While I normally find Grant Morrison‘s work thoroughly thought-provoking and compelling (and often migraine inducing), the three volumes of Wonder Woman: Earth One proved a much more of a slog to get through, ironically enough. That is not to say it is bad per se – by any extent of the imagination, it is would be a great disservice to label it as such. The first two volumes actually offer a fantastic setup and rising action, with Yannick Paquette‘s immensely dynamic and photorealistic yet uncanny artwork to drive it forward. Paquette’s artwork in fact highlights my feelings about the book – it is both beautiful, yet unsettling. While it moves at a steady pace, it often presents plot points that come out of nowhere – particularly in the third volume – and continues not to address them in any way, forcing the reader to go back a couple of pages and wonder if they missed one or two. There are very good ideas in here – I am particularly fond of how the rest Diana’s rogues and supporting cast in the mainstream continuity have been reworked, some more subtly than others, my favorite being Artemis and Paula Von Gunther. Yet some other more questionable plot points – such as presenting brainwashing being a good solution – are never debated or challenged, making some points of the book rather problematic.
