Letters to Wonder Woman #24

Ah, Charlie, Charlie, Charlie.

This is the issue I was looking forward to, since obviously it affects some of the stuff I'm writing in a big way. (For any continuity people out there, this arc takes place roughly simultaneously with the first arc of 'New Gods')

SO I admit, when I read thgis issue, 90% of it was to focus on how you handled... her. And the answer is; magnicently. I love the old bag, and you nailed her distinct voice perfectly- that hideous, mocking quality was just oozing from the page. I don't have time for a full review now, but I just wanted to throw that in there- comments on the writing, cover and Diana herself later, but the issue definitely gets a big thumbs up!

Oh, the Phantom Stranger shall return... Next issue! I didn't mean for it to happen, but he just appeared, and he's all... Brooding and awesome. God love the Phantom Stranger

I liked where Ares was imprisoned, I rather think he will be back.

I wonder if Darkseid knows of Granny's ambitions to set up shop on Earth, as it were....

Yey for Hippolyta!

Darkseid has been trapped on the Source Wall since Giant-Sized Justice League Issue 0, almost two years ago!

Or is he...?

(I honestly don't know myself, but I'm going to read Kevin Feeney's excellent New Gods to find out!)

#26!



Like Dave said, Darkseid is trapped in the Source Wall... Or he was, before the Source Wall was destroyed and reconstituted in Green Lantern #10...! Big New God plans are in the making, Jay...



Nothing is as it seems.

Is he indeed!? [shameless plug]As Charlie pointed out, big things have happened with that wall- but it really calls to mind the question, was Darkseid fully free, or just starting to pull free? And if he is free, where the Apokolips is he? And hey, doesn't the Source Wall provide a window into the Source itself- what might Darkseid pull from THAT? And how will Granny's doings here tie in with New Gods anyway? ...If ONLY someone knew... [/shameless plug] Back to the issue at hand!

As I've mentioned before, I'm no big Wonder Woman afficienado, but even a cursory glance shows it's a lot harder to write than most titles. The characters, the scope, are all very hard to capture without making it seem remote. What Charlie's done throughout his run so far is to emphasise both the divinity and the humanity of Diana and her cast, no mean feat! The Hades scene at the start is both chilling and supernatural, which of course it should be.

Tension is built slowly and effectively throughout the issue until the "big reveal"- even though I knew what was coming, I found the little scene with Persepherone to be well written, as it both alarms the reader (It's not Hades!) and builds up the evil of Granny. Also? Charlie's attention to continuity remains fearsome with the little note about Granny's original death, something that was actually missed (IIRC) by the writers of Justice League #0 itself, who had her operational there again. The entire Granny scene is just superb, as I said above, Charlie has captured her unique voice perfectly and it's genuinely a pleasure to read. I know we had a discussion on Godhood and how these characters are not just superhumans but far more, and I tihnk Charlie brought that out perfectly in this scene.

My biggest problem? I'm not a fan of the Phantom Stranger. I know some are, but I'm just... not. There are enough vague, supernaturla DC people in my view, and I don't know what he provides that Doctor Fate or Spectre or whoever can't in some form. The cover itself was good also, if a bit abstract, but I'm not a fan of the green background or the completely plain logo.

Overall, 4 stars- great work!

I can answer the Phantom Stranger front a little bit, at least. See, the way the Phantom Stranger is portrayed these days is a far cry from his original presentation, and it's that distinction that makes all the difference. These days, he's much more of a Spectre or Doctor Fate magical super-hero without an actual history or secret identity...being all enigmatic and such.

But when he first debuted, he wasn't like that at all. he guided others who were in trouble to figure out their own solutions to the messes they were in, and only pulled out any magical jiggery-pokery that was necessary to defeat a too-powerful supernatural menace for the mundane victim at the center of the tale...only when the mundane had helped himself out of his catastrophe (or done his best to do so). If Spectre was "the Wrath of God" then Stranger was the lesson "God helps those who help themselves" incarnate. Or in another direction (one I'd love to try and explore in a team-up series, I think), he was like Rod Serling in the Twilight Zone...but imagine if Rod actually said his opening and closing spiels to the people in the story rather than the TV audience. THAT was much more the original Stranger's run...and I'll be the first to admit, a much more interesting take than several of his most recent appearances. I think.

Take care
Don

Oh yeah, great issue, glad to have edited it, Charlie's a genius, yadda yadda

Seriously though...GREAT issue, Charlie's gotten his hook on Diana now, and things are ramping up awesomely, and I loved the cliffhanger ending. I cheered, it was great.

Whoops, my apologies- she wasn't in JL 0! However... she was in Wonder Woman #10 which was still after her death, that's what I was thinking of. And unfortunately... err... the writer was still... y'know.

I'm sure most people didn't notice it, these things always happen to the best of us, I just noticed it when I was maniacally going through every issue of the IXE and noting down every appearance for every single New God in detail to ensure the NG book matched up with it.