New WW Creative Team: Tom King and Daniel Sampere

[Agent Z]

I think he kinda has a point, tbh. Some truly fantastic talent has worked on WW, but (unfortunately) with the exception of Perez's run, few (if any) WW stories really hold the same weight as Dark Knight Returns, For the Man Who Has Everything, Kraven's Last Hunt, Dark Phoenix Saga, etc.

Most comic stories don't. It's not a real indicator of their quality, especially since primary reasons those stories are remembered is because of how often they are adapted or referenced within continuity, a luxury Wonder Woman has rarely gotten.

[Avi]

It's nice that he's looking at his daughter for inspiration but only mentioning the lasso also just feels like PR talk. Wondy fans are known for wanting the lasso. Of course he says that's going to be the front and center weapon.

[Primal Slayer]

It's nice that he's looking at his daughter for inspiration but only mentioning the lasso also just feels like PR talk. Wondy fans are known for wanting the lasso. Of course he says that's going to be the front and center weapon.

So now its PR talk? We really try to find anyway to not enjoy WW. We're tired of the sword/shield....creative team has 3 covers that doesn't use them and the writer talks Lasso so it must be fake.

[billee0918]

You can’t wait for King’s run to start. He’s a great writer so I know she’s in good hands.

[Gaius]

I don't think it is. He did write that one Mod Era story where Diana calls Clark a cop. I'm confident this is what King thinks about Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman.

That doesn't have anything to do with what I wrote?

They're probably most saying "books will impact one another" so it entices a customer to potentially buy those other books.

[HotBoy]

We really try to find anyway to not enjoy WW.

I wonder what Wonder Woman readers are like in a broader sense, offline, in the real world. I wonder if the majority of WW readers offline are as particular about how they want Wonder Woman portrayed as those who post in online spaces. Does every Wonder Woman reader prefer the specific version they first read/fell in love with--so much so, that any alteration is met with complaint and vitriol? Or do most Wonder Woman readers go with the flow?

Which brings me to another question: Are Batman and Superman fans like this as well? Do they argue amongst themselves and complain about deviations that they feel move away from or against what they see as their fave's core? Is there another character's fandom comparable to Wonder Woman fans in terms of difficulty to please and industry reputation?

This subject is infinitely fascinating to me.

But back to Tom King: I was glad to hear him admit that in previous attempts to write Wonder Woman, he got it wrong. I'm sure he was referring to his Batman/Wonder Woman story that pretty much emulated a story from Joe Kelly about Superman and Wonder Woman from decades earlier--where Diana functioned as the rejected temptress used to establish Clark and Bruce's virtue.

[Primal Slayer]

Yeah those 2 stories....cringe worthy. Great art but cringe.

[Avi]

So now its PR talk? We really try to find anyway to not enjoy WW. We're tired of the sword/shield....creative team has 3 covers that doesn't use them and the writer talks Lasso so it must be fake.

I'm not critizising the use of the lasso, I'm critizising that of all the stuff his daughter likes that he allegedly wrote down, all he could mention was the lasso. The one thing every Wonder Woman fan wants. It's like saying "my kid likes the manor cave, so now I'm putting Batman back into the manor".

[Gaius]

All I'm saying I look forward to the story where Batman and Superman get stuck in a dimension where time moves differently and both have to stop themselves from giving in to temptation and stay loyal to Selena/Lois.

Y'know, so we can complete this trilogy.

[Frontier]

At the very least I appreciate that King wants to depict Diana as powerful, capable, and inspiration which is in-line with how he wrote Supergirl and less some of the characters in his other books. Or anyone in HiC.

[HestiasHearth]

Does every Wonder Woman reader prefer the specific version they first read/fell in love with--so much so, that any alteration is met with complaint and vitriol? Or do most Wonder Woman readers go with the flow?

I can only speak for myself, obviously, and here goes: I did indeed fall in love with Diana through the specific version[s] that I first read/watched (three sources of WW content that at some point were somewhat concurrent) the Silver Age WW comic books, the Super Friends animated show, and last but not least, Lynda Carter's glorious TV WW. None of those WW iterations could fly by her own power or had any kind of incredibly impressive feats of strength or whatnot...and yet, I am most certainly a firm defender of Diana flying and being as powerful (and respected in and off comics) as Superman.

In my head canon she is as strong and resilient as Gaea (the Earth herself), as agile as Artemis (the goddess, not the amazon), as fast as Nikē (the goddess of speed and victory, which also gave Diana the ability to fly), as smart as Athena, and as loving as Aphrodite. And she has additional abilities/equipment granted to her by some of her other divine aunties, like Amphitrite and Hestia.

So now its PR talk? We really try to find anyway to not enjoy WW. We're tired of the sword/shield....creative team has 3 covers that doesn't use them and the writer talks Lasso so it must be fake.

You have no idea how happy I am that King expressed this about the lasso. I am super psyched because I bet he will find cool new & creative ways to use Diana's iconic accoutrement when fighting villains or adventuring around. So psyched!!!! And I say this as a reader who doesn't hate her using the sword, but HATES that DC has marketed her in such a way that most readers seem to automatically see Wonder Woman as a sword-wielding adventuress (like Red Sonja or Valkyrie are).

I don't mind sporadic uses of a sword if it was a very specific instance in which said blade could do something that Diana by herself could not (like say, she is one of the only few beings in the universe who can wield some ancient cosmic sword that was prophesied as the only instrument that could break some curse or kill some murderous mythological beast that also happened to be unkillable or some sh*t like that).

[OBrianTallent]

I can only speak for myself, obviously, and here goes: I did indeed fall in love with Diana through the specific version[s] that I first read/watched (three sources of WW content that at some point were somewhat concurrent) the Silver Age WW comic books, the Super Friends animated show, and last but not least, Lynda Carter's glorious TV WW. None of those WW iterations could fly by her own power or had any kind of incredibly impressive feats of strength or whatnot...and yet, I am most certainly a firm defender of Diana flying and being as powerful (and respected in and off comics) as Superman.

In my head canon she is as strong and resilient as Gaea (the Earth herself), as agile as Artemis (the goddess, not the amazon), as fast as Nikē (the goddess of speed and victory, which also gave Diana the ability to fly), as smart as Athena, and as loving as Aphrodite. And she has additional abilities/equipment granted to her by some of her other divine aunties, like Amphitrite and Hestia.



You have no idea how happy I am that King expressed this about the lasso. I am super psyched because I bet he will find cool new & creative ways to use Diana's iconic accoutrement when fighting villains or adventuring around. So psyched!!!! And I say this as a reader who doesn't hate her using the sword, but HATES that DC has marketed her in such a way that most readers seem to automatically see Wonder Woman as a sword-wielding adventuress (like Red Sonja or Valkyrie are).

I don't mind sporadic uses of a sword if it was a very specific instance in which said blade could do something that Diana by herself could not (like say, she is one of the only few beings in the universe who can wield some ancient cosmic sword that was prophesied as the only instrument that could break some curse or kill some murderous mythological beast that also happened to be unkillable or some sh*t like that).

I find myself in the much in the same boat as you. My first introductions to Wonder Woman were her early 70's Super Friends appearances which in turn led my mom to teaching me to read through the comics. Then came Lynda Carter who set my world on fire. So my first introductions to Wonder Woman were one who was only sort of strong, could command people to tell the truth with her lasso and had to use her invisible jet. However, George Perez's updates were the best thing to happen to her power-wise. She deserves to be every bit as strong as Superman, to fly, to be impervious to harm. I loved that Gail Simone made the lasso almost a living entity in it's own right, giving it more power to virtually see into your soul.
There are power options that I think would be interesting to bring in (like keeping her powerful, but more powerful the closer to the Earth (Gaia) she is. I dont like Diana (or Donna for that matter) being shown constantly with a sword and shield. She has her bracelets, why would she need a shield? Diana's pursuit of peace should also preclude her from wielding a sword unless absolutely necessary.
I want Diana to be strong and powerful. She doesn't have to be 6'2" she can be 5'10" (I think Marston's original idea was that she was petite and maybe 5 feet tall (but also only as strong as ten men.)

I dont have as much faith in King as you do, I have found his work far more off than on for my tastes, but I do appreciate some of the things he has said and will be hopeful. I am super stoked with Sampere on art and hope he can stick around for a long time. King hired to write Wonder Woman, even if they had to coerce him into it is a good sign from DC. For better or worse, he is seen as a top talent, maybe even more so than Rucka. I would have guessed that Sampere's next book would have been a Justice League book following up Dark Crisis, he is also a big name. I can only hope that King does well by our Diana
Some things I hope can be settled are her origin...I would at least like for it to be settled as the clay origin, which can be done with a simple line or at most a panel. There's no need to build a story around it. I would like her timeline settled as well. Was she around during the second World War or did she appear in more modern times? If she did 'inspire' the members of the JSA, then why did she leave? Again, those are things that can be settled with a panel or a page even...at most an annual. Same with Donna Troy (a must) and Cassie. As much as I dont really care for the character, it's great we have Yara Flor, but she shouldn't be used at the complete exclusion of the other two.

[Vordan]

I wonder what Wonder Woman readers are like in a broader sense, offline, in the real world. I wonder if the majority of WW readers offline are as particular about how they want Wonder Woman portrayed as those who post in online spaces. Does every Wonder Woman reader prefer the specific version they first read/fell in love with--so much so, that any alteration is met with complaint and vitriol? Or do most Wonder Woman readers go with the flow?

Which brings me to another question: Are Batman and Superman fans like this as well? Do they argue amongst themselves and complain about deviations that they feel move away from or against what they see as their fave's core? Is there another character's fandom comparable to Wonder Woman fans in terms of difficulty to please and industry reputation?

Oh yes, have you forgotten the controversy around Superman and Batman killing in the DCEU? And even aside from that there’s plenty of debate about what those two characters should be, like if Batman works better with a Family or alone, or if Superman’s “real” identity is Clark or Superman. And Spider-Man has the whole thing regarding should he be allowed to get married or if Peter aging causes him to lose what made him endearing in the first place.

[Hypo]

Oh yes, have you forgotten the controversy around Superman and Batman killing in the DCEU? And even aside from that there’s plenty of debate about what those two characters should be, like if Batman works better with a Fanilu or alone, or if Superman’s “real” identity is Clark or Superman. And Spider-Man has the whole thing regarding should he be allowed to get married or if Peter aging causes him to lose what made him endearing in the first place.

Plus there's all of that *waves in general direction of the X-Books subforum*.

[Devaishwarya]

As a fan of Wonder Woman first from the TV show and then the Perez comics and throughout the years...I'm definitely a "go with the flow" fan. As I am with all my faves.
Whether or not I jump in or out of a run depends on whether or not the writer, artist) and story premise are engaging. That's it. I don't have any specific "must haves" or steadfastly beholden to decades of continuity when it comes to my faves simply because era to era, different writers have different intentions some of which will be good some of which will be bad (even the greats weren't great every single time.) I can read and enjoy a WW story even if it depicts a story far removed from what I know (I loved Azzarello and Chiang's WW) once it holds my attention. Also...I don't compare writers' runs.

I will not read WW comic (or any comic book for that matter) by a writer I absolutely do not like.

Unfortunately Tom King's recent works has shown me that I'm really not a fan of his writing (I really did like his early Batman work but it degenerated quickly). Maybe he's a better writer now having learnt from past errors, good for him (and for those who do appreciate his work), I'm still not taking that chance.