On this episode of Peace Bound and Down: A Wonder Woman Podcast, Sean is joined by Corey Blake from New Warriors Talk to discuss issue 3 of volume two of Wonder Woman. Join them as they talk about Wonder Woman’s arrival in man’s world, the introduction of Diana’s new supporting cast, and the coming of Decay!
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- Promos:
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Bringing a little to man’s world each month.
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Corey was a great guest, Sean! His solution to how war should be handled was inspired.
FWIW, while I am really enjoying the “meat” of the show–the Wonder Woman comic talk–I can’t be the only listener who is just, if not more, engaged by the various discussion questions that you come up with from month to month. The answers have all been quite imaginative and insightful, and it was a great idea on your part to make them an ongoing part of the show.
It’s great having this show as part of the network!
Rob,
Thank you so much for listening and writing in! I have to admit, the “secret questions” that my guest and I being to each episode are often some of my favorite moments as well. I loved him in getting caught off guard by a great question, especially when it takes us momentarily outside the realm of comics.
Great episode! I’m really glad to listen to this podcast to open up the world of the Perez run. I’ve never read it before, so this is quite helpful. I’m a Rucka Wonder Woman fan first and foremost, and I’m very interested to see if I can tell where some of his stuff came from. 🙂
Also, really glad to see some love for my favorite character of all time, Stephanie Brown, in the last episode comments – and Tim and Steph were indeed really cute! Fistbump to Super Captain and Sean!
Ian,
Thank you so much for listening and writing in! I will believe that Tim and Stephanie belong together for as long as I live.
I’m also a HUGE fan of Greg Rucka’s runs on Wonder Woman. I count his original run and Rebirth runs among my favorites.
Another great show, Sean and Corey! This is the issue where everything clicked in this series when Diana lands in Boston and Julia and Vanessa are introduced. The scenes w/ Deimos in front of American and then Soviet audiences was a very effective statement on how our real enemies are not each other, but hatred, arrogance, and fear.
Regarding favorite magic talismans, if the helmet of Fate counts, it would be hard not to include it on the list. I’m not really a Doctor Strange fan, but the Eye of Agamotto always sticks in my mind too. Going a little outside the box, I am a big fan of the Global Guardians and really like Seraph’s staff of Moses, ring of Solomon, mantle of Elijah, etc. and Olympian’s Golden Fleece which gave him the powers of Jason and all the Argonauts. The latter always seemed like a natural fit into the WW supporting cast.
I would have to think a while about impactful creator transitions in comics. A relatively recent one was the New 52 Swamp Thing when Charles Soule took over from Scott Snyder. I liked Snyder’s work, but Soule’s run was phenomenal IMO. The one that really blew my mind as a kid was New Mutants #18. After a year and a half of perfectly good Bob McLeod and Sal Buscema art, Bill Sienkiewicz arrived for the Demon Bear Saga and it was like nothing I had ever seen before. I liked it too, but it was VERY different. When the Bierbaums and Keith Giffen began the 5YL period of LSH, that was a little disorienting as well.
As far as cities/towns in comics, I have a soft spot for Smallville and Blue Valley as they are the most like the very small town where I grew up. But Astro City would be really cool to visit. And if TV counts, I wouldn’t mind residing in Stuckeyville from the Ed tv series from the early 2000s.
The Wonder Wife and I continue to look forward to this podcast each month. It’s truly a high point!
Super Captain and Mrs. Super Captain,
Thank you for listening and for the thoughtful comments.
I can’t believe that I blanked on the helmet of Dr. Fate! Dr. Fate has an all-time great costume and I’ve always loved the character.
I would also LOVE to visit Astro City. It feels so magical and lived in. Busiek and Anderson are masters.
New Mutants 18 would be my pick for most impactful change in artist as well. You are also bang on with the Bierbaums in the 5 YL Legion. That series changed so dramatically, but I loved it. (Even though it may have done more damage long term, as it set up the many reboots to come.)
Another fun episode, Sean; and Corey was a great guest, too. I agree with what Rob said above. Reviewing the comic’s contents is fine, but where your podcasts really soar is when you branch off into tangental discussions provoked by the secret questions and such. Great job!
Thanks, Ryan! I love covering the comics, but getting to know my guests in the segments and through the secret questions is my favorite part.
The thing about ties reminds me of an odd little RPG called Over the Edge. It’s set on a rather surreal fictional island in Mediterranean, originally in the 1990s, and one of the local customs was that none of the locals (or anyone visitor with any sense) wore ties, ever. Instead, you wore actual nooses the same way, with stores selling designer ones made of silk or colored in various patterns. Nice commentary on what a tie really is at the end of the day – just one more way to let society strangle you.
Dick,
That is so cool! I would absolutely rather wear a silk noose than a silk tie!
Hola! Thanks for another great show, Sean, I really enjoyed your chat with Corey. This was a great issue, I loved it when Diana came to the US and started getting to know people. Julia was a great character, the perfect gateway person for Diana to get to know America. I wasn’t quite so keen on Vanessa, she had whiny teen vibes!
Len Wein was as great a writer as George Perez was an artist; if he’d stayed on as scripter and co-plotter the new Wonder Woman would have soared even higher than it did.
So many great images this time, from that Boston overview you rightly lauded, Sean, to the first look at Decay. I especially like that brilliantly angled panel of Steve running down the hospital corridor.
Favourite mystical object? The H Dial… I’m sure it must have been magical in some incarnation!
Some terrific impactful creator transitions have been mentioned. One I can’t forget is the move from the hugely enjoyable post-Zero Hour ‘Archie Legion’ to Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Olivier Coipel’s super-intense Legion of the Damned serial… if ever a story demanded a new number one, that was it.
I’m also a massive Smallville fan, for a small town it has everything you could want, everything a story could ever need – it’s in Kansas these days, but if Aquaman has to show up you can bet there’ll be docks! I’ve dreamt of flying over that place since I was a little kid, and still do.
Martin,
Thank you for listening and writing in.
I love the Smallville of the New Adventures of Superboy. It’s such a sweet setting that allowed for any type of adventure. Plus, as someone who loves Lana Lang and Pete Ross, it fostered a great supporting cast.
I love the H Dial. Did you read the amazing Diam H series by Sam Humphries and Joe Quinnones from a few years ago? It is delightful and the art is transcendently good.
I did, blogged about it a lot!
Great episode as usual – this show keeps getting better and better!
I have forgotten over the years how young Diana was and acted at the beginning of this era. It really is refreshing. It is great to see strong, mature, confident Diana nowadays but as I re-read along with you, there is something incredibly charming about her in these stories.
Paul,
Thanks for listening and writing in! While I don’t know that a time-jump was necessary for this series to soar, the big benefit is giving us a very young, inexperienced Diana to start so that we can watch her evolve in real time.
Why do Amazons still have that Greek fashion sense? It’s still not what Greeks actually wore, so it’s just a function of not seeing any designs from anywhere else and only mildly updating it (the Wonder Woman uniform is the least Greek of them). Of course, we shouldn’t look too closely at flashbacks to historical periods…
Great point! With no cultural exchanges occurring due to trade or travel:l, it makes sense that their culture would stagnate in some areas.
Another great episode! How long can this streak last?
I also hated Vanessa. Annoying as all get out.
I think Secret Questions is going to be your legacy Sean, like Deathprep or the word Eventyness is for me, or stopping podcasts is Ryan’s.
Better layoff the pestering. You’re doing your best, Right Now, Eh?
Thank you so much for listening and writing in! I’m weirdly totally fine with Secret Questions being my thing/legacy. It beats my previous legacy of “The Great Zebra Incident of 2010”.
I’m glad I’m not alone in finding Vanessa ro be insufferable. I’m glad she’s getting swaned soon.
This show is a great joy, Sean. So glad you started it.
I still like the bit that Diana can’t speak English out of the gate. In spite of her being more magical than Pre-Crisis, they didn’t use that as an excuse to introduce “Athena’s earrings of communication” or something to overcome the language barrier. In addition, it enhances the future stories of Diana being an outsider to the modern world, because she has to learn as she goes. A wonderful touch to this era.
This is a silly thing, but I just realized you’re covering issues that are a mere *one month* ahead in publication from the issues of The Outsiders I’m covering! Coincidence? Not a chance!
Tim,
Ha! I hadn’t realized we are so close in our timelines. It’s so funny that so many things were in flux at DC at that time. Diana being the same age as Halo is a hoot!
Great show, Sean and Corey. The open lines and bright colors of Boston create such a contrast to the scenes with Deimos and his annoying brother. Although since this issue takes place in Boston, Perez could’ve revealed the true villain of humanity: Larry Bird.
Looking back on how Wonder Woman’s relationship started with the Kapatellis family, it’s really not surprising Vanessa grew up to be a super villain. This kid went from homework and boyfriends one minute, to being constantly tortured by various evil gods and demons while being forced to live up to the example of a super powered Victoria’s Secret model. It’s like an Instagram account come to life.
Keep up the great work. I love revisiting this series! Perez rules!
Brett,
Thanks for listening and writing in! Totally agree about Vanessa – Diana entering her life only brings tragedy.
Hey Sean – Finally got a chance to catch up on some recent podcasts. Dang, this show is just so engaging! All your guests have been exceptional and insightful.
I’ve never read these early issues of Wonder Woman, but each episode reinforces the importance of this book. Can’t wait to dive into reading the series myself. Also, as I’m not familiar with the issues, the tangentially related discussions and secret questions in the show make a great addition to keep an unfamiliar fan like me engaged! Great podcast format!
Since I’m late to the party from past episodes, my favorite comic book weapon is the James Robinson STARMAN Cosmic Staff. Loved that weapon with Jack Knight, and also with Courtney Whitmore!
The crack about Hermes as the God of Texting about made me crash my car from laughing so hard!
Impactful creator transitions- Alpha Flight from John Byrne to Bill Mantlo. And I know Sean is in my corner on this one!
About George Perez never “phoning it in”… just look at his incredibly detailed work on the Ultraverse to show that George always gave it his all, even when the material may not have been worthy of his talents.
Got a not-so-secret question for you… obviously this run on Wonder Woman was beloved by many fans. However, was there any significant negative backlash from old school fans? We know the Superman relaunch MAN OF STEEL received a ton of anger and vitriol from old school fans. Do you know of anything similar from old school Wonder Woman fans?
Again, loving the show!! Keep up the great work!
Shag,
Thanks for listening and writing in! I am glad you are enjoying the show. I’m having a blast producing it.
Right there with you on the Byrne to Mantlo/Mignola Alpha Flight changeover.
There was definitely push back on two elements of the reboot:
1. The timeline shift so that Diana only just (in 1987) came to man’s world. This erased so much history that people loved and really messed up some other books like JLA.
2. The aging of beloved cast members Steve Trevor and Etta Candy. This was a major change. It would be like them aging out Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen from Superman.
However, Perez being at the helm overrode those concerns and it was a popular reboot.