Open Letter to DC Comics... It's About Wonder Woman

Dead DC Comics,

I'm writing a letter to you about one of your most important characters, Wonder Woman.

As you are fully aware Wonder Woman is the most recognizable female superhero in the world and one of the most important characters in your company. She stands shoulder to shoulder with Superman and Batman, two men who helped establish the genre of superheroes. But in spit of this it seems she doesn't get the respect that she deserves.

Now, it's not your fault what goes on in Hollywood which seems to be unaware of how to pull of bringing Princess Diana to the big screen. But what happens in the comics is partially your fault. I want to bring to your attention the recent One Year Later relaunch. Now, the announcement of Wonder Woman was delayed to to schedule conflicts with Allen Heinberg but you and him went forward which caused a serious problem-lateness. Now the series did pretty well grantedmost retailers were ordering unsure of how it would work sales wise. But I'm sure you've had your ears to the fans and the critics and the results were mixed. Plus the fact Heinberg hasn't been able to finish his arc derailing a lot of fans with the recent fill-in by Pfeifer and leaving questions unanswered going into Jodi Picoults run.

The problem I'm having is around the portrayal of Diana. You see, you can only suspend disbelief so much until there are certain nagging aspects. Like this-whens the last time you've seen a six foot Greek woman? Let alone one in glasses? now, going to Superman isn't a real defense of this idea since you're more likely to see 6'3" well built dark haired men around. They may not all have that strong jaw line and dashing good looks but its not uncommon to find someone who has the build of a Superman, let alone a Clark Kent. But Diana? Sorry. This would be slightly more acceptable if she wasn't working for the government. this simply makes all of them look incompetent.

Another problem I'm having besides the lateness and the story points that are becoming unbelievable is that it seems to me Heinberg and Picoults runs are trying to cash in on their popularity elsewhere. This may work, but really damages things in the long run. Neither will have memorable runs. It might be early to count on Picoult's run but I'm going to. Right now it seems there are only two people buying Wonder Woman. Those out of habit, and those looking to see what these creators will accomplish. Have you really seen hardcore Wonder Woman fans praising the current events? If you do-point me to them so I can know what they see that I don't.

What you need, in my honest opinion, are creators who can spend time returning the character back to the bad ass woman she is while providing stories that will mean something down the line for the character and not just for another crossover to push sales because sooner or later that's going to bite you.

As a Wonder Woman fan I do like the recent artists but I feel there are people who can bring so much to the character. Number one would be Greg Rucka who excelled in convincing non-Wonder Woman fans, like I once was, that the character is not only interesting but very cool. Rucka understood her warrior nature, her kind spirit, and her desire to help people and change the world for the better. Next would be Grant Morrison. The man made Animal Man a cult character, produced the only Doom Patrol to get the thumbs up from one of the titles originators, he resurrected your JLA franchise, made X-Men worth talking about again, and has won too many awards and written too many much-discussed titles and possibly classics to mention here. Grant Morrison excels at big ideas and grand characters and would work wonders on the Amazon. Next is Gail Simone. This is seriously a "duh!" moment here. Not because she's a female writer but because her characterizations of Wonder Woman the few times she's written her has been spot on. Go back and read her JLA: Classified arc. Darwyn Cooke would be another good choice for a writer. His Wonder Woman in New Frontier was strong, powerful, outspoken, and sexy.

There are other qualified writers I'm sure but i believe those four cold turn heads and produce the Wonder Woman title that will restore confidence in her being part of the Trinity let alone the top female superhero in comics as it was meant to be. Wonder Woman once had two titles and outsold Superman and Batman-now she barely gets the respect she deserves. Time to start worrying less about using characters as puzzle pieces for the next big event and start making the titles worth purchasing.

Sincerely,
C. Towns-