DC Comics has been celebrating a lot of anniversaries for their iconic characters over the last five years. Many of them have reach major milestones like Batman and Superman celebrating their 80th anniversary recently. Now its time for Wonder Woman to join in the historic mark of celebrating her 80th anniversary. To honor Wonder Woman for such an occasion DC Comics has dedicated the month of October to the characters franchise with a ton of new comic books. One of these new comic books releasing in October is Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular. This comic features a number of different creative teams working on stories that honor Wonder Woman’s legacy.
Now since Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular is a unique comic book in that it is not telling one big narrative but instead a collection of short stories I am going to tackle this review a little differently. Rather than rating just the overall comic book I am going to do a review and quick synopsis for each story in Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular. But before that I will give a general review and rating of the overall package that was presented to us
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10
The Good: These 100-Page Super Spectacular comics that DC Comics has been producing in celebration for major milestones are a tricky beast. On one hand it is always fun to see the different interpretation of iconic characters from the perspective of different creative teams working with the freedom of telling a story in any era the character has existed in. On the other hand, not every story in this type of collection will be a hit. That is certainly the case with Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular.
What does end up working is how most of the stories examine the impact Wonder Woman has had on the DC Universe as a whole. There is a reason that she is up there with Batman and Superman as one of the pillars of the DCU. She represents hope and justice in her own way that can define any generation she is a part of. And like the best characters comic books Wonder Woman is a character that has a basic premise that can work well in any era a creative team decides to write the character in.
Through most of the stories in featured in Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular Diana’s voice is well captured. There is a consistency in both her words and actions that showcases why Wonder Woman has continued to be an important character over the last 80 years. As the stories came to a close there is a feeling that more stories can be told and any of these creative teams can tell fun and exciting stories based on Wonder Woman.
In this respect I think what really stuck out was how there are so many art interpretations of Wonder Woman’s character that just work. She is a character that has had her design adjusted over the years based on the artist working on her comic books and time that we are in. That is shown throughout Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular as the artistic choices for the tone of each story always works.
The Bad: The one missed opportunity that there is in Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular is not fully examining the legacy of the franchise. This has been a problem with many of these celebration comic books that focus on one character that DC Comics has produced. Part of the fun of an a iconic character like Wonder Woman is viewing the legacy she leaves behind through the supporting characters and those she has inspired to become superheroes. We never get that except in one story.
Which is such a shame because characters like Donna Troy, Cassandra Sandsmark, Nubia, and Yara Flor show how the legacy Diana Prince has built as Wonder Woman continues on beyond her. Not celebrating the legacy through these characters is a huge missed creative opportunity at least one of the stories in Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular should taken a chance with.
Overall: Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular is a very good celebration of the enduring legacy of one of DC Comics most iconic characters. There are a few stories that are a miss but largely the collection of stories told were fun in their own way. DC Comics certainly could tap any of these creative teams to tell even more Wonder Woman stories in the future. If you are a Wonder Woman this is definitely a must buy.
IN MEMORIAM
Creative Team
Writers: Michael W. Conrad and Becky Cloonan
Artist: Jim Cheung
Colorist: Marcelo Maiolo
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: Following Wonder Woman’s death Steve Trevor has decided to create a documentary titled “Immortal Wonder Woman” to celebrate and honor Diana’s life. He decides to have Etta Candy (the modern day version of the character) be the first person to watch the documentary.
The documentary features interviews done with Dian over the years. In addition, there is footage of news reports of Wonder Woman superhero actions, how Wonder Woman changed over the years. In addition other heroes such as Animal Man, Booster Gold, Shazam, and Superman speak on her superhero impact on the world. Towards the end of the documentary Wonder Woman’s iconic speech during a United Nations meeting calling out the world’s powers and a retrospective of the speech is played.
Etta thanks Steve for showing her the documentary but recommends he not show his daughter this just yet.
Later, once alone Steve reads the letter Diana left for him that reads “If you’re still living in D.C. and I’m away, look to the east, in the direction of Themyscira. I will be there……thinking of you. – Diana” End of story.
The Good: “In Memoriam” was a strong tone setter to kick off Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular. It was able to get the message across that this entire comic book would be a celebration of Diana’s Wonder Woman.
Even without Diana around Michael W. Conrad and Becky Cloonan were able to speak to the importance of the character. This made it so you understood how Wonder Woman’s legacy would endure even when she is not around. The impact she had on the people of Earth is immeasurable.
What really worked was how Conrad and Cloonan put over how it wasn’t just Diana’s superhero work that makes her so special. She is a character who has existed without a secret identity and has been loud about making an impact using her words just as big as her punches. Diana was never afraid to speak her mind and the inclusion of the United Nations spoke to this.
Adding how the entire documentary was how Steve Trevor decided was his best way to cope with Diana’s was very touching. It gave even more heart to the hook of this story. The ending revealing that Steve and Diana had a daughter together made the story that much more heartbreaking.
Jim Cheung was excellent as always. He did a great job with how Wonder Woman’s various actions over the years looked. From her superhero actions to speeches the artwork showed Wonder Woman’s will have an enduring legacy
The Bad: Nothing
Overall: Michael W. Conrad and Becky Cloonan kicked off this comic as strong as possible. They did a great job examining what made Wonder Woman’s character special. The reason for Steve Trevor to create this documentary made sure this story carried the distance to be a home run to lead off Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular.
YOUNG DIANA: DREAMERS
Creative Team
Writer: Jordie Bellaire
Artist: Paulina Ganucheau
Colorist: Kendall Goode
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: A young Diana decides to go for a swim and then dive through the cove off Paradise Island.
Diana eventually makes it to where Nubia is defending Doom’s Doorway (a critical vulnerable spot for the Themyscira).
As they talk Diana admits that she is not sure she has what it takes to be a princess and eventually lead Themyscira when she is older. Nubia reassures Diana that she is destined to do great things and will definitely live up to whatever happens in the future.
To help Diana cheer up Nubia plays Diana a song. End of story.
The Good: As with other Young Diana stories we have seen Jordie Bellaire tell in the main Wonder Woman series “Dreamers” does a good job examining the character during her youth. This is a Diana that is still learning to become the confident superhero we know her to be as Wonder Woman. It’s a refreshing take on the character.
Adding in Nubia as one of the characters that Diana interacts with during her youth was a great way to further establish how Diana had many strong influences in her life. Nubia was able to provide Diana a voice of reason that wasn’t her mother or her direct followers. Nubia is someone that understands what it means to live up to certain expectations and exceed them. Her words of confidence carried weight that was able to give Diana a peace of mind as she continues to grow into the Wonder Woman we know.
Paulina Ganucheau artwork is yet again a joy to see. Ganucheau does a wonderful job giving youthful energy that fits the tone of the Young Diana story. She gets across how Diana is carrying a lot of weight as a child everyone sees will do great things in the future.
The Bad: Nothing.
Overall: The Young Diana stories continue to be a joy to read. I am really surprised DC Comics hasn’t spun this out into its own DC Kids comic with Jordie Bellaire and Paulina Ganucheau. This really would be a great way to get young kids into Wonder Woman’s mythology.
FRESH CATCH
Creative Team
Writer and Artist: Amy Reeder
Colorist: Marissa Louise
Story Rating: 4 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 5.5 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: With Wonder Woman captured by evil fishermen Etta Candy (the Earth-Two version of the character) leads the Holliday girls to save Wonder Woman.
The Good: The tone of “Fresh Catch” wasn’t my jam. Fans of Earth-Two will likely enjoy this story as it hits the tone of that era of Wonder Woman. Amy Reeder certainly knows how to write adventure stories of this era in the DC Universe.
That said, Marissa Louise artwork really does shine in this story. Louise does a great job modernizing the Earth-Two style while still making sure that tone of the era still there. It made the action even more dynamic as standing out amongst all the other stories we got in this collection.
The Bad: As much comics from the Earth-Two era that I’ve read the overall style just does not click with me. It’s just a style of storytelling that I have no nostalgia for. The damsel in distress role Wonder Woman was in just did not make a lot of sense and made the character look weak against normal people.
Overall: “Fresh Catch” is the first story in this comic book that was a dud. I have no nostalgia for this era of the DC Universe. While the artwork by Marissa Louise certainly lifts up the enjoyment visually the storytelling made me want to quickly get through this story so I can get to the next one in this collection.
DEAR DIANA
Creative Team
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez
Inker: Joe Prado
Colorist: Trish Mulvihill
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: As Wonder Woman leads the Justice League of America through various battles against super villains her teammates turn to her for advice during the fights and in their personal lives. While Diana tries to find time for herself she gives the best advice she can give to her JLA teammates. She also makes sure to provide time to just talk to those JLA members that just bond.
The Good: We don’t often see Diana try to live a normal life. Very often she is someone that we mostly see as Wonder Woman. In this respect, Mark Waid is able to examine how this impacts Diana as she is someone that her friends and teammates turn to for advice.
It was actually refreshing to see because Waid is able to get into how much time and effort it takes to be a superhero. It is tough for all the heroes to find a balance in their lives and Diana is no different. It comes with the career of being a superhero, especially one on the level of Wonder Woman. The weight of all this made the moment with Superman even more effective as it is understandable that even Diana would like time to herself. It humanized her in a way we don’t often see in the modern era that is focused on more of the Godly aspect of the character.
Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez does a very good job capturing this classic era of the Justice League of America that Waid was going for. It hit on the nostalgia of this era while not just being obsessed with fitting into the style. The artwork was here to enhance the story told and it did just that.
The Bad: While how Diana interacted with Superman was understandable at that point in the story there were certain moments early on that Diana did come off as dismissive quickly. There were instances like her almost rolling her eyes at the end of her talk with Hawkgirl that didn’t fit at that point in the story. It didn’t interfere with the overall impact of the story but was noticeable when it did happen in a panel.
Overall: “Dear Diana” was an effective story that showed the weight that comes with being a superhero. Trying to strike a balance between a superhero and personal life is never easy, even for Wonder Woman. Still, Wonder Woman being their for her Justice League teammates showed how important these relationships are to Diana.
DATED
Creative Team
Writer: Tom King
Artist: Evan “Doc” Shaner
Story Rating: 4 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 6.5 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: On Earth-One in 1969, Lois Lane unknowingly sets up Clark Kent on a blind date with Diana Prince, who has at this point retired as Wonder Woman. Clark and Diana end up enjoying being on a date together doing various things throughout Metropolis. At the end of the night as Clark wonders if they should go out again Diana says they would never work as couple because they are to opposite of one another, even calling Clark too much like a “cop” compared to her free spirit. They part ways and live their own lives as 1970 approaches. End of story.
The Good: The “Dated” story is a great example of how certain dialogue decisions can completely ruin a story. Because as the story of “Dated” progresses Tom King does a good job in capturing what it would be like seeing the Earth-One versions of Clark Kent and Diana Prince go on a date. They clearly have a good chemistry that exemplifies why they are good friends that likely would not actually work if they tried going beyond that.
King also does a good job at showing how the late 1960s and early 1970s was a major transition point for society with Cark and Diana representing both ends of the spectrum. When that is the focus the story shines.
Adding how well the tone of this time period is captured is Evan “Doc” Shaner phenomenal artwork. Shaner’s artwork lifts the entire story to another level as his line and coloring work brings the year Clark and Diana’s date to life. From the clothing style to the cars being driven on the streets the overall atmosphere really helps a lot of the storytelling King was going for with Clark and Diana on a date.
The Bad: Where King ends up faltering in the “Dated” story is how he portrays Clark and Diana’s overall friendship in the end. Even though they know each other you don’t feel that way with how they generalize each other. Especially with the way Diana calls Clark a “cop” doesn’t speak to how they’ve been friends for a long time. There is a big dismissive attitude that Diana takes that makes her come across as very unlikable. It just doesn’t not fit the character and was really an unnecessary line as King already wrote enough of a reason for why Clark and Diana wouldn’t work in Diana’s dialogue before this line. It all severely impacted the story negatively, especially as it was done at the end of the story.
Overall: “Dated” is an example of how even the best-intentioned stories can be derailed by dialogue choices. Even the phenomenal artwork by Evan “Doc” Shaner could not completely save how the last few pages ended the story on a sour note.
BETTER ANGELS
Creative Team
Writer: Vita Ayala
Artist: Isaac Goodhard
Colorist: Jeremy Lawson
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: During their fight in a museum Wonder Woman pleads with Cheetah to stop because there are children in danger as the building collapses. Wonder Woman surrenders to Cheetah so that they can both focus on saving the kids in danger. Cheetah decides to work with Wonder Woman and they save the kids together. End of story.
The Good: As we got to the “Better Angels” story one thing I did not realize that was missing from Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular was the franchise’s rogues gallery. Cheetah is the first and only major Wonder Woman villain featured in this comic book.
To this point Vita Ayala tells a great, quick story about how Wonder Woman is able to use her superhero aura to even inspire her greatest villain to help in the end. Ayala is able to summarize Wonder Woman and Cheetah’s rivalry through the words and actions each character has. Wonder Woman knew that Cheetah would never help if she just continued to talk in circles. To convince Cheetah to save the kids in danger Wonder Woman would have to make a major gesture of faith like surrendering in their fight. This being what convinces Cheetah to help made the entire story satisfying, with Isaac Goodhard artwork really showing how this got resolved in a way that spoke to both characters.
The Bad: Nothing
Overall: “Better Angels” was a solid story that made great use of the rivalry between Wonder Woman and Cheetah. Through this rivalry was saw how Wonder Woman’s influence can make even her worst enemies step up in big superhero moments.
SATURN RISING
Creative Team
Writer: Steve Orlando
Artist: Laura Braga
Colorist: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Story Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: Queen Hippolyta gathers Artemis, Nubia, and Saturnette to tell them about an omen about Diana that she will soon face a creature from Titan as Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman shows up to reveal that the Saturnians are now at peace with Earth and are on the planet for peace talks rather than there to invade it.
Wonder Woman then reveals that she has already defeated the Emperor of Saturn when traveling to Titan. End of story.
The Good: “Saturn Rising” is the first story in this collection that does feel like a filler the entire time. That is not a bad thing but just doesn’t necessarily add much.
The one thing this story does well is actually bring more perspective into Wonder Woman’s legacy that only the opening story of Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular provided. Having Hippolyta and Artemis in particular provide their own perspective from their time as Wonder Woman was a good reminder that Diana isn’t the first to carry the legacy. It also drives home Wonder Woman is a name that does not just exist for one person to have. Many people have and will continue to carry the Wonder Woman name throughout time.
The Bad: As I mentioned before, this story was pure filler to pad out the page count. It was the one story that I really felt the page count worked against it. There was just not enough time to really get across the full message it was going for. Everything was just over before it began.
Overall: “Saturn Rising” was just fine. It wasn’t great or bad. It got the job done to add another story to pad out this collection of stories we got in Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular.
MORTAL MYSTERIES
Creative Team
Writer: Stephanie Phillips
Artist: Marcio Takara
Colorist: Marcelo Maiolo
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: In 2015, Professor Barnes journeys through an archeological site in Eleusis, Greece in search of cult who dedicated themselves to immortality. A zombie suddenly appear and attack Professor Barnes. She is saved by Wonder Woman, who ties the zombie to a pillar. Demeter arrives with the intention of killing the zombie who was her follower. Wonder Woman stops Demeter from doing this and says she will help rehabilitate the zombie with the Amazons help.
Six months later, Diana visits Professor Barnes after one of her classes. Diana invites Professor Barnes to search a new excavation site. Professor Barnes happily accepts the offer. End of story.
The Good: Stephanie Phillips is one of my favorite current writers working for DC Comics and her “Mortal Mysteries” story in this comic book is an example why. Phillips does a great job using the page count given to tell a complete superhero story. This is made better by Marcio Takara artwork that provides a lot of background through the artwork alone to give context to various elements of the story.
Right away Phillips establishes the mythology that she is working with while quickly establishing Professor Barnes as a character. This allows the story to move quickly along as we learn about the cult Professor Barnes is looking for worshipped Demeter. The conflict escalates to make Wonder Woman’s appearance in stopping Demeter work to showcase Wonder Woman as a superhero. It also establishes a quick bond that makes the ending with Diana inviting Professor Barnes on a new archeological adventure satisfying.
The Bad: Nothing.
Overall: “Mortal Mysteries” is a fun superhero adventure. As one of the only stories that is straight up a superhero story in this comic book it is able to standout on its own. Stephanie Phillips does a good job building up Demeter as threat and making how Wonder Woman overcame everything satisfying at the end.
LOW ORBIT
Creative Team
Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Artist: Meghan Hetrick
Colorist: Marissa Louise
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: Above Earth a low-orbit residential space station named Katsuragi Maru runs into trouble with damage to the space station causing it to fall to the planet below. Wonder Woman appears and is able to use all of her strength to buy the engineering crew time to repair the damage to the Katsuragi Maru and keep it running in space. End of story.
The Good: “Low Orbit” wraps up Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular. It compliments how the first story in this collection told a story in a world post-Wonder Woman. For this story we see how Wonder Woman inspires the next generation.
What G. Willow Wilson did best in this story is also highlight how superheroes in general are able to bring hope to people. Wonder Woman is a great example of this as even when things look dire her presence is able to keep hope in the people she is saving that everything will be alright. This added to how Wonder Woman saved the space station that was more than just her using all her strength to protect.
The Bad: Nothing.
Overall: “Low Orbit” concluded Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular in satisfying fashion. It complimented the start of this comic book to leave the reader with a smile while celebrating the great superhero Wonder Woman is.
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