Wonder Woman: Paradise Found

Rating:
Summary: The Death of the Golden Age Wonder Woman!
Review: "Paradise Found" contains writer/artist Phil Jimenez's two best issues of Wonder Woman (No. 172 and No. 173) in his entire two-year run on the monthly Wonder Woman comic book. Not since the death of the Silver Age Supergirl in 1985's "Crisis on Infinite Earths" has the death of a DC super-heroine been treated with the emotion and the respect she deserves. "Paradise Found" begins with tragedy - one of Diana's best friends, Vanessa Kapatelis, has been transformed by Circe (yes, the very same enchantress from Homer's Odyssey) from a sweet teenager into one of Diana's deadliest nemeses, the Silver Swan. Meanwhile, Diana is upset that her mother, Hippolyta, is slowly usurping her role as the one true Wonder Woman. (Note: Hippolyta travelled back in time to the Second World War to become the Golden Age Wonder Woman, a role she continues to occupy on her return to our present era. Thus, there are two Wonder Women when "Paradise Found" begins.) Diana's confusion at the change in her young friend and her own worsening relationship with her mother are soon overwhelmed by an intergalactic war that reaches Earth - survivors of many alien worlds have banded together to fight against a cosmic entity called the Imperiex, and Earth is chosen as their last stand. Diana is seriously injured while battling alongside her fellow Justice Leaguers to stop an Imperiex attack on Earth. Hippolyta bravely puts on her own Wonder Woman armour to fight the war in Diana's stead, but is tragically killed while protecting Greece from another of Imperiex's deadly attacks. Phil Jimenez's art and prose successfully captures Diana's anguish at her mother's death, and Hippolyta's sacrifice is portrayed as noble, majestic and, above all, supremely maternal. The queen of the Amazons deserves no less. Diana has no time to grief for her mother however, despite feeling tremendous guilt that she had failed to make amends with her mother before she died. The war grows increasingly bloody, and Diana has to convince the Amazons to form an alliance with Darkseid, the dark god who had previously killed almost half their number. With heroes and villains fighting alongside, the war is finally won. However, Circe takes advantage of the superheroes' exhaustion at the end of the war to launch a full scale attack, transforming all the male superheroes into animals and letting villainesses loose upon them. The rest of "Paradise Found" charts Diana's journey to redemption. I cannot sing enough praises for Phil Jimenez's art which, like George Perez's, is full of tiny details that keep a reader engrossed. To get the full story of the war against the Imperiex, also read the two-volume "Superman: Our Worlds at War" (where Wonder Woman No. 172 and 173 are also reproduced). "Our Worlds at War" is not DC's best crossover around, but is still worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: The Death of the Golden Age Wonder Woman!
Review: "Paradise Found" contains writer/artist Phil Jimenez's two best issues of Wonder Woman (No. 172 and No. 173) in his entire two-year run on the monthly Wonder Woman comic book. Not since the death of the Silver Age Supergirl in 1985's "Crisis on Infinite Earths" has the death of a DC super-heroine been treated with the emotion and the respect she deserves. "Paradise Found" begins with tragedy - one of Diana's best friends, Vanessa Kapatelis, has been transformed by Circe (yes, the very same enchantress from Homer's Odyssey) from a sweet teenager into one of Diana's deadliest nemeses, the Silver Swan. Meanwhile, Diana is upset that her mother, Hippolyta, is slowly usurping her role as the one true Wonder Woman. (Note: Hippolyta travelled back in time to the Second World War to become the Golden Age Wonder Woman, a role she continues to occupy on her return to our present era. Thus, there are two Wonder Women when "Paradise Found" begins.) Diana's confusion at the change in her young friend and her own worsening relationship with her mother are soon overwhelmed by an intergalactic war that reaches Earth - survivors of many alien worlds have banded together to fight against a cosmic entity called the Imperiex, and Earth is chosen as their last stand. Diana is seriously injured while battling alongside her fellow Justice Leaguers to stop an Imperiex attack on Earth. Hippolyta bravely puts on her own Wonder Woman armour to fight the war in Diana's stead, but is tragically killed while protecting Greece from another of Imperiex's deadly attacks. Phil Jimenez's art and prose successfully captures Diana's anguish at her mother's death, and Hippolyta's sacrifice is portrayed as noble, majestic and, above all, supremely maternal. The queen of the Amazons deserves no less. Diana has no time to grief for her mother however, despite feeling tremendous guilt that she had failed to make amends with her mother before she died. The war grows increasingly bloody, and Diana has to convince the Amazons to form an alliance with Darkseid, the dark god who had previously killed almost half their number. With heroes and villains fighting alongside, the war is finally won. However, Circe takes advantage of the superheroes' exhaustion at the end of the war to launch a full scale attack, transforming all the male superheroes into animals and letting villainesses loose upon them. The rest of "Paradise Found" charts Diana's journey to redemption. I cannot sing enough praises for Phil Jimenez's art which, like George Perez's, is full of tiny details that keep a reader engrossed. To get the full story of the war against the Imperiex, also read the two-volume "Superman: Our Worlds at War" (where Wonder Woman No. 172 and 173 are also reproduced). "Our Worlds at War" is not DC's best crossover around, but is still worth reading.