DC Retroactive: Wonder Woman - The 70s

A new issue (well, half new and half reprint). I picked this one up today at New England Comics in New Bedford.

Title: DC Retroactive: Wonder Woman - The 70s
Date: 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Dennis O'Neil
Penciler: J. Bone, Dick Giordano
Inker: J. Bone, Dick Giordano
Colorist: Kevin Golden, Matthew Petz, Carrie Strachan
Editor: Chynna Clugston Flores, Kwanza Johnson

It says something about the state of DC comics these days when the best Wonder Woman comic I've read in the last few years 1) Is a 1970s retro one-shot, 2) Is 50% reprinted material, and 3) Features Wonder Woman in her non-powered "White Costume" incarnation. Ouch.

First up, Paradise Island has sunk beneath the waves. It's temporarily protected by a domed force field, but a giant blade (no, really!) hangs over the dome, inching closer and threatening to let in the sea and drown the Amazons. Wonder Woman is forced to undergo three ordeals as punishment for the sin of "making yourself less than you are" if she is to save her homeland. This was a really odd story that featured sudden near-surreal plot twists, some really fun fight scenes, a great job on the characterization of Diana (in more of a pacifist mode than you see her in these days). It also had an very ambiguous ending that I really liked. The story seemed to be perfectly set up for a resolution to be handed to the reader on a silver platter, and when that didn't end up happening it was a pretty clever twist.

The second story is a reprint from the 1970s, but also written by Dennis O'Neil. This is the classic Wonder Woman vs. Catwoman battle. Diana is in non-powered mode here, so it's a pretty even fight, although it doesn't come to any conclusive finish. The overall plot involves a Tibetan cult and a hypnotic gem. Also featured here is Diana's sensei from this time period, I-Ching (no, really, that was the dude's name).

This wasn't perfect. There was some goofiness to it, which was fine because that was the flavor they were going for, but there was also a lot left unresolved. In the first story (the new story written for this book) that was also part of the point. The second story ends on a cliffhanger because that was the nature of the issue they chose to reprint. I guess they figured that having the Catwoman guest spot was worth the trouble of using a story that didn't quite end.

Still, in spite of some of it being silly, I really liked this portrayal of Wonder Woman. I got some new appreciation for the non-powered version of the character, and I was impressed with the logic and the flow of the fight scenes, even in the reprinted portion.

Maybe when DC does their relaunch of Wonder Woman (and everything else; see my review here), they should go for "Groovy Amazon Adventures" with the occasional judo chop. It couldn't be worse than what they've been doing with the character in the last few years (don't get me started on breaking Max Lord's neck, Amazons Attack, Genocide, and other such idiocy; that is a rather long rant best saved for another day).

But yeah, judo chops. I can dig that.

Rating: 7.5/10