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Episode 82 – Worth The Price
September 8, 2010 – 10:09 am | View Comments

The Backroom Comics crew discusses the new Darkwing Duck comic series, consider the cost of hardcover books, and reflect on Y: The Last Man.
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Obligatory Wonder Woman Post

Submitted by Ahe Butterfield on July 25, 2010 – 9:50 pmView Comments

First, let it be known that I love Wonder Woman.  You want to tangle with me on obscure Wonder Woman trivia?  You will lose.  I love her ridiculously and never stopped, not for one second.  Not even during Amazons Attack.  Okay, a little bit during Amazons Attack, but really, do you blame me?  That said, seriously, internet:  untwist your nuts about the new costume and the retconned origin story.  It’s just a gimmick for one story arc.  Don’t worry, okay?  In like 2 years or so, DC is just going to pretend none of this ever happened.

I’m not saying that I like the new costume or anything. Frankly, it’s boring and kind of makes her look like a 3rd string Teen Titan.  Or one of those Saturday Night Live Lady Bowlers.  I actually like the bracers, especially after reading J Michael Straczynski’s idea that the raised Ws would leave a welt if she hit you with them, effectively signing her name on the asskicking.   That is awesome and totally in keeping with Wonder Woman’s warrior spirit.

The only thing that really chafes my nuts (other than the Animal Man jacket) is that they made a big deal out of re-designing this costume so that it’s more believable for combat.  And yet they replaced her flat boots with some sexy black heels.  Are you kidding me?  You think a woman is going to wear a pair of high heels to a fight?  I don’t even wear high heels to work!  Not to mention that a real fighter would not do anything to mess up her stance and would want to maximize the amount of foot contact with the ground.

Fact:  Jim Lee is a super talented artist.  Seriously, he is wonderful and the source of so many of my good comic art memories.  But he’s not, like, a designer.  Need I remind you of dog-collar Kyle Rayner? That Huntress bikini with shoulder pads? Or Superman’s short sleeves and gloves?  Put a skirt on him and he’s Bruce Timm’s Supergirl!  Jim Lee’s costume designs maybe worked for mutants in the 90s.  Maybe.  Please, I beg you, sir,  stick to your strengths:  drawing Bruce Wayne’s crazy eyebrows and rear-views of Nightwing.

Of course, I’m so glad that what matters to the interwebs is that the new costume is ugly.  Not that DC decided to have a couple of dudes re-envision their flagship heroine.

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  • Mike Gillis

    I wouldn't object to the new Wonder Woman costume….if it wasn't Wonder Woman. If there's one thing that makes the DC Hero pantheon stick out, it's their iconography. Every one of them has an immediately recognizable logo and color scheme.

    Everybody recognizes Superman and his “S-shield”, or the Bat symbol, or the GLC logo, or Flash's lightning bolt… or Wonder Woman's Ws, eagles and stars.

    The new costume downplays this, shrinking her “W”, and losing nearly all of the iconic elements that made her unique. I mean, does Diana really need to wear a leather jacket again? Even when she lost the WW role in the 90s to Artemis (back when all of the DC icons were dying or being replaced or going crazy), her leather jacket costume still LOOKED like Wonder Woman, sort of.

    It seems like we've thrown out the things that make her immediately recognizable and made her look like a Matrix character.

    (Not that I mind the Matrix or a title trying new things, but Gail Simone's run was excellent and a great deal of my issues with JMS' stuff is of a “if it ain't broke” nature. She understood and clearly loved the character and was bringing Diana back to her mythic roots, so I'm pissed to have a series I really liked taken away and replaced with one I'm apathetic about. Guh.)

    I think any Wonder Woman costume should keep two things in mind in order to work:

    ICONOGRAPHY: Diana is a DCU big name. Like all of the others in this category (Superman, Flash, Batman, GL), she needs to play up the symbolism of her costume, without being afraid of bright colors or big symbols. People need to see her and immediately know that they're looking at Wonder Woman.

    MYTHOLOGY: Gail Simone capitalized on the element of Wonder Woman that makes her unique in the DCU. She's the mythological hero. Marvel has Thor and Hercules, but for some reason DC has never capitalized on its mythological pantheons. This should be Wonder Woman's bread and butter. Her archenemies include Circe and Ares for Zeus' sake! No one else can seemlessly move between traditional superheroics and leaping onto a flying dragon and doing battles with a minotaur. Gail got this, which is why she had Diana fighting Aztec gods and teaming up with Beowulf. Her costume needs to reflect this. She's an Amazon warrior. THE Amazon warrior. So she shouldn't be wearing heels and her costume should draw from the sort of getup that Greek heroes wore. Sandals. Leather armored skirts rather than bathing suit briefs, Armored breastplates.

    Her costume in DC: NEW FRONTIER is a great example of the marrying of these two prereqs.

  • ahe

    I had a great comment to Mike's comment below and just deleted most of it. I give up.

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