Wonder Woman: Paradise Lost (Wonder Woman (DC Comics Paperback)) [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

This first volume contains three storyarcs. The first has the return of Ares' children to Earth - this time taking over the bodies of Poison Ivy, Scarecrow and Joker. The Wonder-Woman-Family and the Bat-Family team up to take them down.

The second story is a civil-war, politically-heavy story that finally ties-up all the long-standing issues from George Perez's previous run on the title. Phil Jimenez successfully balances the "super-heroic" Byrne version of Wonder Woman with the myth/politics-heavy Perez version in these stories. We finally see the resolution to the whole Themyscrican/Bana-Mighdall conflict. (There's also a short insert featuring a more streamlined origin of Donna Troy that served as a kind of Prologue to this arc.)

The third story is the best of the bunch. It features a day in the life of Diana, as chronicled by Lois Lane. Joe Kelly co-writes this tale and brings much-needed "humanity" to our beloved Amazon.

Despite the whole story being rather "continuity-heavy", I'd still recommend this book to a new reader. The beauty and obvious passion of the work is enough to suck anyone in.

Phil Jeminez's interpretation of Wonder Woman is the best I have read thus far. Ever since John Byrne completely destroyed her (making her into a sex object with nothing much to say), Wonder Woman has slowly been reconstructed into that DC icon that stands for innocence, truth, respect and honor. Jeminez's interpretation of her, along with the art of Andy Lanning, is still very sexy, but she is sexy not because she wears skimpy clothing and because she frequently sticks her breasts and rump in the readers' faces, but because she is very intelligent and witty and just downright beautiful. She has poise.

The first story collects the "Gods of Gotham" storyline. This is, without a doubt, the most intelligent and the most exciting Wonder Woman story I have ever read. Jeminez, already keen on Wonder Woman, proves that he can write Batman just as well. At the end of the story, there is excellent dialogue between the two heroes, and Batman shows a lighter (or shall I say, less dark) side of himself to Wonder Woman. It is very sweet. The pairing of the Huntress with Artemis was downright ingenious. Artemis and Huntress verbally spar on the faith and God issues, but everything ties back to something Wonder Woman said in the beginning: "Faith, in the end, [is] our greatest weapon."

The "Paradise Island ... Lost" storyline is very short, but still very exciting. It's really only exciting if the reader understands a lot of the Wonder Woman folklore, but the bios at the front of the trade help out somewhat.

The greatest moment in the trade is the last story featuring Lois Lane's interview with Diana. Lois, I suppose, resolves her issues with Diana and her former relationship with Superman. They come to a full appreciation of one another.

Jeminez has sculpted Diana (another "made from clay" pun) into a great role model for any boy or girl. She's honest, strong, compassionate and kind, but she, despite her godhood, is still a woman with very human feelings. And this makes her sexier than any previous T'n'A interpretation of her. This is a very intelligent read with wonderful art and colors. If one were to read any Wonder Woman trade, I would recommend this one. Bravo!

Despite guest appearances from Batman, Nightwing, Robin, Huntress, Donna Troy, Wonder Girl and Artemis, the "Gods Of Gotham" saga is much ado about nothing. Originally spread out thin over four WW issues, it re-introduces a trio of evil greek gods (Eris, Phobos and Deimos) from WW, placing them in the earthly bodies of three Batman foes (Poison Ivy, Scarecrow and Joker, respectively). The creative team behind this story had strict limitations imposed upon them, in regard to their use of Batman and his supporting cast, so the action never strays from a Gotham City church and has almost no impact upon Batman's continuity. (With the exception of a minor villain's death.) The interaction between heroes is of slight interest, but again, with so little appreciable characterization for Batman OR Wonder Woman it plods along to a predictable outcome.

The second part of this book is even worse; it portrays an Amazonian civil war which pushes a big body-count in a matter of two issues. It's also an excellent example of destroying tradition in favor of something contemporary, or palatable to impressionable minds. In this case, Jimenez & Co. decide that Paradise Island/Themyscira's matriarchy is outdated and un-PC, and go about abolishing it with typically bloody results. So after sixty years in her role as the Princess of the Amazons, Wonder Woman becomes simply the ambassador of Themyscira, and Paradise Island has chaotic democracy thrust upon it.

A 'Day In The Life' is presented in the context of an interview; Lois Lane follows WW around for a day which includes trans-oceanic travel, singing to dying African children, and a trip to a local pool hall. Oh, there's certainly MUCH more to Wonder Woman's day, be sure. Just don't count on getting much of a "feel" for Diana's personality...she's too busy to have one! This story's sole grace is the (apparent) understanding reached between Diana and Lois. Few of WW's personal relationships can boast that kind of surety, under Jimenez.

While the stories contained in this volume are NOT the worst examples of what Jimenez and his co-plotters have done during their tenure on WW, they still make for dismal reading. I wish that Mr Jimenez had stuck with drawing stories (which he is very good at) instead of writing them. Even with input from past WW scribe George Perez, "Paradise Lost" is a potent reminder that style usually triumphs over substance in comics. The great visuals here provide an excellent distraction from the book's severe tone. It doesn't matter that WW's supporting cast is given abundant exposure, or even that a handful of thematic loose ends are tied up: if the stop-start pacing doesn't put you off, the re-writing of Amazonian (and Comics) tradition should.

Bat-fans and WW initiates will probably like this book, or at least be unaware of how much it undercuts the WW mythos. Longtime fans are much more likely to object to WW's ineffectual presence and stilted dialogue. In the end, if you are simply looking for a single collection from this period, this book is a reasonable buy, with plenty of pages. But don't look for anything particularly "wondrous" in this uneven, depressing book.