesting. I like this issue.

Birds of Prey #96
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Paulo Sequeira

Okay this issue started off great, we finally see a Ted Kord memorial and some funny banter between the birds. But then, Black Alice shows up and I just get all confused. Why is Black Alice mad at the Birds of Prey? When did she go into Prison? Simone should really have explained this better. And the last scene is just shocking…but it can’t be for real? Can it? Is Barbara Batgirl again?

Birds of Prey #97
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Paulo Sequeira

The Black Alice storyline concludes quite nicely. Black Alice gets her mom back and everything ends up dandy for her. Yet, I am worried about this whole Barbara Batgirl thing. Personally, I still am a little angry about what DC did to Cassandra Cain and bringing Barbara back as Batgirl would be just another slap in the face to Cassie fans. We will see where this goes.

Birds of Prey #98
Written by Gail Simone
Art by James Raiz and Robin Riggs
Cover by Jerry Ordway

Okay thanks god Barbara is not this new mysterious Batgirl. Instead it is some crazed teenaged metahuman who somehow knows Barbara, Dinah, and Helenas’ real names. I wonder who this nutjob is? I love the cover of this issue and how it acts as homage to the cover where Barabara first debuted as Batgirl. I just am so happy that Barbara isn’t Batgirl in this issue.

Birds of Prey #99
Written by Gail Simone
Art by James Raiz and Robin Riggs
Cover by Jerry Ordway

This was a surprisingly sad issue. Barbara shows the wannabe Batgirl why it is not good to just jump into becoming a superhero (aka the spoiler’s death and Barabara’s own handicapp) and the Black Canary, after 99 issues, decides to leave the team. Simone write a great moment between Dianah and the others as she says goodbye. After reading this issue, I got an overwhelming feeling that the Birds of Prey was entering its next era. While it is sad, I do believe that it is time for Dinah to move on. It looks like no only is she leaving the team but she is also retiring the Black Canary mantle. I doubt for good though. This was a great issue.

She’s Back!

Wonder Woman (Volume 3) #1
Written by Allan Heinberg
Art and cover by Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson
Variant cover by Adam Kubert

It is one year later and Wonder Woman has been relaunched. This time around Diana has passed on the mantle of Wonder Woman to Donna Troy. This is going to cause a great amount of debate among Wonder Woman fans but for me, I could care less. If Diana returns at the end of this story as Wonder Woman, that would be great! If Donna stays as Wonder Woman, that would be great too! It does not matter to me. Anyways, I expected more out of this issue. Sure it was fun and all but I think I was expecting it to be as good as Greg Rucka’s run on the last volume of this series and so far it just doesn’t measure up. But as viewed on its own, people will definitely get a kick out of it. It is pure superhero action with a hostage story and team up of villains. Speaking of villains, this furthers my theory that DC is using one year later to revitalize characters’ rogues galleries in the same way Geoff John revitalized them on his run on the Flash. This issue focuses on Doctor Psycho, Cheetah, and Giganta as the villains and if I am correct we will be seeing more Wonder Woman villains in the next few issues. The introduction of a younger Steve Trevor and Diana Prince as Diana’s secret identity does not surprise me and I am not as pissed about it as some people seem to be. I think Diana gaining a secret identity was totally in character at this point, especially after Infinite Crisis. I also loved Donna Troy’s new back story, which is a lot simpler and easier to explain now. We still do not know if Donna is the real sister of Diana, or if she is the adopted sister saved from the burning building pre-crisis Donna. I hope it is the later so it does not negate the classic “Who is Donna Troy” story from the Marv Wolfman Teen Titans days. While this debut issue didn’t quite leave me as excited as I hoped, it was still an issue that I would reccomend to anyone who likes Wonder Woman.