Tom Russell: March 2007 Archives

I picked up the first issue of the Heinberg-Dodson run of Wonder Woman, not because I was a fan of the character or those creators, but to give the character a shot. I was, to put it nicely, decidedly underwhelmed, and I was not surprised when I heard Heinberg was getting yanked from the book.

What did surprise me-- and excite my interest-- was the announcement that novelist Jodi Picoult was going to be writing it. She's a very popular writer and, from what little I've read, very good with complex issues of identity and morality. She's lauded for her convincing female characters, and so I thought I'd give it a try.

As always with Wonder Woman, I found myself once again underwhelmed.

I've heard a lot of good things about Pride of Baghdad, the "graphic novel" by Brian K. Vaughn and Niko Henrichon. It got a big push in my neck of the woods; Vaughn came to Dearborn to speak at the Arab-American National Museum, did a Q & A, even hung out at Green Brain Comics (The Best Comic Book Store in Michigan) afterwards.

I didn't attend the event, because I hadn't read the book. And it's neither in my nature or my budget to shell out twenty bucks for a book I've never read by an author I've never read, no matter how pretty the pictures are. And so I waited for the book to come to my library.

I'm glad I did.

There are spoilers for both Pride of Baghdad and Justice League of America 1-6 within, along with potentially disturbing images from both.