("The Witch on the Island" is Wonder Woman #17-19 by George Perez and Circe's first appearance Post-Crisis.)
Shadowcat's pick for this story in the "Favorite Story From Your Favorite Writers" thread had me eager to re-read this story. I've re-read the first 16ish issues quite a bit, but for some reason I always stop at this story. I really have no idea why, since it's
quite good.
A few points of interest for me:
CIRCE & THE BESTIAMORPHS
For the most part, I really love how Circe is portrayed here. She's like a Disney villain, very deliciously evil. I just wish there was a bit more nuance in her characterization back in these Perez days. Also, she bangs her servants, of which there are several. Mikos, Theophilus, Angelina... to be honest, I can't remember if any of them beyond Mikos appears in future stories. I think I remember Theophilus being in War of the Gods? I just need to re-read the rest of Perez's run since it's been a while. But I really think future stories need to introduce a stable cast of minions for Circe. Her bestiamorphs are rad, but are usually no-name fodder. Also, Circe sorta implied that Theophilus and Dimetrios were lovers which is kind of interesting. But like my first readthrough, I really don't like that anticlimax of an ending. If I was reading this monthly, I would've been really pissed off at Circe just vanishing.
WONDER WOMAN AND MEAT
Julia's mother asks Diana if she eats meat, and she says she does. But I thought she was a vegetarian? Does anyone know what's up with this? I never really thought about it but this comment got me curious. If she can understand animals... how can she eat them? She also tells Julia's father that she likes fishing. Julia's father... poor guy... I hope Diana did go fishing with him at some point. He just made me so sad any time he was on the page.
CASSANDRA
What is up with the name Cassandra? The name is completely overused in the Wonder Woman series. Here, Circe's alias is Cassandra Colchis. There's also Cassandra Sandsmark (duh), Cassandra Arnold (the news reporter lover of White Magician who got turned into a demon), and the New 52 Cassandra (the First Born's accomplice). Oh yeah, there's also Cassandra Cain. DC needs to pull the brakes on that name.
KATINA & CO.
There are so many characters in this three-issue story, but Katina was....
so cool. I don't know what it was - I didn't think pretty much anything of her the first time I read the story. But now, she's a boss. I liked seeing a faction of people who know something's up with the island, and Katina and her team were pretty capable even if a lot of them died. Poor Spiros.
JULIA
I have to say... seeing Julia's family and getting her backstory was just so lovely. I really miss these small character moments that Diana has with her supporting cast. It's sorely missing from modern stories. I mean, this whole page just gives me all the feels:
What does everyone else think of this story? Do you think it would make for a good introduction to Circe in the DCEU? Or maybe a direct-to-DVD animated film?