Wonder Woman & DC's Rebirth
The (latest) reboot of DC's universe, called Rebirth, is designed to gear their comics more towards their new cinematic universe. It was only a few years ago that we rode the emotional rollercoaster of the New 52 relaunch, so most DC fans have been waiting for details with great anticipation. Finally the time for answers came at WonderCon this last weekend.
Lots of changes are coming! Old characters are returning, new characters are being added, and the inevitable costume redesigns are happening. Titans is a new book (not replacing Teen Titans) with a more mature cast of characters, including the reunion of Donna Troy and Nightwing as teammates. Batgirl & the Birds of Prey has an all-female creative team, and I'm digging Huntress' redesign by Yanick Paquette. Superwoman is adding a new female character to DC's lineup and will be headed by Phil Jimenez, one of my all-time favorite Wonder Woman artists. And speaking of Wonder Woman...
SHE GOT THE DREAM TEAM!!! I am so excited!
Greg Rucka is going to return to DC as the writer for Wonder Woman. He wrote Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia, one of the best Wonder Woman stories of all time. The Hiketeia completely nailed the conflict between Diana's roles as an ambassador, hero, and leader of an ancient culture living in the modern world. He spent three years successfully writing Wonder Woman's regular comic and it was a huge success. Based on his previous runs, I am totally confident that Rucka can lay a great foundation for Wonder Woman by incorporating elements from her comic book history and new additions from the cinematic universe. He also wore a Hamilton hoodie on stage at WonderCon! Just when I thought he couldn't get cooler...
Veteran artist Nicola Scott will be returning to draw the Amazon Princess. You may have heard my squee of joy all the way from WonderCon at this news, because I'm a HUGE fan of her work. Her Diana is athletic, capable, beautiful, and expressive. Scott's panels show a woman who can comfort a child in one moment and then go toe-to-toe with Superman the next. It's a challenging task and Scott has proven herself many times over with her work on Wonder Woman, Secret Six, Birds of Prey, and Earth 2. She has also successfully partnered with Greg Rucka on Blackest Night: Wonder Woman, and Black Magick #1 by Image Comics. They both seem to have a talent for creating strong female characters, and I can't wait to see how their partnership works on a longer run of Wonder Woman.
Liam Sharpe will be partnering with Scott to bring Diana's image to life on the page. His resume is Marvel-heavy, but he has done work for DC with both Superman and Batman. He isn't an artist that I've followed before, but when I saw the images he created for Wonder Woman I was blown away. His art reflects the iconic images from George Perez' run of the Amazon princess but with a more modern style. I love that he draws Diana in a way that exudes confidence and strength.
This team will be taking a unique approach to Wonder Woman with two storylines running simultaneously. Odd-numbered issues will be done by Rucka and Sharpe, and will tell the adventures of Diana in the present day. The even-numbered issues will be created by Rucka and Scott and will describe Wonder Woman's origins approximately ten years in the past. Two Wonder Woman comics will come out a month, one from each timeline.
Rucka reportedly has plans for at least 24 issues, so we should be able to enjoy his work for at least the next year. After the disappointment of Meredith and David Finch’s takeover of the series, it's good to know that Diana will be in trusted hands.