Page 45 Review by Jonathan
"Slave queen of a nation of slaves. Your children will live and they will die by the fist of man."
"That's better. Tell me. Tell them. It's all play, remember?"
"Tell them all what you are. Say it. Tell us all what Hercules has made you."
...
"Hercules... Hercules has made me patient!
"Hercules has taught me life is a privilege.
"And no more.
"NO MORE!"
So much for Hercules... Or not, perhaps...
Grant Morrison returns to DC with an evocative, indeed provocative, reworking of the origins of Wonder Woman. Much like J. Michael Straczynski's SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE trilogy and Geoff Johns' BATMAN: EARTH ONE (two books so far, presumably a third at some point), this won't in some ways feel like a radical departure from the mainstream DCU version (whatever that actually means as we careen towards yet another reboot, sorry, REBIRTH) unlike TEEN TITANS: EARTH VOL 1 which was quite the reshaping.
On the other hand, this is quite unlike any other WONDER WOMAN you'll have ever read.
No, this is more Morrison paying to tribute to the true feminist roots, as he perceives it, of the character, and also her original creator, William Moulton Marston, making maximum use of the additional creative freedom that the non-continuity EARTH ONE series provides. Whilst also having some fun and games deconstructing and retooling other familiar supporting characters like Steve Trevor, here portrayed as African American, and Beth 'Etta' Candy who is restored to all her buxom Golden Age ultra-confident sorority girl glory.
Considering that this is undoubtedly an all-action story, it is wonderful to see so much emphasis put on the Woman rather than the Wonder. Also, despite the presence of Hercules, Morrison has very deliberately stepped away from the overarching Greek mythology influences that defined Brian Azzarello's excellent New 52 run which started with WONDER WOMAN VOL 1: BLOOD S/C.
You probably need to know a bit about Martson to understand Morrison's approach here. He was a psychologist (and lawyer) who lived with two women, his wife Elizabeth Holloway Marston and their lover Olive Byrne. He wrote a lot about dominant-submissive relationships and posited the theory that "there is a masculine notion of freedom that is inherently anarchic and violent and an opposing feminine notion based on "Love Allure" that leads to an ideal state of submission to loving authority."
It's probably thus no surprise to find that Martson believed that women should run the world, and was a great champion of the early feminists. It's pretty obvious therefore to also make the connection with a pair of bracelets that can repel any attack and a golden lasso that compels people to tell the truth. After the sword-wielding New 52 version, I liked this return to the more traditional version of the Warrior Princess.
Grant also can't resist throwing in a bit of kink bondage for good measure, but it's done in a way that made me laugh uproariously rather than feeling it was salacious, which it isn't remotely, but again, it's clearly another nod to Martson. Suffice to say Steve Trevor's eyebrows disappear somewhere off the top of his head, and when Beth is explaining the, shall we say, cultural misunderstanding, to Diana whilst they're propping up the bar afterwards, it provides a superb double punchline that had me wiping a tear of mirth away.
So there was much I really enjoyed about this retelling. The plot is extremely well thought through including a rather naughty bit of parental misdirection which well and truly comes home to roost. This version of Steve Trevor's motivations for betraying his country to protect Diana and Paradise Island, being based not just on infatuation but also very understandable personal ideals based on experienced prejudices, is I think the most depth I've seen given the character.
And Beth, my oh my, what a woman. Of all the various incarnations Diana's bestie has had over the years, I think this brassy, bolshie blonde really does take the biscuit. Well, she probably takes the whole packet given half the chance judging by her girdle size, but she's no shrinking violet that's for sure. She's certainly not going to let any stroppy, statuesque stunner whose been sent to bring Diana back for trial get the best of her!
"These are women of man's world? Deformed, shrunken, bloated... domesticated cattle."
"Amazonia has class bitches, too? That's a bummer. Kinda spoiled my fantasy."
Yanick Paquette is the perfect artistic foil for Morrison here too. His Amazons are joyous creations, and his exotically detailed Paradise Island truly does look like heaven on earth. There are some lovely page composition devices, including the recurring theme of golden rope as a panel separator, which greatly minded me of J.H. Williams III work on the pages of PROMETHEA. I'll have to confess historically I've not been the biggest Wonder Woman fan (though certainly I'll be having a look at the Greg Rucka / Liam Sharp WONDER WOMAN REBIRTH reboot), but more tales like this could definitely win me over.
