I’ve been thinking about this for a while now. Within the last month or so, DC has announced that writers on three major books are leaving said book. In one case, the writer left DC altogether. From a fan’s perspective, it might be easy to conclude that things will go downhill from here on out, or that now is a good time to either drop or pick up the book, depending on how you felt about the writer’s run on the book.
Personally, I wish these writers all the best of luck with their upcoming projects. And I have some great comic book memories of their time on their respective books.
Gail Simone: Wonder Woman
For the longest time, I just didn’t get Wonder Woman. I had nothing against her as a character; I simply just didn’t feel like I understood her. Gail Simone’s run changed all that for me. Gail’s Diana is the definitive version for me right now (and I’ve gone back and read some of the earlier stuff, too). Maybe I’m a little biased because she’s the first long-term writer of the character that I have experience reading, but oh well. Gail’s interpretation of Diana has me genuinely loving this character right now and really getting a strong idea of who she is as a person.
And who is Diana as a person? One of the things I love is that I feel Gail has given her a vulnerability that makes her more accessible. My idea of Wonder Woman in the past was always that she was this crazy Amazon princess woman who knew how to fight extremely well. But through all of the adventures Gail has taken Diana on througout her run on the series, I feel like the character is more fleshed out than she was even when the series was relaunched. Sure, Diana knows how to handle angry gods, but how does she handle a monster like Genocide? Or even the prospect of love, marriage, and possibly children?