Wonder Woman: The Circle [Paperback]

It is hard to imagine a much more wretched year for Wonder Woman than 2007; the year began with Allan Heinberg's perenially delayed and sadly misguided opening arc still struggling to get out; intermixed with these issues we got Jodi Picoult's equally off-base offering, and then "Amazons Attack", an atrocity that seemed almost tailor-made to destroy the character's history. By story's end, Diana's people were turned into a bunch of barbarous morons responsible for gleeful mass-murder. With issue fourteen, Gail Simone, the industry's preeminent female writer (not a particularly wide field, to be sure) and a great writer in general, took over the the title; this volume collects her first six issues, #14-19. What can she make out of this car wreck of a relaunch?

This trade contains two stories. The first, Simone's opening arc, is 'The Circle' (which lends its name to the hardcover as a whole), which, to a certain extent, addresses the fallout of "Amazons Attack", mainly concerning the fate of Diana's mother Hippolyta. As well, Simone introduces a new wrinkle into Wonder Woman's origin, the idea that her birth on Themyscira was not as universally welcomed as previous stories have had it. The challenge of writing imperfection into paradise is a difficult line to walk, but Simone pulls it off quite well. Alkyone's imperial guard are well-realized characters. The art is mainly by Terry Dodson, with some fill-in pages from Ron Randall after Dodson hurt his hand. The book looks quite good, although their action sequences are not that dynamic. Less enjoyable is Simone's attempt to make Heinberg's idiotic new "Diana Prince" status quo work; it still doesn't. I read "Wonder Woman" for Diana of Themyscira, not her pretending to be someone she isn't to hide from the world.

The concluding two-parter, "Ex-Patriate", sees Diana go into space, recruited by the Klingon-esque Khund race to deal with an alien menace that is destroying their civilization. This arc is much less successful then the first one. It begins with an incredibly annoying scene between Diana and Nemesis, the stupid love interest introduced in the Heinberg run, who is totally incompatible with Diana (it doesn't help that the first two arcs portrayed him as a complete sexist idiot; Simone gets him better, but this relationship has no foundation). More broadly, the plot really doesn't make much sense when you think about it. There are some great scenes, such as a fight between Diana and a Green Lantern that effectively captures the power of both characters. Bernard Chang's artwork is very good.

By far the biggest plus in this collection is Diana herself, as a character. For someone who is often maligned as being a dull protagonist, Simone infuses Diana with appropriate personality; she is wise, courageous, devout, competent, and funny (funny in a way appropriate to her, unlike the humour attempts in Picoult's run). Even when the plot is subpar, Diana herself is entertaining to read. Supporting characters like Hippolyta (inexplicably a queen again) and Etta Candy (reintroduced as a competent secret agent-type) are similarly well-done.

The first story would earn perhaps 4 or 4.5 stars, while the second maybe a 2.5-3. I will give this four stars overall; whatever its flaws, it is the best Wonder Woman story since Greg Rucka was forced off, and I believe that if anyone can make Diana worthwhile again, it is Gail Simone.

This is a story about Diana after she has searched for who she is and is going back on her heroic journeys as Wonder Woman. But sometimes going back to the beginning of a story is what is needed to propel it forward.
The first arc in the book is about 4 renegade Amazons who take the shadowside of Athena to a chilling conclusion. These 4 will do anything to defend the Amazon civilization from what they see as its greatest fear, a child. But strangely, because human they be, they yearn for a baby girl themselves.

This is a story that tells of a daughter and how far she will go to help her mother and her land. This is a story that shows the power of Mercy and Diana at her finest as warrior and diplomatic. A top notch story and very worth picking up for your shelves.

This is a truly wonderful story. After the disaster that was Amazons Attack, it is really nice to see Wonder Woman headed back in the right direction. I always thought Gail Simone did a great job with Birds of Prey- I think she is even better writing Wonder Woman. The artwork is also topnotch.

I won't give the story away. I'll just say that most of it takes place on Themiscira and Queen Hypolyta has a large part and guess what? She is actually written in character this time (will wonders never cease?)! Princess Diana also seems to have returned to her roots, finding ways to be compassionate and loving and also a kick ass warrior when the need arises. This story marks the return of a familiar and much missed vulnerability to the character but also never-dying courage and strength, which is the way it ought to be. Thanks to Gail Simone for knowing the characters and keeping them true!

There is one part of the story that surprised me- again, I do not want to give too much away but at one point Diana decides to forgo her allegiance to Athena and dedicate herself to a god from a different pantheon. At first, I was a bit shocked by this but considering everything that has happened to the Greek gods of late I eventually decided that, yes, it made absolute sense for her to do it. Once again, I give a lot of credit to Simone for understanding the character and her motivations.

This is Wonder Woman at her best and I recommend it.