Comic Book Review: Wonder Woman: Earth One

Details: Released in 2016. Listed price is $22.99. Art by Yanick Paquette. Written by Grant Morrison. Official site is https://www.dccomics.com/graphic-novels/wonder-woman-earth-one-2016/wonder-woman-earth-one-vol-1

Like Marvel’s Ultimate comics line, DC’s Earth One line of books seeks to re-imagine popular superheroes and retell their stories. Unlike Marvel’s Ultimate line, Earth One only seeks to change them, not change them into more realistic or grittier versions of themselves. Wonder Woman: Earth One is a good example of that change. In this book, Morrison retells Wonder Woman’s origin story in a way that glorifies a few of the more progressive elements of the character while also shining a spotlight on the more perverse and embarrassing aspects of the character’s almost seventy year history.

Comic Book Review: We3

Details: Purchased the trade paperback which collected all three issues. Listed price is $12.99. Released in 2005. Official site is http://www.vertigocomics.com/graphic-novels/we3

I originally read this book a few years ago and forgot about it. More recently, as I was looking for a gift for an artist friend of mine who loves animals, I decided to pick this book up for her and to also give it a quick read through again. Thus, this review.

This is a really great book. It won a bunch of accolades that first year it came out. It won the Eisner Awards for best art and letterer. It is a New York Times best seller, which isn’t very common for comic books. Most importantly, it was written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Frank Quitely, two of the most well-known and respected creators in comic books who have a whole collection of top-selling books under their belts.

The premise is this: A dog, a cat, and a rabbit are cybernetically enhanced by the U.S. military into killing machines. When they are ordered to be terminated, the three escape and try to make their way “home.”

It’s like the movie Homeward Bound, but a little more science fiction-y and R rated. I think a large reason why it sold so well and was so well received was that at its core, it’s a story about animals. I think I wouldn’t be alone to say that while it isn’t primarily an animal rights story, the story does a great job getting the reader to feel for these animals.

The art is amazing. Frank Quitely almost always amazes and some of the panels and fold out art in this book are stunning. Off the top of my head, I cannot think of another book that has art this good. Some of the violence is pretty graphic though, so keep that in mind if you intend on letting younger reader read this book.

In conclusion, this is a great book that anyone who likes comic books should give a read. I purchased the trade paperback which collects all three issues into one book. I think this is only way that this book should be purchased. The trade paperback came with some sketches and comments from the author, which I generally enjoy.

Score: 8/10