Wonder Woman: Spirit Of Truth Is A Mediocre Narrative With Stunning Artwork!

The Good: Great artwork, Good character study
The Bad: Virtually plotless, Repetitive
The Basics: It surprises me that it took so long to get around to reviewing Wonder Woman: Spirit Of Truth, which is a simple story that features the amazing artwork of Alex Ross.


Every now and then, I wake up to realize that something I have experienced remains unreviewed! It’s an increasingly rarer phenomenon for me, but it happens. In the realm of Wonder Woman graphic novels, one of the ones I read quite a while ago, but never got around to reviewing was Wonder Woman: Spirit Of Truth. This became especially clear to me when I picked up the book and began reading it and I continued to say to myself, “This seems awfully familiar.” I knew it was not only familiar from JLA: Secret Origins (reviewed here!).

Wonder Woman: Spirit Of Truth is not bad, but it is exceptionally simplistic. Unlike other works for which Alex Ross did the artwork, like Justice (reviewed here!) and Kingdom Come (reviewed her!), Wonder Woman: Spirit Of Truth is focused and fairly monotonal. It is, essentially, a character study of Diana, Princess Of Themyscira, after she is made Themysciran Ambassador To The United Nations.

Opening with a hostage situation wherein terrorists take civilian hostages, Wonder Woman easily rounds up the terrorists and saves human lives. She breaks up sweatshops, stops street crime and takes on super villains. But soon, her actions are misinterpreted as her imposing her will upon Man’s World. Retreating to Themyscira, Diana reports to her mother about her actions and tries to describe the motivations of those she encounters in the world outside Themyscira. Not fitting in there and feeling a mandate to return to Man’s World, Diana continues to stand up for people everywhere. Despite being misinterpreted, she stops a military tank from plowing over an innocent woman standing in its way in defiance. Wonder Woman’s crisis of faith continues when the woman she saves is terrified of her and she goes to Clark Kent for some advice. Continuing to do good works, Diana eventually makes a profound change in the way she tries to interact with the world, without losing her values.

There is no grand conspiracy in Wonder Woman: Spirit Of Truth, there is no exceptional narrative. Instead, Wonder Woman: Spirit Of Truth is a character study. The “episodes” in it are mostly one-panel vignettes that describe Diana’s exploits, as opposed to having complex stories with adversaries that are developed and motivated.

What is good about Wonder Woman: Spirit Of Truth, outside the predictably stellar artwork of Alex Ross, is the level of contemplation Diana experiences. Diana truly considers her role in the world and her exploring her self-doubt is an interesting take for the character. Paul Dini has a decent voice for the character. But the inability to combine such insights into a story that utilizes Wonder Woman’s abilities in a strong narrative is somewhat disappointing.

The result is a very average one-shot that has great artwork, but not enough substance to back up the buy.

5/10

For other Wonder Woman books, please check out my reviews of:
War By Brian Azarello
Odyssey By J. Michael Straczynski
Mission’s End By Greg Rucka

For other book reviews, please check out my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Concluding In Apocalypse: Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four Puts The Final Crisis In Motion!

The Good: Resolves the story, Moments of character
The Bad: Much of the artwork, Not all the tangents pay off as well as they ought to.
The Basics: Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four has all the major players in the storyline pushed to Apokolips for the multiverse’s great destructive event that the story has been building to.



The very title to Countdown To Final Crisis foreshadowed how the massive crossover event would end. Obviously, the entire saga was building to Final Crisis (reviewed here!) and with Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four, it finally gets there. The fundamental problem with Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four is how the storyline gets to where it is going. Building directly on the momentum from Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Three (reviewed here!), Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four finally explains what Darkseid’s endgame is and what the story has been building to.

Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four finally resolves the disparate plotlines of the Countdown event, but it does so with almost no real character development and without fully justifying the full range of the cast that was used in getting to the end. In other words, the resolution hardly seems worth the effort and it seems to include a pretty huge plot hole.

In Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four, the secondary characters in the DC Universe are focused on, with all of the main characters that have been a part of the Countdown books ending up on Apokolips – Darkseid’s home world – for the first part of a climactic showdown that comes through a use of force that hardly seems epic. Indeed, with so many characters who have the ability to think their way out of problems, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four comes down to a frustratingly brawn-related solution and the near-end “fake out” is both unsurprising and unsatisfying.

With the Challengers – Donna Troy, Jason Todd, Kyle Rayner, and Ray Palmer - teleported to Apokolips, Darkseid’s endgame begins. They discover Jimmy Olsen and when Holly Robinson, Mary Marvel, and Harley Quinn help liberate Themyscira from Granny Goodness, Darkseid recalls one of his most important pieces back to Apokolips. There, Darkseid tells the remaining Monitor, Solomon, that he is preparing to wipe out the multiverse and create the Fifth World. When the Karate Kid’s body is riddled with the Morticoccus and Brother Eye goes to war with Apokolips, it seems like Darkseid might get his wish to rewrite all of reality.

Mary Marvel is given the chance for unlimited power again, a trade that Darkseid is willing to give with only one favor as his price. The price is Jimmy Olsen’s life; a price that, if paid, will release all of the New Gods’ powers to Darkseid. When the multiverse travelers see firsthand just what Morticoccus can do, the remaining heroes realize they must stop Darkseid from getting unlimited power at any cost!

The big plot hole in Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four comes late in the book, but it is worth noting. Morticoccus is a tremendous virus that mutates so profoundly and fast that it actually becomes a giant creature briefly. It does so right near Jimmy Olsen after he finally learns that he is a receptacle of all the powers of the now-killed New Gods. So, why doesn’t Ray Palmer figure out that to destroy the Morticoccus, he just needs to infect Jimmy Olsen? The godly powers within him should have been enough to kill even the Morticoccus. Gods don’t get sick; Jimmy Olsen has all the powers of a number of gods, therefore the faux-apocalypse should have been averted pretty easily.

Beyond that, the story is more dull than audacious. The resolution to the story does not seem nearly as complicated as the set-up and some of the elements – most notably the Pied Piper’s part in the resolution – seem ridiculously and ambiguously presented. Piper plays his potentially final song which blows up a location . . . which is seen pages later intact with no explanation.

Also missing from Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four is genuine character development. Mary Marvel makes her choice for no particularly clear reason (undoing the development she made in the prior volume). Jason Todd seems like a jackass the nature of which does not seem to be a natural evolution from having been Robin. Ray Palmer hardly seems like the smartest man in the world.

Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four has mostly good artwork, but it finishes poorly. The later parts of the book actually have the most rushed artwork in the series. There is almost no sense of movement in the panels themselves and between the panels there is little action as well, so this book has a stiff visual quality to it. Some of the later chapters actually have much sketchier artwork and given how, in many of those chapters, there is a troubling mix of familiar and unrecognizable characters, that is problematic.

Here at the climax, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Four is not at all an engaging story, though it brings about an end. The end leads into the poor Crisis event in an indirect fashion and fans who are obsessed with the DC Comics Universe will find it an unnecessary crossover.

For other major DC Universe crossover events, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Crisis On Infinite Earths
Idenity Crisis
The OMAC Project
Infinite Crisis
52 – Volume 1
Blackest Night: Green Lantern
Brightest Day, Volume 1
Flashpoint

3/10

For other book reviews, check out my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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What It’s Been Leading To: Why Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume 3 Succeeds. . .

The Good: Plot progresses exceptionally well, Actual character development on the important fronts
The Bad: Some of the artwork, Still has some ridiculous tangents.
The Basics: Blasting toward the conclusion of the countdown crossover event, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Three starts to end some of the plot threads and, in the process, it starts to actually present interesting characters doing compelling things.


As one who was not a fan of Final Crisis (reviewed here!) , it might seem strange that I am bothering with the massive saga that connects Final Crisis to its vastly superior predecessor, Infinite Crisis. Thus, I found myself trudging through Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two (reviewed here!) and not at all excited about Volume Three. But, for a change, life tossed me a pleasant curveball; Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Three was actually pretty incredible.

Volume Three of Countdown To Final Crisis is the book where writer Paul Dini and his team begin to actually prune several of the plot branches they created in order to lead into the final volume. But more than feeling like the exceptional number of problematic plot threads were simply being trimmed out of existence, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Three has a feeling of momentum and an organic plot and character progression.

In Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Three, the secondary characters in the DC Universe are focused on, with a significant progression of story moved mostly by the search for Ray Palmer and the abrupt and powerful entrance into the narrative of Superman Prime. Outside a brief appearance from another universe’s version of Batman, Volume Three is all about the secondary characters.

Just as in the first two volumes, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Three has multiple threads, none of which are fully developed, but some of which actually have a feeling of resolution to them.

The bulk of Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Three is in four main plotlines. Mary Marvel has teamed up with Eclipso, the evil version of Jean Lorring who has been possessed by an evil gem. After Eclipso turns Mary Marvel over to Darkseid, Mary Marvel turns her life around. Fighting against Eclipso’s attempt to steal even more power, Mary Marvel makes a profound choice that has the potential to forever change her.

Mary Marvel’s choice is a truly heroic one and while on a plot front, there seems little point to her story other than to end up on Themyscira where Holly Robinson and Harley have ended up, but the journey there finally turns the good girl gone bad back onto a more positive direction. Mary Marvel was briefly turned into a wicked sex symbol, but in Volume 3 she turns it around in a compelling way.

Jimmy Olsen’s story actually develops as well. On Apokalips, Jimmy Olsen finds himself the brunt of the wrath of various paradamons and cruel overlords. Fighting against the forces of evil on the evil New Gods’ planet, Olsen hunts for Forager and, in finding her, he begins to learn the clues about what is happening to him! Almost resolved in Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Three, the Pied Piper and The Trickster run for their lives from Deathstroke. There is a fatality and the last one standing is left almost crazy and alone in the Mexican desert.

The other major enduring plotline in Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Three focuses on Donna Troy and Jason Todd searching with Bob the Monitor for Ray Palmer. In Volume Three, they actually succeed in finding Ray Palmer and where he is hiding out overlaps with the compelling plot that is added to the storyline. Ray Palmer actually explains how he is supposed to be the key to the coming Crisis and why and the answers are all good.

That storyline intersects with the reappearance of Superman Prime. Cutting through the Multiverse killing Lex Luthors in search of his origin, perfect, universe, Superman Prime is a pretty badass villain. He also comes to introduce some of the book’s useless plotlines, most notably a diverging story with Mr. Mxyztplk being tortured by Superman Prime while an alternate version of Zatanna watches on. But between Ray Palmer and Superman Prime, all-out war breaks out in one of the universes in the Multiverse and that makes for an incredible ending that makes the reader want to come right back.

Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Three has mostly good artwork. The characters look good and – outside the fact that several are b or c string characters seen in these pages out of costume/make-up – are generally recognizable. Ralph Dibney, notably, looks like anyone but Ralph Dibney or the Elongated Man. There are panels late in the book that have a poor sense of movement and some that are simplified, but otherwise, Volume Three looks good.

In the final analysis, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Three stands alone better than the earlier two volumes and encourages the reader to keep reading . . . and read on. This might be the peak of the storyline; it certainly feels like a worthwhile ascension, even if it is not an ending. This makes the minor characters extraordinary and paves the way for a powerful finale . . . if only the fourth volume can get there.

For other major DC Universe crossover events, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Crisis On Infinite Earths
Idenity Crisis
The OMAC Project
Infinite Crisis
52 – Volume 1
Blackest Night: Green Lantern
Brightest Day, Volume 1
Flashpoint

7/10

For other book reviews, check out my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Loping Toward Coherency, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two Is Still Engaging!

The Good: Moments of character, Artwork, Generally interesting plot progression.
The Bad: Largely secondary characters who do not captivate one’s full attention, Huge gaps in the storytelling.
The Basics: Continuing the countdown crossover event, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two finds the minor characters in the DC Universe moving toward the potential end of the Multiverse.


With so many recent major crossover events in the DC Universe dealing with the potential end of the universe, it is somewhat surprising to me that the company did not use one of their many Crisis events as a way to reboot the DC Universe for the New 52. It seems like Final Crisis (reviewed here!) could have conceivably been an intriguing end to the story of the main DC Universe. So, knowing even as I read Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two that this was not actually leading to the end of the DC Multiverse, I found it hard to be as engaged as – I am sure – readers were when it was originally released five years ago.

In leading up to Final Crisis, the Countdown event acted as a second transition between the main crossover story that was coming - 52 followed up on Infinite Crisis and as the title suggests Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two continues to lead from Infinite Crisis into Final Crisis. I had a big problem with Final Crisis in that it had huge gaps in its own narrative, especially near the resolution, and Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two does not seem to be leading as directly into Final Crisis as one might hope as it remains firmly focused on peripheral characters in the DC Universe. Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two picks up where Volume One (reviewed here!) left off, but because so many plotlines were left dangling at the end of the first book, it is unsurprising that Volume Two is scattered, though as the book progresses, it does begin to take some focus.

In Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two, the secondary characters in the DC Universe are focused on, save brief cameos from the Flash, the Justice League and Wonder Woman (with Kyle Rayner’s Green Lantern becoming more important as the story progresses).

Just as in the first volume, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two has multiple threads, none of which are fully developed. Some, like the inclusion of the members of the 31rst Century Legion Of The Super Heroes, are entirely under-developed and when they pop to the forefront of the story, they are at a completely different place (often with additional characters) than they were when they were last seen.

The bulk of Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two is in four main plotlines. Mary Marvel continues to be edgy and she makes her way to Zatanna’s domain where the magician begins to teach Mary how to use her powers. Unfortunately, Mary quickly loses patience and Zatanna exiles Mary Marvel from her magical home. Feeling isolated, Mary Marvel goes in search of power and an easier way to use the abilities that are no longer easily accessible to her (her word-based magic was taken away). She ends up in a secret magic market in China where she confronts a new adversary who wants some of her power for its own!

This incarnation of Mary Marvel continues to be edge and more of a butt-kicking wet dream as opposed to a naïve girl who is used occasionally as comic relief. This version of Mary Marvel is essentially lost and she falls prey to those who recognize her power and want to take it for their own.

Just as Mary Marvel struggles to define her new powers, Jimmy Olsen continues to try to find out what the limits of his own powers are. He keeps putting himself in danger and after failing to join either the Teen Titans or the Justice League Of America, he turns to John Henry Irons to learn what is going on with him. Unfortunately, his quest turns toward the unfathomable as he heads toward CADMUS Labs and becomes a target from powerful enemies.

Continuing to progress through Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two, the Pied Piper and The Trickster run for their lives from all of the heroes in the DC Universe. The heroes fall back after the pair ends up at the mercy of Poison Ivy, Deathstroke, and Batman. When the Wally West version of the Flash returns (not at all explained in this book), they try to convince him that they were working undercover to foil a plot surrounding the wedding of Oliver Queen and Black Canary. The two men go completely rogue to flee both heroes and villains alike.

One of the other major plotlines in Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two focuses on Donna Troy and Jason Todd in the Palmerverse. Along with the Monitor, Bob, they are joined by Kyle Rayner (and lose Ryan Choi) and they leave the submicroscopic Palmerverse in favor for the Multiverse. As targets for the Monitors, who believe that because Todd, Troy and Rayner should not be alive in the main DC Universe, the small band of heroes flees to an alternate universe where they are prey to the alternate universe’s Justice League!

Elsewhere, Holly Robinson and Harley Quinn survive an Amazon Battle Royale to get a chance to emigrate to Paradise Island. At the same time, the Karate Kid continues to search for why he is back in the 21rst Century and he learns that he might be carrying an evolution of the OMAC virus!

Despite never settling on a single actual plotline or truly developing the characters involved, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two has consistently good artwork. The characters look good and – outside the fact that several are b or c string characters seen in these pages out of costume/make-up – are generally recognizable. Some of the new characters, like those in the Multiverse or Palmerverse sequences, look good and continue the quality level for modern character designs.

In the end, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume Two finally pushes the stories along in ways that makes one feel like the Final Crisis the various plotlines are leading to might actually be worthwhile. Still, given how many gaps there are in the storyline that forces the reader to accept jumps in the plot and characters between sequences, this book does not hold up on its own as well as readers trying to get the whole story would want it to.

For other major DC Universe crossover events, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Crisis On Infinite Earths
Idenity Crisis
The OMAC Project
Infinite Crisis
Blackest Night: Green Lantern
Brightest Day, Volume 1
Flashpoint

5/10

For other book reviews, check out my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Counting Down From The Second String, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One Is A Lackluster Start!

The Good: Moments of character, Artwork
The Bad: Largely secondary characters who do not captivate one’s full attention, Huge gaps in the storytelling.
The Basics: With Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One, the DC Universe begins its transition from 52 to Final Crisis in a pretty blasé way.


When it comes to the major DC Comics crossover events, I often find myself at odds with popular opinion. I find myself in the awkward position of actually reading the book in front of me, as opposed to reacting to the hype of a crossover event. The difference, sadly, is all the difference, especially when it comes to the major crossovers. The transition events, however, are not immune to the problems of presenting incomplete stories to the reader. This comes up for me at the outset of Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One because there are exceptional gaps in the story. Had I not previously read Amazons Attack! (reviewed here!) as part of my Wonder Woman Year and The Flash: Fastest Man Alive – Full Throttle (reviewed here!) as part of my Flash Year, I would have been completely lost. I am sure there are Catwoman, The Atom, and Shazam stories that filled in other gaps in this story.

The point is that Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One is not a single, complete story. In fact, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One is not a single, cohesive narrative but more than that, the story elements that are included in this book are lacking in background information and key parts of the story, some of which are not alluded to in a strong enough way to truly resonate with the reader.

Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One follows up on 52(Volume 4 is reviewed here!) and takes the first steps into leading to Final Crisis (reviewed here!) . Fundamentally, one of the problems with Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One is that (having read Final Crisis) only two of these plotlines – a series of vaguely-related scenes that focus on Darkseid and another focusing on the Monitors – are actually directly related to the oncoming crisis. Final Crisis might be a universe-encompassing event, but it focuses on the big three and their role in the event.

Obviously, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One does not get to even the heart of the oncoming crisis, though it does have a smattering of scenes that illustrate that Darkseid is building a massive army that he might use to attack Earth (and possibly Earths across the multiverse).

Like 52, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One begins to tell a story that focuses on the supporting heroes in the DC Universe. Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One has multiple threads, none of which are fully developed. Some, like the inclusion of the members of the 31rst Century Legion Of The Super Heroes , are woefully under-developed and when they pop to the forefront of the story, they are at a completely different place (often with additional characters) than they were when they were last seen.

The meat of Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One is in three main plotlines. Marty Marvel awakens from her coma. Shocked and bereft of her powers, Mary does the exact opposite of what a fortune teller advises and she makes a journey to Gotham City. There, in the ruins of an old building, she is met by Black Adam. After many threats of death, Black Adam slowly comes to believe that Mary arrived there by random chance and she is truly devoid of all her super powers. Black Adam transfers his powers to Mary, creating a darker, more edgy version of Mary Marvel. She spends the rest of the book trying to figure out her place and the extent of her powers.

The Mary Marvel in Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One is unlike Mary Marvel in any other book I have read that features her, even as a peripheral character. Instead of being naïve and inexperienced – even in her powerless mundane form – Mary is worldweary and just a young woman who is lost. In her new super-power form, she wears a shorter, flared out, black version of her usual garb and it is designed to look anything but innocent. In fact, it wavers at the bottom in a way that is entirely intended to titillate the readers. This is a leggy Marvel Woman (she’s no girl!) who is busty and butt-kicking.

As Mary tries to figure out who she is now, so too does Jimmy Olsen. Olsen is investigating the death of Deula Dent, the Joker’s daughter. In the process, he is attacked in Arkham Asylum, but comes to no harm because he exhibits all the properties of Elastic Man. Confused, Olden brushes it off as a dream or fatigue until he experiences two more instances where he manifests super powers. Taking his cue from Superman, Jimmy Olsen creates the super hero Mr. Action and begins cleaning up the streets of Metropolis.

A far more compelling a-plot in Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One has the Pied Piper and The Trickster running for their lives. Having been a part of the posse that killed the Flash, both men – who has previously gone legitimate – flee from the superhero community in hopes of finding a place where no one would look for them. Taking refuge with the Penguin, they find themselves in more peril than even they initially predicted!

Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One also includes a plotline with the Amazons, which overlaps with their attack on Washington, D.C. There is a storyline that focuses on Donna Troy and Jason Todd as they begin a search for Ray Palmer (the Atom) in an attempt to get an ace-in-the-hole for the upcoming crisis. As one might predict given how many plotlines there are in the limited space of the first book, this does not create a wealth of opportunity for the characters to truly develop and change. Jimmy Olsen and Mary Marvel spent the most time pontificating on character and how they are changing, but the rest of the book is exceptionally plot-focused.

For all its problems on the story front, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One has consistently good artwork. The characters look good and – outside the fact that several are b or c string characters seen in these pages out of costume/make-up – are generally recognizable. Some of the new characters, like Forerunner, look good and continue the quality level for modern character designs.

Ultimately, Countdown To Final Crisis – Volume One is a beginning and were it not for my already being invested in the direction of this massive crossover, there would not be enough in the book to recommend it.

For other major DC Universe crossover events, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Crisis On Infinite Earths
Idenity Crisis
The OMAC Project
Infinite Crisis
Blackest Night: Green Lantern
Brightest Day, Volume 1
Flashpoint

5/10

For other book reviews, check out my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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