The Good: Moments of concept, Some of the artwork, Some of the themes
The Bad: Some of the artwork, Lack of continuity, character development or a cohesive story
The Basics: Various writers and artists try their hands at writing Wonder Woman in Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman, Volume 1 . . . with very different results.
A few years ago, for one of the many anniversaries, DC Comics released a one-shot 100-page spectacular issue (reviewed here!). The issue, which did not entirely impress me, was a collection of short stories. The issue must have been commercially successful enough because now, amid all of the many reboots of DC Comics properties, DC Comics is publishing similar issues more regularly. The first five issues of the short stories are now compiled in Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman, Volume 1.
Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman, Volume 1 is a compilation of ten short stories that feature Wonder Woman from very different eras in her history. The stories range in both duration and quality and the only common element is Princess Diana (Wonder Woman) and her high-minded sense of morals. Unfortunately, some of the stories are so short and unremarkable that they do not get around to actually developing or revealing any deeper character or morals.
Stories in Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman, Volume 1 include vignettes like Batman being mortally wounded and Wonder Woman swooping into Gotham City to clean up the streets, attacks by Artemis and Doctor Psycho, Wonder Woman as a pop star in a girl group, and Diana - sleep deprived - going to London to recover Catwoman. The book also includes an adventure to Apokolips where Wonder Woman has to rescue two lost Amazons . . . before realizing their sinister mission to the planet of the New Gods and having to thwart them.
The artwork throughout Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman, Volume 1 is incredibly erratic, as is the writing. The retro-stories that feature a Golden or Silver Age version of Wonder Woman are written with such precise diction that they make the reader convinced they were written seventy (or more!) years ago. The artwork in the rock star and Catwoman vignettes is playful, more Manga-like and the dialogue is more flirty or preachy (though, it is wonderful that the book is trying to bring attention to eating disorders). Other stories are dull, though Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman, Volume 1 starts off high with Gail Simone's Gotham City story (which allows her to pair Diana and Barbara Gordon, both of whom she had extensive experience writing).
The net result is that Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman, Volume 1 is a take-it-or-leave-it book that varies greatly every few pages. For die-hard Wonder Woman fans, it is not at all essential.
For other Wonder Woman books, please check out my reviews of:
Spirit Of Truth
Bones
Contagion
4/10
For other book reviews, please visit my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |
No comments:
Post a Comment