Legend of Wonder Woman

Legend of Wonder Woman 1-5

I originally heard rumblings about this being good back when it was an online series.  Then it came out in hardcover, but I couldn’t read it in the stores like I wanted to because it was inexplicably shrinkwrapped.  (Shrinkwrap mission accomplished, I suppose.) Then I happened to find an open copy at an indie (read: Not Barnes and Noble) bookstore (it wasn’t me, I swear) and read the first couple issues.  I really liked it, but not enough to buy in hardcover. It took another year for the thing to come out in trade, but after waiting all that time and snapping it up in trade, it languished on my to-read pile for months.  It happens sometimes. My to-read pile is sad about how high it is. My backlog of Mark Waid Daredevil’s is like 5 trades deep.

Anyway, this trip gave it a chance to step up, and boy has it ever.  Writer/Penciller Renae De Liz succeeds in both roles (with husband Ray Dillon on inks, colors, and letters).  To be sure, it reads a lot like the Wonder Woman movie, but there's only so much variation you can give her origin story.  It’s the recency that makes it feels so familiar, but there are huge differences in the personalities of the titular character.

Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman was all naive innocence, eager to do her part to bring peace to the world.  De Liz's Diana carries the weight of a world lost to her forever. She didn't leave Paradise Island by choice, and believes that her place is with her sisters.  There's a civil war brewing on Themyscira, and her only goal is to return to her mother's side. This Diana is not interested in learning about a world that she has every intention of leaving.  

De Liz's art beautifully renders Diana's isolation and sadness.  The solemn melancholy that dominates her thoughts comes through in every panel.

Beautiful.

I love this bit of unintentional (for her) humor.

She's even sad when she's in love.

We’re over halfway through this series, she has yet to don her iconic costume, and I couldn’t care less.  This is a wonderful comic book, and I can’t wait to finish it tonight.