Rating: 
Summary: Painted well, but poorly written.
Review: Paul Dini must be getting tierd of doing these books because this story is the absolute pits. Great painting by Alex Ross, but that's not enough to save this book from being as medicore as it is.
Rating: 
Summary: Where Wonder Woman makes political statements
Review: These are the features of the book which any reader would find interesting:(1) Wonder Woman, through her actions, makes some political statements. In the first part of the book, she is an antidisestablishmentarianist: she saves a Third World government from being overthrown by a military coup. This reminds me so much of my country, the Philippines.
In the middle part of the book, Wonder Woman shows her pro-democracy stance: she saves an Asian-looking woman from being run down by a military tank. This brings to mind the violence on Tiananmen Square in Communist China during the late 80s.
In the last part of the book, Wonder Woman terrorizes the terrorists: she saves some Middle-eastern women from being used as human shields. The women are wearing burquas, a dress code strictly prescribed by the Taliban in Afghanistan. (2) This Wonder Woman is a composite of different WW versions. Dr. William Marston's contributions are evident in WW's seeming need to use an invisible plane and the Amazons' riding kangas on Paradise Island. Lynda Carter's presence as a bespectacled Diana Prince is obvious (where WW leaps high and through a window is also reminiscent of Carter's bionic stunts on TV). George Perez's revamped WW costume and "womanly muscles" were the ever-present guide for Alex Ross's version. Although Ross used Marston's Queen Hippolyta in a number of pages, there's one page where you could see Perez's Hippolyta in her purple robes. A certain dark-skinned Amazon must be Philippus, a Perez invention to make the Amazons multi-ethnic, not just a race of white women-warriors. Since Ross had made this WW rather "flightless," I wish he had used the Wonderdome/Lansinarian technology. WW would have looked fantastic and more mythological riding a winged chariot (shown lately in the regular WW comics). Nevertheless, this work is still perfect.
Rating:
Summary: Open your eyes to the "Truth"
Review: This being the last of the series of individual heroes (the Justice League project still upcoming) is I think the best artwork by Alex Ross, as he and Paul Dini have really gotten on the same page so to speak on framing and individual panels. The story continues with the humanization of the most well known of DC's heroes (Supe's, Batman, Capt. Marvel, and Wonder Woman) with Wonder Woman, then as Diana Prince trying to connect with the humans of the "man's world". As Amazon Ambassador to the Patriarchs World, Diana's mission is to spread the Amazon tenent of peace. However being renowed as a nearly perfect goddess on Earth sometimes doesn't help her as much as hinder her. Wonder Woman can toss tanks, deflect bullets, take down dozens of terrorists with ease but in some cases she cannot speak with normal people because they happen to be intimiadated by her. This story is Diana Prince's "quest" to try and change this and see the truth of the world, not as a goddess above, but as a mortal on Earth. Of course... that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.
Rating: 
Summary: Lovely
Review: This is the final installment of Paul Dini and Alex Ross's 60th anniversary present to the classic superheroes. Each installment consist of Alex Ross's reverent paintings and Paul Dini's text. Wonder Woman shines in the large coffee-table size format. Alex Ross obviously had fun with this character and her costume. Her bright, satin cape is a shiny stand-out. Her face has the rigid beauty of a Greek statue, which is only fitting. The invisible jet is done correctly for the first time. Visually, the book is as dramatic as the previous offerings in this series. The story involves Diana's mis-understanding of what it means to be human, and her quest to make a connection with the women of the world. There are some really tender moments. Paul Dini's strength is not serious prose writing, but he does an admirable job accompanying Ross's overwhelming art. The cameo from a certain Clark Kent is pretty fun, but a little strange. Previous books have focused exclusively on the character, where as this one gets a little help from a friend. Still, very enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: A Gorgeous Detour from WW's established Mythos
Review: This is the fourth book in a special series by writer Dini and artist Ross, and like the other three (for DC Comics' mainstays Superman, Batman and Shazam) this volume explores the intrinsic virtues (and drawbacks) of super-heroing. This book starts at the beginning of Diana's career, but not the WW of the current DC comic book. Though her origin has been re-told and revised many times, "Spirit Of Truth" is reasonably faithful to the established WW mythos. The story takes place in contemporary times, and details the evolution of Princess Diana's personal goals in a world that isn't quite ready to accept a woman of her power and principles. The realism of various settings and scenarios in this book is impressive, and the references to terrorism are quite timely. WW's various dilemmas in this book tend to be glossed over; the book is 'narrated' by Diana herself, and she tends to jump from experience to experience. This, in, my opinion is the only detriment in an otherwise interesting read. The effect is similar to that of stream of conciousness prose, which is fine. I still think the story would have benefitted from standard speech and thought (text) balloons. Though "Spirit of Truth" falls out of comics continuity, this version of Wonder Woman is comfortably familiar. Some hardcore fans may be irked by individual aspects of the story (including Diana Prince, for example), but it would be hard to deny the gorgeous visuals. The painted artwork by Alex Ross (of Marvels and Kingdom Come fame) took years to complete, and the quality is simply stunning; it alone is worth the price of the book, in my opinion. The paper quality and printing is excellent, so if you enjoy Ross and/or WW, buy two copies so you can take one apart: the individual pages look great framed or matted. Highly recommended to WW fans and collectors.
Rating:
Summary: Being a demi-godess isn't easy....
Review: This is the fourth of the excellent oversized format Alex Ross/ Paul Dini collaborations. Personally, while I liked this one too, I would probably rank it after the Superman, Captain Marvel, and Batman books. Don't get me wrong, it is an excellent read- and the quality of the artwork is magnificent. There is just something better about the other three books.
I think the problem may be the one that the Amazon Princess herself faces in the storyline- she is just too darn perfect- and it intimidates people. After all, this is a perfect demi-goddess created out of the earth of Themyscira itself by the power of the gods. She is inhumanly perfect because, technically, she is not quite human. She is an Ideal made flesh- and that can be hard to identify with. Indeed, over and over, her shear power and presence overwhelms those she is helping as much as the bad guys- especially if they come from cultures that repress and dominate women. That's a hard character to infuse with the simple humanity of the other books....
As with the other three books, the original art work of this one was auctioned off for charity (this time it was for the victims of 9-11 and their families.)
Rating:
Summary: Human and archetypal at the same time.
Review: This is the fourth oversized ("tabloid") graphic novel by Paul Dini (writer of the various modern Batman cartoons) and painter Alex Ross (Marvels, Kingdom Come). None of Dini and Ross's stories are about gaudy supervillains. Instead they deal with heroes trying to make the world a better place. It deals with issues of repression (including a Taliban-like appearance, coincidence as this book was written before 9/11).
Usually in comics, people either love their heroes (Superman) or fear and hate them (X-Men). Here, the emotions are much more complex and human. Told through Wonder Woman's eyes, she teaches compassion, but also learns lessons of humanity. Fans of the TV series might remember Wonder Woman's alter ego as Diana Prince. In 1986, the WW story was restarted from stratch. Now, she did not assume a secret identity. But this tale shows the value and need of such an identity. The lesson comes from an old friend, who also has experience hiding behind glasses. Simple, elegant writing and absolutely gorgeous large art. This is a great Wonder Woman story!
Rating:
Summary: Human and archetypal at the same time.
Review: This is the fourth oversized ("tabloid") graphic novel by Paul Dini (writer of the various modern Batman cartoons) and painter Alex Ross (Marvels, Kingdom Come). None of Dini and Ross's stories are about gaudy supervillains. Instead they deal with heroes trying to make the world a better place. It deals with issues of repression (including a Taliban-like appearance, coincidence as this book was written before 9/11).
Usually in comics, people either love their heroes (Superman) or fear and hate them (X-Men). Here, the emotions are much more complex and human. Told through Wonder Woman's eyes, she teaches compassion, but also learns lessons of humanity. Fans of the TV series might remember Wonder Woman's alter ego as Diana Prince. In 1986, the WW story was restarted from stratch. Now, she did not assume a secret identity. But this tale shows the value and need of such an identity. The lesson comes from an old friend, who also has experience hiding behind glasses. Simple, elegant writing and absolutely gorgeous large art. This is a great Wonder Woman story!
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