Title | : | Wonder Woman, Vol. 3: The Circle |
Author | : | |
Rating | : | |
ISBN | : | 1401219322 |
ISBN-10 | : | 9781401219321 |
Language | : | English |
Format Type | : | Hardcover |
Number of Pages | : | 160 |
Publication | : | First published September 23, 2008 |
Collecting issues #14-19 of her hit series!
Wonder Woman, Vol. 3: The Circle Reviews
-
Gail Simone makes Wonder Woman look cool. Finally. Even the dorky much-lampooned Lasso Of Truth is a wicked weapon in her hands. Simone, you're my hero.
-
2.5 stars
On paper, having writer Gail Simone (even this book's back-flap mini bio gushes "known for her much-beloved run on 'Birds of Prey'" - no argument there!) pen a Wonder Woman volume sounds like a guaranteed home run for DC. Unfortunately, The Circle was sort of detached and cold, and it often did not generate more than mild interest for me. The four-part title story had a few good moments - WW taking on modern-day Nazis invading her birthplace? Bring the popcorn! - but at times it felt unnecessarily long-winded. A little better was the shorter closing tale 'Expatriate,' where WW is stuck between two not-quite warring alien factions. Her shrewd wisdom helps save the day, and the final development in the last two pages strikes the perfect tone of heartfelt and humorous. -
Umm yeah an okay read I guess.
We get a story about how this group called the circle, Hippolytas protector were made and then when Diana was born what they did and why they did it and that led to their fall and when Nazis attack Themysciria, Diana must fight against them and also against the circle, led by Alykone. Its an alright story but does introduce some fun new elements into the myth and I also love the way they explore Diana and Nemesis new relationship and its the start of some new love story. And also Diana on some khund home planet with Etta which was weird but a good short story. SO overall okayish read with decent writing and art and does hint at great things to come. -
I really wanted to like this because I usually like Simone's writing and Diana is one of my faves. Unfortunately, the first plot line was so off putting to me.
The idea that the vendetta against Diana's birth was based jealously in addition to the fear rubbed me the wrong way. These women have lived years without the ability to have children and the story only shows women who desired children. They even show women making wooden children to cope with their feelings. Why? Not all women want children.
Even the Amazon leading the charge to kill Diana secretly wanted a child. Maybe I'm being petty but that just really turned me off this story.
The rest of it was okay. It's always a joy see Diana solving conflict with diplomacy and being a great warrior. Queen Hippolyta is always great as well.
I really wanted to like this more. -
I've heard very good things about Gail Simone's run on Wonder Woman, so I went in with high expectations. Luckily, I wasn't disappointed. Yay! This particular volume feels very exposition-y, and it bears remembering that this is right after the highly ill-advised Amazons Attack! storyline (which I am boycotting). In other words, it's a lot of foundation. It felt like a solid foundation to me, and it opened up a storyline that I wasn't expecting, relating to Diana's birth. More will come of this, I'm sure, and I'm looking forward to it.
-
I just can't seem to really connect to a wonder woman comic. I enjoyed most of Gail's stuff, and this story isn't bad, and art is solid, but just...did almost nothing for me on personal level.
-
Not being that familiar with other Wonder Woman stories, i really enjoyed the depth of character put into this book. I felt like it was really clear how heroic a character Wonder Woman is from the writing, i enjoyed the art as well. Just very honest and grounded, which is hard to do in the format.
-
To quote from the Mercedes Lackey preface, "Here is the warrior who knows that the goal of fighting is to end conflict, who understands strategy and uses every advantage, who knows that negotiation and compromise are tools fit for a warrior, who never loses compassion even for her enemies. Here is Wonder Woman, coherent. Here at last is Wonder Woman as Goddess."
-
Been sighted as one of the best 'Wonder Woman' comic books in the last decade, as penned by Gail Simone. Sure I was hyped up - even the packaging was immaculate and handled with extreme care when it was posted to my door. But experience has taught me to always keep my expectations low on anything.
In the end I couldn't help it - the book and its cover make it look like a Greek mythology treasure trove!
Nonetheless, I enjoyed 'Wonder Woman, Vol. 3: The Circle'.
The plotting is solid - nothing and no one, no matter how small the role, is left out at the end. The action is amazingly drawn and moves everything forward with ease. Athena praise the artwork!
But of course the main talking point is Wonder Woman. She is tough, smart, savvy, and most of all she's compassionate and seeks redemption and forgiveness in everyone, even her worst enemies.
Gail Simone was once quoted saying:
'When you need to stop an asteroid, you get Superman. When you need to solve a mystery, you call in Batman. But when you need to end a war, you get Wonder Woman.'
Wonder Woman is a paragon for truth and justice in all places - not only in America or her once homeland of Themyscira, but on other planets as well, as seen in the last story of ‘The Circle’.
Other 'Wonder Woman' comics I've read seem to portray her as being rather bloodthirsty and quick to stab her opponents even in public places in civilian form; implying that Amazons and thus all "strong independent women" are like that. However, Simone seems to understand the original purpose of the most famous superheroine of all time. I get the feeling that, even with the numerous bad decisions made by 'Wonder Woman' writers before her, Simone is able to find ways of making them work for her own stories. Or at least she can make up for them without retconning anything.
Wonder Woman can be formidable, yet caring and reasonable; she is a negotiator first before she's a warrior. Though unafraid of knocking out those who stand in her way - nor will she back out of a challenge - she knows when the time is right to fight. She's a hero who will not give in to hatred and use violence to try to solve every problem, and that's admirable, not weak or an effeminate way of looking at the world. Wondy can navigate through any situation with a calm head on her shoulders - no matter what, she will put peace and family community first.
Her lasso of truth is a fully effective instrument (not necessarily a weapon) – it’s frightening in how far it goes to uncover the truth in a person.
Weapons in Wonder Woman’s arsenal include a sword and a bow, and in battle she can wield both just as well as her lasso.
Aside from Wonder Woman herself there are other things to love about 'The Circle', such as the complex development of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. There is the backstory of four Amazon warriors who were chosen above others to guard the queen, but who then came to betray her when they saw her child - Diana, the future Wonder Woman - as an abomination and a threat to the Amazons. So “the Circle” conspired to kill Diana as a babe. The flashback scenes are bold and manage the trick of creating suspense when you already know how things are going to turn out. Diana's relationship with her mother is also very well handled.
Despite a war going on, entertaining comic book antics are present. Neo-Nazis are the bad guys (so satisfying to see Wonder Woman rough them up!), and super intelligent gorillas hide out in Agent Diana Prince's apartment!
Her friend, Lt. Colonel Etta Candy, is an awesome female ally for her - incredibly smart, witty (she's given brilliant dialogue), not skinny, and able to put anyone in their place, even men who outrank her. She even reasons with an alien planet destroyer! Too often I see Wonder Woman partnered with men, and while that is good for her given her sheltered upbringing on Paradise Island, girlfriends outside of there are sorely missed. Etta is an Amazon in her own right; Diana even refers to her as a sister.
So, fabulous artwork, great writing, great history, great Wonder Woman. What didn't I like?
Unsurprisingly, the dishonour goes to the romance. It lacks tension, is unnecessary, and does nothing to advance the plot. Thomas Tresser, aka Nemesis, barely does anything throughout the whole book, shifting between continuing DC storylines as it is. Granted, Wondy is shown to be wearing the pants in their relationship, and Tom is a good guy, who struggles to find in himself what someone like Wonder Woman would see in him. However I still feel it was only there for the main female to be with a man, in a story that has nothing to do with romantic love. Not helped by the fact that Diana's human role is downplayed in this comic in favour of the Nazis-vs-Amazons-and-the-Gorillas arse-kicking.
And a few things were a bit confusing to me - especially in the last story - since I have not read many of the previous comic book issues. But I can live with that.
Because I agree with the general opinion that 'Wonder Woman, Vol. 3: The Circle' is the 'Wonder Woman' story most dearly needed in recent years. Is this Wonder Woman done right – as a princess, a banished Amazon, a feminist icon, and a hero for peace? Yes.
Beautiful, strong, smart and brave, she is really is a wonder, as she was originally meant to be. A goddess, as the intro by Mercedes Lackey proclaims.
Final Score: 4/5 -
I really enjoyed Wonder Woman: The Circle. It conveys all the best qualities of Wonder Woman. She sees all the details of a situation without losing sight of the big picture: a great strategic and diplomatic mind, strong, fierce and compassionate.
Mercedes Lackey wrote a great introduction for this volume, but I would hold off reading it until after you've read the book so you can form your own opinions unbiased. However, if you need to be sold on reading it, then by all means, read the introduction first.
The Circle is the collection of issues #14-19 which covers two main stories, the first including a version of her origin story in #14-17 and the second in #18-19. I love the art by Terry and Rachel Dodson in issues #14-17; I think they've really captured the essence of Wonder Woman.
My Dad saw the cover, flipped through a few pages, and said, "Wonder Woman looks mean."
"What, do you expect her to be all doe-eyed in the middle of battle?"
"Well, no..."
She does look fierce when she's fighting, but that's what makes her an Amazon. She looks like someone not to be trifled with. And yet she has humor, affection, and great wisdom. She is without question heroic.
Also, bonus: no Steve Trevor.
More please!
There were a couple of references I didn't get, nothing crucial to these stories, but I'm trying to track down the earlier issues before reading ahead.
Highly recommended. -
3.5
This wasn't my favorite but it was good and Wonder Woman is quickly becoming one of my favourite DC characters. I loved the artwork, and liked the story. -
I think that Mercedes Lackey said it best (by quoting Gail Simone) about Gail Simone's vision of Wonder Woman in the introduction: "When you need to stop an asteroid, you get Superman. When you need to solve a mystery, you call in Batman. But when you need to end a war, you get Wonder Woman." And the stories contained within illustrate why GS's vision is so powerful... and show why many times the knock-down-drag-out fights are not always necessary, and that you can be unafraid to fight, while listening and negotiating with your adversary... sometimes the evil gorillas attacking you were just misled... and can be allies if only they understand the truth of the situation.
I really don't get into the Paradise Island, Greek mythos stuff that surrounds WW... It is fun when you place it in the context of having a Minotaur as a cook at the embassy, but gets stale otherwise... but Simone ties up some loose ends with another look at WW's origin and tying it into a Nazi invasion of Paradise Island. And also shows why the Magic Lasso is not just a lame "girly" weapon... it is a thing to be FEARED.
The other stories also have a theme of conflict not always being quite what it seems... and WW's novel approaches to resolve that conflict. This is GREAT STUFF. I'm looking forward to more of GS's work on this series. -
This was a great soft reboot of Wonder Woman. Gail Simone writes a powerful and compelling heroine and manages to create a coherent backstory that resolves some of the inconsistencies in Wonder Woman's history. I didn't dig the Nazi fighting and the forced romance at the end knocked off a full star from my rating, but overall I really enjoyed this volume.
-
Yeah, this one didn't work for me. The artwork was nice but the story felt try to me and the art style in the two-story arcs was very different. And I definitely prefer the art style in the first story arc. The story arc with the book title is again another look at her birth and the Amazons fighting about and through that. Also, there be some Nazis as well. Overall it was an okay read did this story deserve the place in the 75th Anniversary set for Wonder Woman? One would think that in 75 years she would have had a few better story arcs to her name. Ah well, nothing much to it let's look toward the other two books in the set, let's see how they fare.
Happy New Year then and Keep on Reading.
I have always loved comics, and I hope always to love them. Even though I grew up reading local Indian comics like Raj Comics, Diamond Comics, or even Manoj Comics, now's the time to catch up on international and classic comics and Graphic novels. I am on my quest to read as many comics as I can. I love comics to bits, may the comics never leave my side. I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and then just
Keep on Reading. -
"Keep faith. Trust to love. Fight with honor. But fight to win."
Me ha gustado mucho el arco. Está muy bien montado y me gusta mucho la Diana que escribe Simone. Demasiados planos con culos detallados para ser sinceros eso sí.
Pero bueno, especialmente en el final ha habido varios dibujos que me han encantado. Y la coleta/lazo le sienta genial. -
This book is written by the third of the three great writers of Wonder Woman in my opinion. After
George Pérez and
Greg Rucka,
Gail Simone may have been by 2008 the most natural choice to write Wonder Woman in comic book history. She represents for women comic book writers what
Dwayne McDuffie represents for black comic book writers. And we now have her writing THE superheroine of comic books. The crazy thing is that Simone seems to have been brought on at the last minute because of how terrible the writing of Wonder Woman's story after Rucka's leaving the title. For me, this book shows why WW is such a hard character to write--because of how well her story works when she has a writer (male or female) who understands her.
This book sees Diana, after the crazy events of previous bad writing, exiled from her homeland and having to embrace a secret identity for the first time in her post-
Crisis on Infinite Earths timeline. Of course, her secret identity is as a spy so...yeah. This being Simone's introductory-story, the stakes are not as big as in then-recent previous stories, but it does establish how Simone plans to write the universe of Diana of Themyscira. It is a fun, confident, and level-headed Diana and it accentuates the best parts of Wonder Woman's character--tough when she needs to be, but always going for peace before war. She makes folks think before they really try to test her. I'm not so sold on the secret identity thing--I liked the fact of her being one of the few superheroes in the DC Universe to not have a secret identity and just be what she is (as it goes with her symbolism as being the embodiment of truth). I hope the rest of Simone's run on this title is as solid as this book. -
I love Wonder Woman, but I just can't wrap my brain about what's happening in this one thematically. The artwork is great, and the dialogue and action were fine. But I don't even know if it was well-written because I found the odd themes so distracting.
**SPOILERS AHEAD**
I'm baffled trying to figure out what the author is trying to say here.
You have a society of women who can't have children, so they all go baby-crazy? To the point that they anthropomorphize dolls, and at least one lady has to be PUT DOWN because she's too far gone?
And okay, these women are villains, so we're not condoning that behavior.
But then we're demonizing women who can't (or just don't) have children. And the biggest issue is this idea that ALL women want children so DESPERATELY that they'll go crazy without them.
And the trope that women are all jealous of each other and backstabbing is just icky. I miss the sisterhood of the Amazons that always has me cheering.
I was shocked when I saw a woman wrote this. It just left me feeling gross. -
I love Wonder Woman and Terry and Rachel Dodson's art is always excellent. The Circle was one of the more easier comic books to sink into especially considering this is book three in the series. However I still felt a bit lost and and the new artist in the last 50 pages wasn't as impressive.
-
Just ok... Based on other reviews, I was expecting depth of character, original plot lines.
-
A great story about Diana's love for her mother...and then some stuff that happens in space.
Oh, Diana is now the Champion of Maoi...because Moana parallels weren't strong enough already. -
3✨
It was okay, worth a read but nothing to write home about. Nothing like Azzarello and Chiang's 2011 run, which I think is far superior. -
“When you need to stop an asteroid, you get Superman. When you need to solve a mystery, you get Batman. But when you need to end a war, you get Wonder Woman.”
- Gail Simone.
In her write-up to Wonder Woman: The Circle, acclaimed fantasy writer Mercedes Lackey pegs this quote by Gail (the writer of this book) and gives us such a sense of anticipation that we are completely stoked to delve into this promising read.
Here we acquaint ourselves with the four Amazons of the Royal Guard who were imperfect in their own ways but handpicked by Queen Hippolyta herself to shield her from all evils. They are fiercely loyal warriors and promise to ensure that not a hair on the head of the Amazon Queen would ever be armed.
And then they do such a disastrous deed that the island of Themyscira is almost rend apart by their (un)righteous stand, anger and hate. Their actions will affect the one they love above all others and soon it will rest upon the only child of the Amazons, Wonder Woman to bring about some semblance of balance.
The other smaller tale showcases Wonder Woman’s abilities as a person who lives up to the quote mentioned above. As she tries to protect a violent alien race from another hero of the DC Universe and possibly themselves, you meet a Wonder Woman who strategizes like a boss but manages to do so with her heart always staying good and true.
The artwork is brilliant and Wonder Woman’s Amazonian beauty, rippling sinews and kick-ass stance leap from the pages. The story-telling left me a bit unsettled because it messed with the infallible sisterhood equation of the Amazons. Baby lust was taking to alarming levels here and downplayed the essential essence of a utopian society of women. Maybe it was just me but there was something demeaning (towards women) in the execution of their emotions towards not having children.
Not the biggest fan of this tale but still a stoic fan of Wonder Woman’s portrayal. -
4.3 Estrellas
No he leído mucho sobre Wonder Woman pero esta historia me gustó mucho. Tengo que leer algunos comics anteriores para entender el rollo de la agente Prince pero por lo demás, estuvo genial. -
Cant tell if its wonder woman or simones writing. I just havent fallen in love with either yet.
-
Summary: Wonder Woman makes friends with some sentient gorillas, fights to save her homeland from invading Nazi goons and her mother from the former members of the queen's personal guard, and faces off with a member of another DC franchise over the fate of the Khund.
Verdict: Strangely bland.
Yay!: Mercedes Lackey writes a great introduction to this volume. Wonder Woman's core values are shown as she tries to befriend enemies, kicks butt, and extends mercy. The fight scenes are decent, and the brief origin story was interesting.
Nay!: The blurb and the introduction promise an earth-shattering secret about Diana's birth, but nothing earth-shattering is revealed. More dramatic information is hinted at, but not given yet. All in all, this story is nothing to write home about. Wonder Woman easily saves the day in what could have been several epic battles, all with emotion that's curiously difficult to connect with and no sense of humor. Somehow, portraying her as the goddess she is makes Wonder Woman hard for mere mortals to relate to. On the other hand, she's as serious and feminist as someone dressed as an absolute sex object can be, so props to her. -
I've never read a solo Wonder Woman story and this story was perfect to change that. You learn about her mother, Queen Hippolyta, and the Amazons. Right from the beginning you can tell why Diana has earned her status as the Amazon princess. She can see even the slightest spark of good in everyone while still remaining a fearless warrior who will stop at nothing to protect what is good. She can see the bigger picture. One of the best things was to see her Lasso Of Truth at work— how it enters the psyche of her opponent and shows her what see needs to see. Awesome!
-
It was entertaining enough. I liked how Wonder Woman knows all the gods and goddesses and deities of all the pantheons. Really I just want to see the amazon make out with other female lead roles, that would be fantastic, just do away with the blonde doe eyed heterosexual flirtation and I'd rate it a stars!
-
Kind of beginning to see why Gail Simone is a thing, even if I felt kinda icky about the whole...babylust jealously thing, but it is a really interesting premise, given WW's background. The exploration of this idea with women has always kind of confused me, but at least the art and writing was solid.
-
I heart Gail Simone.
-
I wish I'd been able to get more emotionally invested, but it's a good solid Wonder Woman book.