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iainkelly_writing's review
adventurous
fast-paced
2.5
Starts off well, and there's a strong thread running through the story about Wonder Woman's relationship with her mother, her human friends and her fellow Amazons. But it all gets lost and confused in amongst a larger DC ark involving Justice League and other dimensions in the universe. As always with DC, I find the comics lose interest and drive when they try to pack too much in. 2.5*
unrealpunk's review
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
Wonder Woman (2nd Series) #171-177
The art is pretty good, very similar to the George Pérez style. So if all you want from a WW comic is a sort of rehash of some of the more cosmological and crossover-heavy parts of the Pérez run, you may enjoy this. It is especially reminiscent of the War of the Gods arc, and while Paradise Found is more coherent than the absolute mess that is War of the Gods, it's also much less interesting. There's no interesting mythology or politics, hardly any development of characters or relationships, and the worldbuilding never manages to be as compelling as it is ambitious/ridiculous. The narrative never achieves a momentum capable of building stakes or distinguishing the importance of one story beat from another. There are zillions of story beats here, enough for three times the number of pages if they were developed into anything but the most superficial boilerplate melodrama; but for all the beats, there's only about one and a half real ideas. This writer can definitely do better; I went back and read issue #170 — the issue that immediately preceeds this collection — and it's a great issue that depicts a multidimensional, fully realized Wonder Woman, with moments of humor and poignance. I get that superhero comics are built on heavy doses of mindless action, but the hard shift in that direction in this collection is over-correction by a mile, and packaged together with a generic DC crossover, it really feels like the editors and corporate interests are yet again the main culprits behind this disappointment.
The art is pretty good, very similar to the George Pérez style. So if all you want from a WW comic is a sort of rehash of some of the more cosmological and crossover-heavy parts of the Pérez run, you may enjoy this. It is especially reminiscent of the War of the Gods arc, and while Paradise Found is more coherent than the absolute mess that is War of the Gods, it's also much less interesting. There's no interesting mythology or politics, hardly any development of characters or relationships, and the worldbuilding never manages to be as compelling as it is ambitious/ridiculous. The narrative never achieves a momentum capable of building stakes or distinguishing the importance of one story beat from another. There are zillions of story beats here, enough for three times the number of pages if they were developed into anything but the most superficial boilerplate melodrama; but for all the beats, there's only about one and a half real ideas. This writer can definitely do better; I went back and read issue #170 — the issue that immediately preceeds this collection — and it's a great issue that depicts a multidimensional, fully realized Wonder Woman, with moments of humor and poignance. I get that superhero comics are built on heavy doses of mindless action, but the hard shift in that direction in this collection is over-correction by a mile, and packaged together with a generic DC crossover, it really feels like the editors and corporate interests are yet again the main culprits behind this disappointment.
cleheny's review
2.0
Paradise Found is marred by the intrusion of Our Worlds at War crossover event, which is a bit strange to say, as what happens to Diana and her fellow Amazons is at the heart of this story. But the impact of those developments is a bit diluted because Jimenez has to continually recap what happened in other books so that the reader can place the events of WW’s book in context.
Outside of that event, Jimenez sets up a conflict between Diana, Circe, the new Cheetah (Sebastian Bellasteros), and the new Silver Swan, Vanessa Kapatelis, who was Diana’s young friend from Boston. Vanessa appears to have been captured, tortured, and psychically manipulated by Ballesteros, with help from Dr. Psycho. Jimenez picks up on volume 1 of John Byrne’s run, in which Vanessa is tortured by Dr. Psycho but frees herself from his manipulation without Diana’s assistance. She has obviously been abducted while at college. It’s a bit sad that Julia has no idea what’s been happening with her.
Jimenez explores what it must be like for Vanessa to watch from afar as Diana takes another young girl, Cassie, under her wing and shape her into a superhero. It is understandable that Vanessa would feel left out and that she was never important to Diana to begin with. Adding Dr. Psycho’s manipulation, Vanessa probably didn’t stand a chance of resisting.
Later in the TPB, Diana leads the DC female heroes in a fight against Circe, the Cheetah, the Silver Swan, and the DC female villains. Circe has taken over NYC, transformed men (including the male DC heroes) into animals, and set the villains hunting them. The story is okay (Circe is wearing a truly hideous outfit, which, in itself, constitutes a crime against humanity) but very confusing. So many obscure heroines and villainesses were involved that I couldn’t tell the difference between them, and many of the fight scenes were unintelligible.
The heart of the story is the consequences of Our Worlds at War. In the issue before the crossover starts, Diana and Hippolyta argue about the latter’s decision to remain in Patriarch’s World as Wonder Woman. My sympathies lay with Hippolyta in this scene; Diana didn’t listen to her and made it clear that she didn’t consider her mother a legitimate hero. During OWaW, Hippolyta sacrifices herself to save the world. Diana, in an attempt to save her mother, who does not have Diana’s gifts, tells Hippolyta to stop, as she is not Wonder Woman. These words, which are almost the last that Diana speaks to her mother, are particularly painful and will haunt her. Diana’s grief and guilt are later exploited by Circe.
Finally, in order to stop Brainiac 13 from destroying the Earth, and, thus the universe, the Amazons, so recently divided, unite to defend the planet, almost destroying Paradise Island in the process. And when that is not enough, they agree to redirect their faith to Darkseid, in order to give him the strength to help Superman defeat Imperiex. This decision should carry a lot of weight, but it wasn’t as poignant as it could have been because Byrne’s story of Darkseid’s invasion of Themiscyra was “meh.”
This volume ends by healing many of the injuries suffered by Diana and her fellow Amazons. The goddesses restore Themiscyra, and Diana and the Amazons choose to make it a place of welcome for all races and species (alien and not). Diana is given an opportunity for closure with her mother’s spirit, as she is visited by Hippolyta, Diana Trevor, and Antiope (Hippolyta’s long-deceased sister). And Trevor Barnes, who failed to reciprocate Diana’s interest in the last volume, reconsiders and wants to have dinner with her. The ending feels a bit facile, but it’s nice that Diana got a break from the misery.
Outside of that event, Jimenez sets up a conflict between Diana, Circe, the new Cheetah (Sebastian Bellasteros), and the new Silver Swan, Vanessa Kapatelis, who was Diana’s young friend from Boston. Vanessa appears to have been captured, tortured, and psychically manipulated by Ballesteros, with help from Dr. Psycho. Jimenez picks up on volume 1 of John Byrne’s run, in which Vanessa is tortured by Dr. Psycho but frees herself from his manipulation without Diana’s assistance. She has obviously been abducted while at college. It’s a bit sad that Julia has no idea what’s been happening with her.
Jimenez explores what it must be like for Vanessa to watch from afar as Diana takes another young girl, Cassie, under her wing and shape her into a superhero. It is understandable that Vanessa would feel left out and that she was never important to Diana to begin with. Adding Dr. Psycho’s manipulation, Vanessa probably didn’t stand a chance of resisting.
Later in the TPB, Diana leads the DC female heroes in a fight against Circe, the Cheetah, the Silver Swan, and the DC female villains. Circe has taken over NYC, transformed men (including the male DC heroes) into animals, and set the villains hunting them. The story is okay (Circe is wearing a truly hideous outfit, which, in itself, constitutes a crime against humanity) but very confusing. So many obscure heroines and villainesses were involved that I couldn’t tell the difference between them, and many of the fight scenes were unintelligible.
The heart of the story is the consequences of Our Worlds at War. In the issue before the crossover starts, Diana and Hippolyta argue about the latter’s decision to remain in Patriarch’s World as Wonder Woman. My sympathies lay with Hippolyta in this scene; Diana didn’t listen to her and made it clear that she didn’t consider her mother a legitimate hero. During OWaW, Hippolyta sacrifices herself to save the world. Diana, in an attempt to save her mother, who does not have Diana’s gifts, tells Hippolyta to stop, as she is not Wonder Woman. These words, which are almost the last that Diana speaks to her mother, are particularly painful and will haunt her. Diana’s grief and guilt are later exploited by Circe.
Finally, in order to stop Brainiac 13 from destroying the Earth, and, thus the universe, the Amazons, so recently divided, unite to defend the planet, almost destroying Paradise Island in the process. And when that is not enough, they agree to redirect their faith to Darkseid, in order to give him the strength to help Superman defeat Imperiex. This decision should carry a lot of weight, but it wasn’t as poignant as it could have been because Byrne’s story of Darkseid’s invasion of Themiscyra was “meh.”
This volume ends by healing many of the injuries suffered by Diana and her fellow Amazons. The goddesses restore Themiscyra, and Diana and the Amazons choose to make it a place of welcome for all races and species (alien and not). Diana is given an opportunity for closure with her mother’s spirit, as she is visited by Hippolyta, Diana Trevor, and Antiope (Hippolyta’s long-deceased sister). And Trevor Barnes, who failed to reciprocate Diana’s interest in the last volume, reconsiders and wants to have dinner with her. The ending feels a bit facile, but it’s nice that Diana got a break from the misery.
theartolater's review
1.0
I ultimately have little good to say about this collection, after what was a Paradise Lost with some okay stuff happening. Instead, this is mostly disjointed action with little coherence or anything to enjoy. The final issue/chapter, the rebuilding of Themyscria, was actually pretty good, but combined with the rest of the book? A rather massive miss for me on a whole.
trisa_slyne's review
Interesting read but I think I will look for more modern Wonder Woman comics.
nickpalmieri's review
4.0
Jimenez's art remains the highlight. Still as detailed and easy to follow as ever, he knows just how to draw characters to make them appear both real and other-worldly. There's a small section at the beginning and a small story at the end that are drawn by others, but the switch in art does not detract from the story.
Story-wise, it's a shame the series had to tie in with a crossover, but there's still some good work here. The first three chapters all tie in to a big event called "Our Worlds at War" (OWAW), which ran through major DC books at the time. Jimenez approaches each of these three chapters differently: The first is mostly unrelated and sets up a later story, but it gets the characters in place for the crossover; the second drops us directly into the middle of the world of the crossover, but gives us enough information and such a personal story that the fine details of the crossover don't matter; and the third issue is intimately tied to the event. In the first chapter, readers are brought up-to-speed on an old character who is brilliantly redefined and used well. The second is very focused and personal, resulting in a wonderful, emotional issue. But the point I got lost in the OWAW events was in the final chapter, as it had to play the double-duty of catching readers up to speed and acting as the concluding chapter of OWAW. So much expository information is thrown at the reader, only for everything to end ten pages later. The whole thing would have seemed futile if not for the unexpected team-up, the great moment with the Themyscirans, and an event that pays off in the final chapter. The OWAW chapters were somewhat uneven, but they are enjoyable if you look at each chapter separately and accept what you don't know.
The next three issues are a major Circe story. The first issue, the set-up issue, picks up on threads from the first issue of this collection. I'd imagine this first chapter works very well for readers who only jumped on at "Paradise Lost." Then the second issue is the all-out fight. This issue is for those of you who like things like Infinite Crisis, JLA/Titans, Gods of Gotham, and other Phil Jimenez stories with slow-motion action in extreme, painstaking detail. For me personally, this chapter contained so many characters that even I- a huge DC fan for about a decade- had no idea who a lot of them were, and as a result it didn't hold my interest too well. The final chapter is the personal "final battle" with Circe, containing major payoff for those who have been following her development throughout the Wonder Woman series. Unfortunately, most of that development hasn't been collected, so I'm sure a lot of this was lost on readers, too.
The final issue and the epilogue chapter after it conclude the threads introduced in Paradise Lost and undo some of the damage done since then. A solid end to the story, and while I haven't yet read the other 11 (uncollected) issues of Jimenez's run on this title, this works as a very satisfying conclusion.
Overall, if you enjoyed Paradise Lost, I'd recommend this book as well. Even with all the unevenness here, it's still entertaining and worth it to see the variety of storytelling tactics on display and the conclusion of the threads introduced in that first book.
Story-wise, it's a shame the series had to tie in with a crossover, but there's still some good work here. The first three chapters all tie in to a big event called "Our Worlds at War" (OWAW), which ran through major DC books at the time. Jimenez approaches each of these three chapters differently: The first is mostly unrelated and sets up a later story, but it gets the characters in place for the crossover; the second drops us directly into the middle of the world of the crossover, but gives us enough information and such a personal story that the fine details of the crossover don't matter; and the third issue is intimately tied to the event. In the first chapter, readers are brought up-to-speed on an old character who is brilliantly redefined and used well. The second is very focused and personal, resulting in a wonderful, emotional issue. But the point I got lost in the OWAW events was in the final chapter, as it had to play the double-duty of catching readers up to speed and acting as the concluding chapter of OWAW. So much expository information is thrown at the reader, only for everything to end ten pages later. The whole thing would have seemed futile if not for the unexpected team-up, the great moment with the Themyscirans, and an event that pays off in the final chapter. The OWAW chapters were somewhat uneven, but they are enjoyable if you look at each chapter separately and accept what you don't know.
The next three issues are a major Circe story. The first issue, the set-up issue, picks up on threads from the first issue of this collection. I'd imagine this first chapter works very well for readers who only jumped on at "Paradise Lost." Then the second issue is the all-out fight. This issue is for those of you who like things like Infinite Crisis, JLA/Titans, Gods of Gotham, and other Phil Jimenez stories with slow-motion action in extreme, painstaking detail. For me personally, this chapter contained so many characters that even I- a huge DC fan for about a decade- had no idea who a lot of them were, and as a result it didn't hold my interest too well. The final chapter is the personal "final battle" with Circe, containing major payoff for those who have been following her development throughout the Wonder Woman series. Unfortunately, most of that development hasn't been collected, so I'm sure a lot of this was lost on readers, too.
The final issue and the epilogue chapter after it conclude the threads introduced in Paradise Lost and undo some of the damage done since then. A solid end to the story, and while I haven't yet read the other 11 (uncollected) issues of Jimenez's run on this title, this works as a very satisfying conclusion.
Overall, if you enjoyed Paradise Lost, I'd recommend this book as well. Even with all the unevenness here, it's still entertaining and worth it to see the variety of storytelling tactics on display and the conclusion of the threads introduced in that first book.
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