Wonder Woman #24

Wonder Woman #24 starts a new storyline in the series, so I figure it's a good spot to starting talking about what's going on in the comic. I keep raving about Gail Simone's work on it, so I might as well show you part of what I'm talking about.

I mentioned before that Wonder Woman has a new boyfriend and this issue opens with the two of them taking the next step in their relationship: going to meet Mother. It's a cool scene and Wonder Woman reminds Nemesis once again that if they're going to date, it's all about the "absolute truth." That's true (if you don't mind my using that word again) in any relationship, but it's especially true when you're dating the avatar of Truth. And as I mentioned before, it's going to be especially difficult for Nemesis - a guy who makes his living deceiving people as a spy and a master of disguise.

But he holds up pretty well meeting Queen Hippolyta, all things considered.



There's more, but I won't spoil it. It's going to be very interesting though exploring the meaning and value of Truth in this series. The concept of Truth is fascinating, especially as it relates to our post-modern society. I hope Simone fully commits to diving into it.

Next, the story turns to what was teased on the cover. Hollywood's making a Wonder Woman movie, so Diana goes to visit the film-makers. Because she's awesome, she takes along a small entourage.



This part is also clever and funny. At least at first. The Hollywood execs do their best to reassure Wonder Woman that they want her blessing on the film and will try to make it something she can be proud of.



The producer explains that it would hurt the movie for Wonder Woman to denounce it, so they want to cooperate with her. Wonder Woman asks her associates what they think.



The humor's offset with a serious bit about the studio's lawyer and her objection to Wonder Woman's setting herself up as a role model. Wonder Woman starts to defend herself, but quickly sees that the lawyer's real problem is something else. We're not told what (or maybe I wasn't quick enough to pick it up on my own), so I expect that'll be made clear next issue.

I wish that Wonder Woman had had more time to talk about her status as a role model, but that probably would've sounded preachy. As it is, she just mentions that her uniform has meaning for her and that she's not ashamed of her body. She doesn't get into what the uniform means or address the lawyer's concerns about solving problems with violence. I'm curious to see if she gets into that in future issues. Next issue's cover shows two, little girls showing off their muscles in front of a large Wonder Woman poster, so I suspect so.

I won't spoil the end, but things get hairy when Wonder Woman goes on a tour of the set and sees some of the changes they're making to her story, including having Hercules - who once raped Hippolyta - as the love interest in a romantic triangle with her and her mom. She objects, the studio objects to her objection, and there's a battle.

That's right. It's Wonder Woman versus Hollywood, but with real fists flying and the way it's set up, I wouldn't bet on Hollywood to lose. But we won't find out for sure until next month.