The Amazon Princess (May 2002)
by Tony Wolf
(excerpt)
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.
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