With the Wonder Woman movie’s rave reviews, there’s sure to be an increase in people wanting to check out her comic book origins. But after 75 years of adventures, figuring out which ones to read or select for your library can be challenging. Thankfully, Matthew Morrison has selected their personal top picks for Wonder Woman comics.
Wonder Woman: Rebirth
Vol. 1 – The Lies: 9781401267780
Vol. 2 – Year One: 9781401268800
Vol. 3 – The Truth: 9781401271411 (August, 2017)
Vol. 4 – Godwatch: 9781401274603 (November, 2017)
If you don’t get any other Wonder Woman comics from this list, this is the series to pick up. The DC Rebirth Wonder Woman book is actually telling two stories. The odd-numbered issues of the monthly comic have detailed Diana’s adventures in the present as she struggles to uncover the truth of her origins in the wake of discovering that everything she knew (i.e. The New 52 reality) was a lie. The even-numbered issues have retold Diana’s origin story in the new reality of Rebirth. Written by beloved author Greg Rucka with art by Liam Sharp and Nicola Scott, these books truly are wonders.
Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman
Vol. 1: 9781401253448
Vol. 2: 9781401258627
Vol. 3: 9781401261573
Collecting all of the volumes of DC Comics’ sadly short-lived digital-first Wonder Woman anthology series, these volumes are a real treat. Opening up with a story by Gail Simone (with art by fan-favorite Green Lantern artist Ethan Van Sciver) where Wonder Woman steps in to help clean up Gotham City on a dark night when Batman is busy, this anthology features great Wonder Woman stories from a variety of writers and artists.
Wonder Woman by George Perez
Vol. 1 : 9781401263751
Vol. 2 : 9781401269067 (June, 2017)
Not to be confused with the Wonder Woman by George Perez Omnibus editions (which collect the same stories, in much more expensive hardcover editions) these paperback volumes collect the first stories featuring Wonder Woman as we know her today. These two volumes are a must-have for any collection!
Originally assisted by writer Len Wein, artist George Perez took over writing and art duties on the Wonder Woman title in 1987, revamping her in the wake of Crisis On Infinite Earths. Gone were the invisible jet and the loss of her powers when bound by a man. This Wonder Woman flew under her own power and was every bit a match for Superman in the strength department.
Wonder Woman: War Of The Gods
ISBN: 9781401261078
Another classic tale by George Perez, this one depicts a battle between the Greek and Roman gods with Diana—and all the other heroes with ties to classical mythology—being caught in the middle.
Wonder Woman: The True Amazon
ISBN: 9781401249014
Written and illustrated by Jill Thompson (creator of Scary Godmother and co-creator of Beasts of Burden), this book, while not canon, remains a great alternate universe story about a young Princess Diana learning a harsh lesson. A must read for any fan.
Wonder Woman ‘77
Vol. 1: 9781401263287
Vol. 2: 9781401267889
Batman ’66 Meets Wonder Woman ’77
ISBN: 9781401273859 (October, 2017)
For those who can’t think of Wonder Woman without thinking of Lynda Carter, this is the Wonder Woman comic for you! Set in the same reality as the classic TV show, this book maintains the same sense of family-friendly fun. Look out for a collection of the crossover mini-series with the Adam West Batman ’66 comic later this year!
Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka
Vol. 1: 9781401263324
Vol. 2: 9781401271176 (July, 2017)
Collecting the first run by acclaimed author Greg Rucka (who is writing the current Wonder Woman series as part of DC Comics Rebirth line), this series is another must-have. Rucka is rightly regarded as a master when it comes to writing strong female characters and his efforts to work more mythology into Diana’s adventures were second to none. [Editor’s note: These were originally collected in a slightly different format in the early to mid 2000s, so you might already have them in your collection.]
The Legend of Wonder Woman
HC: 9781401267285
TP: 9781401274252 (November, 2017)
Collecting Renae De Liz’s excellent mini-series, this retro take on Wonder Woman’s origins set during World War II may prove an interesting contrast to the film, which is set during WWI.
Wonder Woman by Gail Simone
Wonder Woman: The Circle
HC: 9781401219321
TP: 9781401220112
Wonder Woman: Ends Of The Earth
HC: 9781401221362
TP: 9781401221379
Wonder Woman: Rise Of The Olympian
HC: 9781401225407
TP: 9781401225131
Wonder Woman: Warkiller
TP: 9781401227791
Wonder Woman: Contagion
TP: 9781401229207
Sadly out of print but well worth tracking down, Gail Simone was the longest-running female writer to handle the monthly Wonder Woman book as well as one of the most critically acclaimed authors to ever handle The Amazing Amazon. Simone’s run explored both the implications of the Amazon culture and the glory of the DC Comics Universe. A prime example of this is Diana winning the service of a small army of talking gorillas as a result of an honor duel. Silly at times, but absolutely wonderful.
Wonder Woman: Her Greatest Battles
ISBN: 9781401268978
Included only for the sake of completeness, this anthology volume collects a sampling of stories from many of the other collections described in this article. Good if your budget prevents you from acquiring everything on this list. Otherwise, skip it.
Wonder Woman: The New 52
Wonder Woman: Vol. 1 – Blood
HC: 9781401235635
TP: 9781401235628
Wonder Woman: Vol. 2 – Guts
HC: 9781401238094
TP: 9781401238100
Wonder Woman: Vol. 3 – Iron
HC: 9781401242619
TP: 9781401246075
Wonder Woman: Vol. 4 – War
HC: 9781401246082
TP: 9781401249540
Wonder Woman: Vol. 5 – Flesh
HC: 9781401250973
TP: 9781401253493
Wonder Woman: Vol. 6 – Bones
HC: 9781401253509
TP: 9781401257750
Wonder Woman: Vol. 7 – War Torn
HC: 9781401256791
TP: 9781401261634
Wonder Woman: Vol. 8 – A Twist Of Faith
HC: 9781401261641
TP: 9781401265830
Wonder Woman: Vol. 9 – Resurrection
HC: 9781401265847
TP: 9781401268053
Librarians may be tempted to pick up this series because it is critically acclaimed and easily accessible. Don’t. While some people who don’t normally read Wonder Woman found this series to be a breath of fresh air, long-time fans were rightly horrified by The New 52 Wonder Woman series. [You can check out our review of the first volume – ed.]
Why? Well, ignoring the new conceit that Diana’s powers come from her being a bastard daughter of Zeus and that her skill as a warrior came from her receiving private lessons from Ares, there’s the fact that the Amazon society of the New 52 universe consists of a bunch of barbarian serial rapists who sell their sons into slavery.
While this may be more accurate to the depiction of Amazons in Greek mythology, it flies in the face of everything the Amazon culture, as envisioned by Wonder Woman creator William Moulton Marston, is meant to stand for, to say nothing of skirting the upper edges of a “T for Teen” rating. The later volumes written by Meredith Finch [Here’s our review of her first volume – ed.] are not any better, with many Wonder Woman fans considering the idea of Wonder Woman taking Ares’ place as God of War as antithetical to the character’s base concept.
Wonder Woman: Earth One, vol. 1
HC: 9781401229788
TP: 9781401268633
This book is…complicated, to put it politely and mildly. While it’s a fantastic intellectual exercise for comic geeks, it falls flat as a story that can be enjoyed by any but the most devout of comic history buffs.
Writer Grant Morrison claims to have researched classic feminist theory in an effort to capture the feel of the original Marston comics, but he succeeds only in capturing just how weird Golden Age Wonder Woman could be. While his take on Amazon culture does include openly gay relationships (and indeed is described as a paradise island of science-fiction lesbians with a side of bondage) his updated version of Diana’s sidekick, Etta Candy, gets fat-shamed by the Amazons and the bondage elements of Amazon society seem wholly gratuitous.
Still, Morrison does have some good ideas here even if there’s not much of a plot pushing them forward. One of the better innovations is Steve Trevor being black, which leads to a great scene of his talking with Hippolyta about how his ancestors were enslaved by men in power as well.
Wonder Woman and The Justice League of America
Vol. 1: 9781401268343
Vol. 2: 9781401274009 (October, 2017)
This is another one we’re going to have to warn you away from. While the 1990s era Justice League stories contained in this volume aren’t terrible, they aren’t notable and Diana is but one character of a larger ensemble. The first printing of volume one also featured a printing error with multiple out-of-order pages. If you already have it in your collection it’s worth double checking which version you have, as DC are issuing replacement copies with a corrected page order.
Wonder Woman by Mike Deodato
ISBN: 9781401261061
Reprinting all of the Wonder Woman comics drawn by fan-favorite artist Mike Deodato, this volume is mostly of interest to art fans as a study in contrast. The story—by William Messner-Loebs—has Diana losing her position to the more aggressive Artemis, after Queen Hippolyta demands a new contest to allow all the Amazons a chance.
While this is the series that put Deodato on the map back in the 1990s, the work that brought him critical acclaim came years later after he adopted a more photo-realistic style while working on The Incredible Hulk with Bruce Jones. Before that, Deodato’s work resembled that of Jim Lee, with elongated bodies and exaggerated facial expressions. While Deodato isn’t a bad artist at this early stage, he had an unfortunate tendency to indulge in fan-service, which undercuts Messner-Loebs’ story. All the Amazon warriors are depicted wearing thongs or toga-style dresses that somehow ride-up to leave their rear ends completely exposed! And the less said about Diana’s “costume” (a black leather strapless bra with matching jacket and black spandex shorts!) after her position as Wonder Woman is usurped, the better.
Wonder Woman by John Byrne
Vol. 1: 9781401270841 (June, 2017)
Picking up where Mike Deodato’s run on Wonder Woman ended, the writer/artist who redefined Superman in 1986’s The Man of Steel took his turn in redeveloping Wonder Woman. Opinion is divided on Byrne as a creator, but his run on Wonder Woman—while not as beloved as Greg Rucka’s—is notable for having introduced the second Wonder Girl, Cassandra Sandsmark.
Wonder Woman: Who Is Wonder Woman?
ISBN: 9781401272333
This is another one to avoid at all cost. While you might be tempted to give it a try based on the pedigree of Sex and the City writer Allan Heinberg being involved, the only thing this series was notable for as a monthly comic was being continually late and leading into the infamously awful Amazons Attack mini-series.
