Gene Ha

Kelly Sue DeConnick’s Wonder Woman: Historia – The Amazons features artwork by Phil Jimenez, Gene Ha, and Nicola Scott; colors by Arif Prianto, Romulo Fajardo Jr., Wesley Wong, and Annette Kwok; and letters by Clayton Cowles. The story begins with the goddesses Hera, Hestia, Artemis, Demeter, Hecate, Aphrodite, and Athena protesting mankind’s treatment of women to Zeus. Zeus refuses to heed their concerns, so the goddesses – save Hera – take action to create the first Amazons. Meanwhile, in the world of men, Hippolyta seeks atonement and finds the Amazons. Blessed by Artemis, she becomes the Queen of the Amazons’ seventh tribe, comprised of the women they save. When an Amazon strikes during daylight, without the cover of night, they find themselves incurring Apollo and Zeus’ wrath.

DeConnick’s story is a wonderful retelling of the Amazons’ origin, but the art from Jimenez, Ha, and Scott are the great standouts of this volume. Everything from character designs to page layouts shows great care to compliment the text and craft a story that is only possible in the comics medium. Hecate, the goddess of three faces, appears as a chaotic form of three bodies bound together and constantly shifting. Athena, goddess of wisdom, bears the fine edges and cold marble of calculated creation. Jimenez, Ha, and Scott each contribute an afterword about part of their process while DeConnick outlines the initial pitch for Historia. This book will appeal to Wonder Woman fans as well as those who love retellings of the Greek myths.… (altro)

This is branded as a Wonder Woman comic, but Wonder Woman does not appear here. It goes back to the origins of the Amazons, exploring how the tribe of warrior women that ultimately gave birth to Wonder Woman came into existence. Skimming a timeline of DC history, I can see this ties together and dramatizes some preexisting material, but it totally stands on its own, and doesn't feel like a continuity patch or origin story. Indeed, the greatest thing you can say about it (and I speak this as someone who reads a lot of tie-in and franchise fiction) is that it transcends its origins as a tie-in comic. I would feel comfortable handing this to someone who doesn't enjoy superhero comics but does like graphic novels and wants to read a bold, dynamic take on Greek mythology, because that's what this is. It's not a rewriting of George Pérez (or whomever), it's a new myth designed to take its place among old ones.

The story starts with the Greek goddesses, who reach their breaking point with the ways men treat women, but find the gods unwilling to do anything about it, and so take things into their own hands. It then follows the doings of the gods, especially Hera, who refuses to overtly move against her husband's will, in parallel with the rise of the Amazon tribes, and a would-be human midwife who ends up encountering the Amazons as they travel across the world slaughtering men who hurt women, and then into a war where the gods attempt to eliminate the Amazons. It's an epic story, but the presence of Hippolyta, the midwife, keeps it grounded; I enjoyed her trajectory very much.

More importantly, though, writer Kelly Sue DeConnick has three top-notch artistic collaborators here. Phil Jimenez's work I honestly don't know that well (aside from event comics like Infinite Crisis and Dark Cybertron, which rarely showcase an artist at their best), but he had a well-regarded run as a writer and artist on Wonder Woman; here, he turns in some brilliant and beautiful two-page spreads, one of jars(!), but in particular, a few depicting Hippolyta's desperate pursuit of a lost infant. Gorgeous, heartbreaking stuff. Gene Ha I've liked since his Top Ten days, but this is probably career best work for him, his attention to character really capturing the struggle and emotions of Hippolyta as she seeks to become an Amazon. And Nicola Scott I've thought a solid artist since her debut on Birds of Prey; here, she knocks it out of the park with the war between the Amazons and the gods. For all three artists, the art is beautifully colored, and the deluxe hardcover collection really shows it off to its utmost; I don't always buy Hugo finalists outside of the category of Best Novel, but I am so glad I'm not reading this comic on my Kindle Fire.

If I had a complaint, it would be that I found the parameters of Hippolyta's key choice in the last issue kind of confusing and rushed, but I'm sure on a reread (this is a tough book to read, but not in a bad way; sometimes it's just nice to read a comic that makes you work a little harder than normal) it would hold up fine. The backmatter tease two more sets of three chapters, but even if we don't get a trilogy of trilogies for Wonder Woman Historia, this will hold up as a tremendous work about what men do to women, and what women do to get away from it.… (altro)

Wowsers!

Even as she stands among queens and goddesses, Hippolyta is THE QUEEN.

Kelly Thompson teams up with three superstar artists to give a beautiful and enthralling new perspective on the history of the Amazons.

For a long-time Wonder Woman fanboy like me, this is pure catnip: a tribute to all that has come before that also shows why these characters will persist for ages to come.

FOR REFERENCE:

Trivia: Gene Ha has one two-page spread in Book Two that pays tribute to women throughout history. He lays out the names and inspirations behind all the cameos here:
https://www.tumblr.com/thegeneha/681432602771636224/more-wonderwoman-historia-vo...

Contents: Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons, Book One / Kelly Sue DeConnick, writer; Phil Jimenez, illustrator -- Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons, Book Two / Kelly Sue DeConnick, writer; Gene Ha, illustrator -- Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons, Book Three / Kelly Sue DeConnick, writer; Nicola Scott, illustrator -- Guide to the Amazon Tribes, with Design Notes / Phil Jimenez -- Hidden Figures / Gene Ha -- Behind the Panels / Nicola Scott -- Variant Covers / Olivier Coipel, Becky Cloonan, and Yanick Paquette, illustrators -- Wonder Woman Historia: The Pitch / Kelly Thompson -- Wonder Woman Historia: The Awards / Phil Jimenez -- About the Creators

(Best of 2023 Project: I'm reading all the graphic novels that made it onto one or more of these lists:
• Washington Post 10 Best Graphic Novels of 2023
• Publishers Weekly 2023 Graphic Novel Critics Poll
• NPR's Books We Love 2023: Favorite Comics and Graphic Novels

This book made the NPR list.)… (altro)