Since the terrible attack by Hercules, the Amazons have been isolated from the rest of humanity in Paradise Island and Diana has spent her whole life thinking that there's no other place besides it. However, once that a new man arrives to her homeworld, she will be intrigued to learn more about the rest of the world.
The long-awaited reinventing of the Amazing Amazon is finally here... and just now I decided to write some thoughts about it (Sorry people, I've been pretty busy with other stuff this month).
As some people should know and just like most projects by Grant Morrison, this series was announced a few years ago and was constantly delayed due that Morrison is the kind of writer that takes his sweet time with each new story and while some of them benefit from the extra time, others don't fare so well. Does this title falls into the former category?
Well, it sorta does in some aspects but in others not so much.
Is necessary to clarify that while this series is under the Earth One line, it doesn't necessarily exixts in the same universe as other books with the same sub-title like Superman, Batman or Teen Titans which is favorable in some points since it gives the writer more freedom to explore his own universe without having to be connected to the rest of the characters (although I must say that a bit of continuity between the different books would also be appreciated).
About the premise itself, Morrison wants to go back to the original themes created by William Marston along with Elizabeth Holloway and Olivia Byrne (his two wives who served as inspiration for the character). Marston invented several ideas that were way ahead of its time which were firmly focused on feminism, about how women and men are equal. Not only that but they were also some more... exotic concepts like bondage and sexuality that haven't been explored that much until now.
Credit where credit is due, Morrison does understand nicely the concept of bondage that Marston implemented, about how the idea is not one person getting control over another but actually forming a "bond" between people where each person is equal to one another. That's a pretty compelling theme and I feel that Morrison emphasizes it perfectly in the pages where he references it.
HOWEVER, Morrison's writing eventually becomes a bit one-sided and blunt when it touches the topic of feminism. I think that Marston concentrated on a more balanced direction with the idea (well, as balanced as you would expect from that era). Morrison on the other hand, constantly references how much the rest of the world is crap because of the abuse from the "patriarchy" while at the same time portraying most of the men in a pretty one-note manner. Hercules portrayal as a sexist rapist was understandable since is based on the George Perez' interpretation of the character but when the rest of the people of that gender start acting as assholes then you start questioning if the idea of "equality" is really well-depicted. The only man who acts decently is Steve Trevor but he suffers from problems that are also connected to this topic.
It obviously becomes pretty heavy-handed and not even only about that theme but also when Morrison tries to emphasize other things like when Steve first appears in a huge phallic-looking panel. Yes Morrison, Steve is a man, I see that, you don't need to throw that image to my face (this also brings another topic about how having a penis doesn't necessarily makes you a man but that's another issue).
About the characters, Diana is interesting enough. She's obviously rebellious and always wanted to learn more about the world which is faithful her original incarnation but eventually you realize that she doesn't have much personality beyond that. We're lead to believe that she's strong, intelligent and compassionate and while she does show some of those aspects, they're not depicted in a really impressive way that makes you truly invested in her. In fact, she doesn't show a lot of interests that could give her an unique personality. I feel that she represents more ideas than an actual character.
Elizabeth Candy (based on Diana's original sidekick, Etta Candy) actually has the most personality from the whole cast. She's a big woman and proud of it, having a lot of confidence in her own look and demonstrating that one can be beautiful no matter the size, that's something pretty interesting to explore by itself. Add her charisma and skill with words and you have have a pretty compelling character. Her showing interest in Bisexuality also connects her even more with the original Wonder Woman mythos. Not complaints here.
Then comes one of the biggest problems here: Steve Trevor.
Remember how I mentioned that most of the men here were pretty one-note assholes? Well, Steve is actually a decent guy but that doesn't stop him from being one-note. He doesn't have much personality beyond being a soldier and Diana's motivation to learn more about men. Really, he's mostly a plot-device, not really a character.
That's not the major complaint about him though. The original Steve Trevor was white but here Morrison decided to make him black. At first I thought: "Eh, okay, is a different universe so why not?" but then it became pretty obvious why Morrison changed his race, to give yet another incredibly heavyhanded explanation of inequality due to how his race has been unfairly treated.
So, he's not only a plot-device but also his defining trait is just his race. This is what I mean when I say men here are depicted poorly and this poor portrayal doesn't support the concept of equality at all. Steve is not really a person, he's just an idea and a badly-executed one.
The story is mostly centered on those themes so there's not a lot to talk about it. There isn't any big threat that Diana has to face really, all of it is resolved in a quick and kinda anticlimactic way.
About the artwork Yanick Paquette handles it and is simply stunning. His Wonder Woman evokes both strength and sensuality quite clearly which is pretty fitting for the character. Most of the cast is depicted beautifully including Beth who might be overweight but she's still gorgeous.
Overall, this is not exactly the perfect or ideal reimagination of the character but is still compelling enough to give it a try.
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