Wonder Woman TP Vol 2 Year One (Rebirth) (Wonder Woman: DC Universe Rebirth, 2)

Rucka really knows this character through and through. Picked it up on a whim and this is now one of my favs, particularly in rebirth era.

This is by far the best origin we've had since the George Perez days. Simply glorious and beautiful to look at it. Thank you Rucka and Scott! Beautiful.

The story of Wonder Woman and her origins are well known but this new rendering of it is one of the best and is near flawless. Steve Trevor changes from airforce pilot to Navy SEAL Special forces. Etta Candy under goes a ethnic change to african american. Dianas appearence is more inline with the charactors Greek origins. The hot pant look was starting to age somewhat anyway. All in all very good. So why four stars? Nichola Scotts talent is there for all to see her art being beautiful. However she seem to be one of those people who think that by putting in muslims in the background or foreground (one hands a note to B.Minerva notifying her of Dianas arrival). And sneaks in a few more during the battle with the terrorists and the Maru gas that we will welcome them with open arms. After recent bloody terror attacks the logic of this now seems very eroded. What the Amazons would make of the islamic religion we can only guess but I think they would be horrified and shocked and they would put Io to work at her forge to double sword production in case of attack by them.

Excellent!

Look at other reviews for more detailed synopsis (if you want that - I prefer to be surprised): will just say very enjoyable 'Origin' story, slightly amended from what past ones have done, but as well as cohesive, well done storytelling, the Artwork is what makes it stand out to me. Excellent, and preferred to Vol.1. Am hoping they keep this team together for more. Please!

This Wonder Woman rebirth/origin story is steeped in ancient Greek mythology, which actually struck me as an interesting way to go. Now, this is a review by a casual Wonder Woman reader. I knew the TV show, I've read the occasional Wonder Woman comic; I've seen a number of the serious and scholarly deconstructions of what Wonder Woman "means". But, I haven't followed her recent publishing history, or her development in the hands of different writers, in any detail. That means I can't compare this Wonder Woman Rebirth to the past, and I can't be either disappointed or thrilled in comparison. So, where are we in terms of just picking this up and reading it? Well, the WW Rebirth comes in two volumes. Volume 1 collects issues 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11, while this Volume 2 collects issues 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14. This volume has a complete story arc and I understand that Volume 1 had a complete stony arc, so they must have issued the two stories in alternating issues, for no particular reason that I can see, (apart from hooking people on two parallel stories at the same time). What that means, though, is that you can start at this Volume 2 and not have missed anything important. Indeed, given that this Volume 2 is more of a classic Wonder Woman, I'd read this before reading Volume 1, which is more modern and plays around more with Wonder Woman's story. We start with Wonder Woman on Themyscira , and she eventually ends up in Metropolis, with Steve Trevor, the soldier, and Barbara Ann Minerva (Cheetah), the academic. She has lots of powers that are revealed as needed. There's a threat has to be confronted, and an appearance by a mighty guest villain, and a fair amount of derring-do after we get through Wonder Woman's fish-out-of-water adjustment to our world. We still get the invisible airplane, (in a clever angle), and the lasso and the bracelets. So, this is a foundational, streamlined, and tidied up Wonder Woman that tries to leave the gaudy and campy aspects behind. To me, Wonder Woman was treated with respect. She has a sense of humor. She's a bit of a goody-goody innocent. She isn't all hanging out of her bustier and laughably bosomy. She's earnest in a "truth, justice and the Themyscirian way" fashion. The supporting characters are predictable and restrained. Barbara Minerva was a bit of a pill in the main story, but she gets her own origin tale at the end of this Volume that actually sets her up as an interesting and sympathetic character in her own right. The drawings were fine. Pencils and colors were crisp. Action was easy to follow. The characters were very expressive. Backgrounds didn't get a lot of attention, and non-major characters were interchangeable. The appeal here, to me, was mainly the story, not the art. So, I liked this Wonder Woman and was reasonably engaged by the tale. The underlying action story wasn't all that compelling, but in an origin Volume that's not really the point. I was happy to have come across this. (Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

As others have said, I’m not sure Wonder Woman needed yet another retelling of her origin, albeit with some new wrinkles. That being said, Greg Rucka delivers a solid script, filled with great character work, and Nicola Scott delivers some absolutely outstanding art. Some of the 2 page spreads are literally breathtaking. This is an origin for new fans, for fans checking out WW thanks to the movie, but I still found enough to enjoy as well. An excellent book.

The second volume of Greg Rucka's Rebirth run on Wonder Woman actually alternates every other issue with the first volume's worth of stories. While Volume One sets the stage for the ongoing mystery of Diana's confused origins in the present day, this volume retells her origins in an attempt to set a definitive take on Wonder Woman's past for the New 52/Rebirth era. Rucka draws mostly from the classic "Gods and Monsters" origin tale popularized by George Perez and steers the character clear of her "daughter of the Gods" story from the New 52 era (an origin story that is being cast into doubt by Diana herself in the first volume's contents). The one aspect this "Year One" arc doesn't set in stone is whether or not Diana is a child of clay given life by the gods or if she is actually a daughter of Zeus herself. That mystery is still being kept intentionally unanswered by Rucka for now. Instead, this story retells the tale of Diana meeting Steve Trevor and first coming to "Man's World." Another clear inspiration for Rucka's would-be definitive take is Grant Morrison's recent Earth One tale. Overall I liked Rucka's writing a lot better than Morrison's, but there are some clear similarities (such as admitting that the Amazons were often lesbians and that Diana had female lovers growing up on Paradise Island). We also get a bit of the original friendship between Wonder Woman and Barbara Minerva (the woman who would be cursed into becoming the Cheetah). Certainly when read in tandem with the first volume's take on the character you get a lot of the tragic nature of their ruined friendship. All in all "Year One" isn't a groundbreaking new origin story for Diana. Rucka borrows heavily from many of the other interpretations for Wonder Woman's story and combines them into a terrific take. While some might question the need to retell Diana's origins again (especially so soon after both Grant Morrison's Earth One book and Jill Thompson's "The True Amazon" retelling), I enjoy this book the most out of those three. With Rebirth attempting to confront the nature of the character's confused origins head on it makes sense that they would go back to the drawing board a bit to try and even out the wrinkles. Furthermore, the book offers a hopeful and fun spin on the character that is worlds away from the darkness of the New 52 take (where the Amazons were all cursed and Diana's mother was turned to clay) or even the Morrison book (where the Amazons were outright hostile to Man's World and put Diana on trial for leaving Themyscira). This is a book that celebrates these characters as the best of a lost culture and though they are sad to see Diana leave (potentially never to return) they take pride in her new role as an ambassador to the world of men who is out to confront the rule of Ares.

In der Rebirth Wonder Woman-Reihe hat sich DC entschlossen, zwei Arcs quasi parallel laufen zu lassen. Während die ersten Hefte mit den ungeraden Nummern, die im Vol. 1 gesammelt wurden, direkt die Amazonenprinzessin in Action zeigt, bieten die Hefte #2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 und 14, die im hier rezensierten Vol. 2 zusammengefasst sind, einmal mehr eine ausführliche Origin-Geschichte (wobei in #14 nicht Diana sondern Barbara Ann im Fokus steht) - und das liest sich tatsächlich ganz gut. Rucka nimmt sich viel Zeit, um das Leben auf Themyscira zu schildern, kümmert sich darum, Steve Trevor, Etta und Barbara Ann Minerva mit passigen Hintergründen einzuführen und erzählt über weite Teile eine wirklich gute Origin-Geschichte, ohne Wonder Woman neu zu erfinden. Dass dabei die Action auf der Strecke bleibt, ist allzu verständlich, hat mich aber weniger gestört, da die stimmige Erzählung den Leser gut unterhält, ohne ihn jedoch wirklich in den Bann zu ziehen. Greg Rucka nimmt sich Zeit für seine Figuren, gibt ihnen für einen Superhelden-Comic doch einiges an Tiefe und lässt die sich aufbauenden Beziehungen sehr organisch entstehen. Der Rollenwechsel von Diana von einer Prinzessin auf der isolierten Insel zur Fremden in einer technologisierten Welt, die Sprachbarriere und der Umgang mit ihren Superkräften schildert Rucka in einer Weise, die seine Figuren sehr authentisch wirken lässt. Warum gibt es dennoch von mir keine fünf Sterne für den Comic (ACHTUNG: Spoiler)? Das liegt tatsächlich an der mangelnden Action. Mich stört es nicht, wenn Superhelden-Comics wenig oder gar keine Kampfsequenzen haben, wenn diese vorhanden sind, dann möchte ich sie jedoch auch gut inszeniert wissen. Ares wird im letzten drittel des Comics als Gegner aufgebaut und kommt dann gegen Ende von Heft 12 tatsächlich mit ins Spiel, um auf genau eienr Doppelseite in einem kaum nachvollziehbaren Kampf von Diana besiegt zu werden. Das fühlt sich an, als ob man eine Feuerwerksbatterie anzündet und am Ende den Effekt einer Knallerbse bekommt. Das Art-Work von Nicola Scott gefällt mir weitaus besser, als die Zeichnungen im Vol. 1. Optisch bekommen wir eine bunte, lebendige Welt geboten in die sich die Figuren harmonisch einfügen. Allerdings übertreibt es Scott ein wenig mit den Close-Ups und so bekommt man zig Panels, in denen von Diana nur debil grinsende, teilweise leicht schielende Gesichtsausschnitte gezeigt werden. Interessanter Weise ist das Gesicht auch viel runder, wenn Diana freundlich guckt und wirkt eher kantig und länglich, wenn sie zwei Panels weiter ernst schaut. Aber insgesamt kann man da nicht dran meckern, auch wenn ich mir etwas sehnsüchtig mit Blick auf das Cover noch etwas mehr Retro-Style erhofft hatte. Wonder Woman Vol. 2: Year One ist ein Comic, den man nicht gefesselt an einem Stück runter lesen muss, aber gerne wieder in die Hand nimmt.

Na minha opinião a melhor origem da Mulher-Maravilha são as primeiras 9 edições do George Peréz, mas essa origem do Rucka não é ruim não, é excelente! E entrega da Amazon foi bem rápida, bem antes do prazo, fiquei muito feliz!

Excelente historia para cualquier fan de Wonder Woman o de DC en general. Es un muy buen punto de partida para conocer al personaje. La historia es lo suficientemente simple y, hasta cierto punto, cliché. Pero ese es parte de su encanto, el ser una especia de homenaje a los cómics de la época de Oro. La ilustración es bastante linda y detallada, se nota el trabajo de Scott (sobre todo en los últimos números). Una compra recomendada para empezar a leer a la Wonder Woman moderna, así como una probada de Rebirth.

What a beautifully written and even more beautifully illustrated book. Of the roughly five Wonder Woman origin stories released in the past two years, this one is a clear winner for me. The rest of Rucka's run is just as incredible and highly, highly recommended, especially for newcomers.