Coming off of her red-hot run on Birds of Prey, fan-favourite Gail Simone landed the coveted spot of
writer for Wonder Woman. Such an
honour should not have been taken lightly. After all, she had big shoes to fill
with incredible stories having previously been told by the legendary George
Perez and the acclaimed Greg Rucka. Thankfully, Simone stepped up to the plate
and delivered a powerful story for her opening arc.
“The Circle” was a four-part modern epic that dealt with the
fall-out of the massively derided “Amazons Attack!” event. The Amazons had been
dispersed throughout the world and Themyscira was now seemingly deserted, save
for its disgraced Queen as its sole inhabitant. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman had
been working for the Department of Metahuman Affairs as Agent Diana Prince and
was becoming increasingly more attracted towards her coworker, Agent Tom
Tresser.
The unoccupied Themyscira subsequently becomes a desirable hideout for a
faction of Neo-Nazis led by the nefarious Captain Nazi. They invade the island
only to discover that is it not only inhabited, but its inhabitants are part of
a moment in Amazonian history that has long been kept secret. After learning of
Captain Nazis plans, Diana must travel to Themyscira and defeat the Nazis
before they take over her homeland.
Simone’s opening arc is powerful and clearly illustrates her
desire to tell a story that is respectful towards the mythology surrounding the
character. She weaves a tapestry around Wonder Woman and the Amazons that
reveals an intricate culture for Themyscira. Beyond that, she masterfully
builds her arc around the presence of a secret cult of Amazons and this creates
an air of unpredictability to the narrative. It was not uncommon for writers to
retcon or reinvent Wonder Woman’s history, but Simone did so without damaging
the threads of her backstory. The story is captivating and the action that
ensues is gratifying. On top of all of this, Simone has the artistic support of
the incomparable Terry Dodson. His art is on point and provides a lush backdrop
for Simone’s words.
As far as Gail Simone’s Wonder
Woman run is concerned, she started things off impressively. Nazis,
Amazons, and talking gorillas ultimately add up to make “The Circle” a
fascinating read. It’s clear that Simone respects Wonder Woman and has done her research. Fans of the Amazing Amazon should definitely pick up this story,
but readers who are less familiar with the character may want to brush up on
their history first. Since Simone’s run hinges so heavily on the writers who
came before her, her creativity is limited and the reader unfortunately has to
be keenly aware of the preceding events in the title.
Rating: B+
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