Wonder Woman #20-22 + Annual #1 + #23-26
Originally released in 1988
Written by George Perez et al.
Art by George Perez et al.
Whereas previous Wonder Woman issues in George Perez's run had been gradually reintroducing and reimagining Wonder Woman's rogues gallery, these ones take things at a slower pace. Though when issue 20 consists of Wonder Woman trying to determine who killed her publicist, Myndi Mayer, "a slower pace" is a relative term.
Myndi Mayer wasn't a major character up to this point, but her death was so sudden that it came as a shock. It gives the series an opportunity to delve into the ethical and legal issues surrounding the idea of getting a confession from the Lasso of Truth, which I wasn't anticipating that this series would cover, though it makes sense that it does deal with this.
Once Wonder Woman gets a lead on who was responsible, we get a scene showing how absolutely terrifying Wonder Woman would be from the perspective of ordinary people. We only see brief glimpses of her in action, but it's enough.
Myndi Mayer had problems with alcohol and drugs, specifically cocaine, which is a lifestyle choice that baffles Wonder Woman and leaves her distraught. Diana tends to see the best in everyone, so the thought of one of her friends putting her body through that and being so obsessed with cocaine to the point where she dies because of it is completely alien to her.
The next issue is more bittersweet - Diana returns to Paradise Island, where the Greek pantheon has requested her presence. Diana, her mother, and the island's oracle travel to Olympus, only to discover that an attack from Darkseid has left it nowhere near as pleasant as the stories that they've heard.
As a result, the Greek pantheon of gods has to flee to parts unknown, putting a greater deal of distance between them and their worshippers. With the faith of the Amazons, and the help of Diana, they are propelled to distant galaxies, even if some of them (particularly Hermes and Heracles) have second thoughts on the matter.
By issue 22, the Amazons are holding a vote on whether or not to open up their island to the wider world. Now that men are able to set foot on the island, they do have the option, though some are still hesitant.
Heracles seemed to be forgiven a little too easily for his transgressions against the Amazons, and Hippolyta in particular, so at least there's a nice conversation between Diana and one of her fellow Amazons addressing the valid concern that this could lead to history repeating itself.
Diana wants Julie and Vanessa, the mother and daughter who became fast friends with her upon her arrival, to be the first to visit Themyscira as a result of the vote. However, Vanessa is dealing with problems of her own. Her connection with Wonder Woman is causing her to ignore her friend Eileen, and the boy who she had a crush on (and who was using her to get to Wonder Woman) has moved on to someone else.
A trip to the homeland of the Amazons completely changes Vanessa's mood, and the Wonder Woman Annual focuses entirely on that trip. Various writers and artists cover different stories of Diana's youth, Amazonian history, and Julie's past.
The stories are a nice way to flesh out Wonder Woman's side of the DC universe. I still find the treatment of Steve Trevor post-Crisis to be odd, though. We see him briefly here in one of the stories, and he seems to have aged significantly, with Etta Candy worrying that he's too old to be in a plane.
The annual wasn't what I was expecting - there's no hints at what's to come in future stories, or no conflict to speak of. Still, it's a relaxing issue that helps to flesh out Wonder Woman, her supporting cast, and the Amazons as a whole.
We also get the reading of Myndi Mayer's will, which helps to flesh her out post-mortem, making her more of a complex character and explaining why she behaved the way that she did. We learn a lot about her family life and squabbles, and she donates to a foundation in Wonder Woman's name in order to get her to spread her ashes on Paradise Island, though Diana wonders why she felt the need to pay Diana to do this when she would have done it anyway if Myndi asked.
For most of these issues, the closest things to an antagonist are Vanessa's rising ego and Hermes. Vanessa got permission to take photos during her trip to Themyscira. These pictures were published in a magazine, causing her to become a celebrity at school since everyone wants to go to Themyscira.
Meanwhile, Hermes returns to Earth, wanting to regain followers (and seemingly because he has a crush on Diana). His idea of gaining followers is effectively bribery - he gives people money and heals their wounds, but these will only stay in place for as long as the people who got these boons worship him.
He's doing good deeds, but for selfish reasons, and Phobos (the son of Ares) and one of the Gorgons manage to trick him by playing to his inflated ego.
Issues 25 and 26 seem to interrupt whatever Perez had planned by tying the Wonder Woman book into an event called "Invasion". I gathered that it was an alien invasion based on teases from previous issues, though I was surprised to see which aliens were invading.
As it turns out, Earth is being attacked by Thanagarians, the same race as Hawkman and Hawkwoman. However, they're not the only ones - as it turns out, several groups of aliens are invading at the same time. In order to save Etta Candy, who's being attacked by another group called the Khunds, Diana has to team up with Justice League International, who are as dysfunctional as ever.
Specifically, she winds up working with Rocket Red, who she gets along with (she can speak Russian, and wants to visit Russia some day), and Guy Gardner, who she does not get along with at all. It's about thirty seconds into their team-up before Guy jumps straight to killing aliens, which makes Diana angry.
Issue 26 provides an epilogue to the Invasion storyline. While on a mission with Captain Atom, Steve Trevor was captured, and Wonder Woman heads out to save him. Captain Atom goes with, because Steve is a good friend of his.
It's a classic superhero team-up involving shape-shifting aliens. Meanwhile, Hermes tries to make amends for his actions, but he's so unpopular in Boston that when the Creeper attacks him, the public roots for the Creeper, so he's got a long way to go before he can earn their trust.
This set of issues was different from what I expected. For the most part, it was a lot calmer. I like how George Perez took time to flesh out Wonder Woman, the Kapatelis family, and Myndi Mayer, making them feel like more three-dimensional characters and giving all of them more of a history. It feels like there's a specific story that George Perez wants to tell here, and he's taking his time to do it without it feeling like events are being dragged out.
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