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Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth
The fourth book in the best-selling series by Paul Dini and Alex Ross. This beautifully painted book finds the Amazon Princess having a crisis of faith as she struggles to discover the truth behind who she is, what she represents, and the true nature of her mission.
64 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2001
8 people are currently reading
749 people want to read
About the author
Paul Dini
726 books714 followersPaul Dini is an American television producer of animated cartoons. He is best known as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros./DC Comics series, including Star Wars: Ewoks, Tiny Toon Adventures, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman/Superman Adventures, Batman Beyond and Duck Dodgers. He also developed and scripted Krypto the Superdog and contributed scripts to Animaniacs (he created Minerva Mink), Freakazoid, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. After leaving Warner Bros. In early 2004, Dini went on to write and story edit the popular ABC adventure series Lost.
Paul Dini was born in New York City. He attended the Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, California on an art scholarship. He attended Emerson College in Boston, where he earned a BFA degree in creative writing. (He also took zoology classes at Harvard University.)
During college, he began doing freelance animation scripts for Filmation, and a number of other studios. In 1984, he was hired to work for George Lucas on several of his animation projects.
The episodes of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon that were written by Dini have become favorites amongst the show's fans over the internet, although despite this as well as contributing to interviews on the released box sets of the series, Dini has made no secret of his distaste for Filmation and the He-Man concept. He also wrote an episode of the Generation One Transformers cartoon series and contributed to various episodes of the Ewoks animated series, several of which included rare appearances from the Empire.
In 1989, he was hired at Warner Bros. Animation to work on Tiny Toon Adventures. Later, he moved onto Batman: The Animated Series, where he worked as a writer, producer and editor, later working on Batman Beyond. He continued working with WB animation, working on a number of internal projects, including Krypto the Superdog and Duck Dodgers, until 2004.
He has earned five Emmy awards for his animation work. In a related effort, Dini was also the co-author (with Chip Kidd) of Batman Animated, a 1998 non-fiction coffee table book about the animated Batman franchise.
Dini has also written several comics stories for DC Comics, including an acclaimed oversized graphic novel series illustrated by painter Alex Ross. (A hardcover collection of the Dini and Ross stories was published in late summer 2005 under the title The World's Greatest Superheroes.) Other books written by Dini for DC have featured his Batman Animated creation Harley Quinn as well as classic characters Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel and Zatanna.
Best known among Dini's original creations is Jingle Belle, the rebellious teen-age daughter of Santa Claus. Dini also created Sheriff Ida Red, the super-powered cowgirl star of a series of books set in Dini's mythical town of Mutant, Texas. Perhaps his greatest character contribution is the introduction of Harley Quinn (along with designs by Bruce Timm) on Batman: The Animated Series.
In 2001 Dini made a cameo appearance in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back during the scene in which Jay and Silent Bob wear ridiculous looking costumes for a film being directed by Chris Rock, in which Dini says to them "you guys look pretty bad ass".
In 2006, Dini became the writer for DC Comics' Detective Comics. That same year, he announced that he was writing a hardcover graphic novel starring Zatanna and Black Canary. In 2007, he was announced as the head writer of that company's weekly series, Countdown. Paul Dini is currently co-writing the script for the upcoming Gatchaman movie. Dini is also currently writing a series for Top Cow Productions, based in a character he created, Madame Mirage.
Paul Dini is an active cryptozoologist, hunter and wildlife photographer. On a 1985 trip to Tasmania, he had a possible sighting of a Thylacine. He has also encountered a number of venomous snakes, a Komodo Dragon and a charging Sumatran Rhi
Paul Dini was born in New York City. He attended the Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, California on an art scholarship. He attended Emerson College in Boston, where he earned a BFA degree in creative writing. (He also took zoology classes at Harvard University.)
During college, he began doing freelance animation scripts for Filmation, and a number of other studios. In 1984, he was hired to work for George Lucas on several of his animation projects.
The episodes of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon that were written by Dini have become favorites amongst the show's fans over the internet, although despite this as well as contributing to interviews on the released box sets of the series, Dini has made no secret of his distaste for Filmation and the He-Man concept. He also wrote an episode of the Generation One Transformers cartoon series and contributed to various episodes of the Ewoks animated series, several of which included rare appearances from the Empire.
In 1989, he was hired at Warner Bros. Animation to work on Tiny Toon Adventures. Later, he moved onto Batman: The Animated Series, where he worked as a writer, producer and editor, later working on Batman Beyond. He continued working with WB animation, working on a number of internal projects, including Krypto the Superdog and Duck Dodgers, until 2004.
He has earned five Emmy awards for his animation work. In a related effort, Dini was also the co-author (with Chip Kidd) of Batman Animated, a 1998 non-fiction coffee table book about the animated Batman franchise.
Dini has also written several comics stories for DC Comics, including an acclaimed oversized graphic novel series illustrated by painter Alex Ross. (A hardcover collection of the Dini and Ross stories was published in late summer 2005 under the title The World's Greatest Superheroes.) Other books written by Dini for DC have featured his Batman Animated creation Harley Quinn as well as classic characters Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel and Zatanna.
Best known among Dini's original creations is Jingle Belle, the rebellious teen-age daughter of Santa Claus. Dini also created Sheriff Ida Red, the super-powered cowgirl star of a series of books set in Dini's mythical town of Mutant, Texas. Perhaps his greatest character contribution is the introduction of Harley Quinn (along with designs by Bruce Timm) on Batman: The Animated Series.
In 2001 Dini made a cameo appearance in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back during the scene in which Jay and Silent Bob wear ridiculous looking costumes for a film being directed by Chris Rock, in which Dini says to them "you guys look pretty bad ass".
In 2006, Dini became the writer for DC Comics' Detective Comics. That same year, he announced that he was writing a hardcover graphic novel starring Zatanna and Black Canary. In 2007, he was announced as the head writer of that company's weekly series, Countdown. Paul Dini is currently co-writing the script for the upcoming Gatchaman movie. Dini is also currently writing a series for Top Cow Productions, based in a character he created, Madame Mirage.
Paul Dini is an active cryptozoologist, hunter and wildlife photographer. On a 1985 trip to Tasmania, he had a possible sighting of a Thylacine. He has also encountered a number of venomous snakes, a Komodo Dragon and a charging Sumatran Rhi
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
August 31, 2020
Once in a while I see WW titles I have never read so picked this up from the library. I am going to disagree with almost all my Goodreads friends in saying this was just okay for me. The dramatic paintings by Alex Ross in this large book hardcover framework call attention to themselves rather than tell a story. Bold, splashy, colorful, photorealist, they are not comics but one or two page illustrations of a just okay story Paul Dini wrote in the aftermath of 9/11. WW is seen as Lynda Carter, who played her on a sixties tv series.
The purpose on the one hand was to humanize her (Dini), and on the other hand to make her larger (literally) than life (Ross. Both landings feel shaky to me but the Ross purpose wins here and WW pretty much loses.
The purpose on the one hand was to humanize her (Dini), and on the other hand to make her larger (literally) than life (Ross. Both landings feel shaky to me but the Ross purpose wins here and WW pretty much loses.
June 6, 2017
This is less graphic-novel and more a series of watercolor/oil paintings collected in a single edition where Wonder Woman just happens to be a primary subject matter. Beautiful artwork combined with stunning story-telling, Spirit of Truth gives life to a truly endearing Diana; Diana as a person and not a hero or god. The series of events in the story are inspired by the 9/11 attacks in America and dealt with utmost empathy and understanding. Political, emotional, heroic and honest; A must read for all WW fans!
June 7, 2017
An Okay read. Basically this books is about Wonder Woman finding ways to help the world beyond just being Wonder Woman, I liked how it had her traveling the world under different personas helping in different ways, like being solider, being a doctor etc... Kind of reminded me of Man Of Steel and Batman's origin. Story wise its nothing special but this series has always been more of character studies then stories. Alex Ross's artwork is beautiful as always!!!
November 28, 2021
Awesome art, strong story. But it is an illustrated book, not a graphic novel.
March 23, 2020
Ya había leído los comics de esta serie dedicados a Superman y Batman y me habían gustado mucho. Lamentablemente esta historia no me gustó tanto.
Mientras en los tomos antes mencionados los héroes emprendian una misión derivada de una suerte de epifanía en este caso Diana sufre un cambio interno pero carece de un objetivo definido y esto la lleva a pasar por situaciones que no son propias de ella y en las que nunca esperé verla (vestida con uniforme militar camuflado por ejemplo) y que en cierta forma van contra su escencia.
El dibujo de Ross siempre es mas que bueno y por eso el tomo en su conjunto alcanza una nota aceptable.
Mientras en los tomos antes mencionados los héroes emprendian una misión derivada de una suerte de epifanía en este caso Diana sufre un cambio interno pero carece de un objetivo definido y esto la lleva a pasar por situaciones que no son propias de ella y en las que nunca esperé verla (vestida con uniforme militar camuflado por ejemplo) y que en cierta forma van contra su escencia.
El dibujo de Ross siempre es mas que bueno y por eso el tomo en su conjunto alcanza una nota aceptable.
July 10, 2012
Like the other books in this line, it's really more of a character sketch than a real storyline. The basic idea here is to give an extended look at the character of Wonder Woman and illustrate it with very pretty Alex Ross paintings. And if that's all you expect, it certainly succeeds. But the depiction of Wonder Woman is a little on the shallow side. I'm starting to realize that some writers just have trouble with her, and Paul Dini seems to have been one of them.
September 28, 2025
4 1/2 ⭐️
beautiful art and amazing writing
diana my goat
beautiful art and amazing writing
diana my goat
December 13, 2023
Usually, Wonder Woman is my blog partner's domain, but when I saw this oversized graphic novel that was illustrated by one of my favorite artists, Alex Ross, I just had to read and share!
Published soon after the tragedy of 9/11 in NYC, this story is shaped by the shock of the American people that terrorism could happen on our own shores. As such, it is a hopeful narrative that shows compassion for all nations of the world. Paul Dini begins this story with Diana’s birth at Paradise Island, and her later wish to join ‘Man’s World’ as an ambassador to help mankind. Her amazing powers are appreciated by many and she helps fight evil in large and small ways. However, others do not respect her goodwill and often her intentions are misinterpreted and rejected. She asks for advice from Superman, who wisely tells her to work alongside people instead of above them. She takes his words to heart and no longer always wears her Amazonian outfit, so she can blend in with other cultures and help from within. Finally, her spirit of truth shines through for all to see.
Ross’s painted watercolors are beautiful as always and done in his trademark photo-realism style. Diana often is shown to resemble Lynda Carter, the iconic actress who played Wonder Woman on television in the 1970s. The layout is not typical graphic novel panels, but often are two-page spreads or montages with a few thin black lines to differentiate the pictures and to direct the flow of the action sequences. The people in the crowds are so realistic, you know that Ross is painting them from models as he did later in the superb Kingdome Come, which also featured Diana in the DC classic.
This book not only reinforced that Wonder Woman is a hero for the ages but also ably connected her to our modern-day world. This lovely stand-alone graphic novel was a treat and I highly recommend it for both the message and the art! (actual review 4.5/5)
This review can also be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2019/09/0...
Published soon after the tragedy of 9/11 in NYC, this story is shaped by the shock of the American people that terrorism could happen on our own shores. As such, it is a hopeful narrative that shows compassion for all nations of the world. Paul Dini begins this story with Diana’s birth at Paradise Island, and her later wish to join ‘Man’s World’ as an ambassador to help mankind. Her amazing powers are appreciated by many and she helps fight evil in large and small ways. However, others do not respect her goodwill and often her intentions are misinterpreted and rejected. She asks for advice from Superman, who wisely tells her to work alongside people instead of above them. She takes his words to heart and no longer always wears her Amazonian outfit, so she can blend in with other cultures and help from within. Finally, her spirit of truth shines through for all to see.
Ross’s painted watercolors are beautiful as always and done in his trademark photo-realism style. Diana often is shown to resemble Lynda Carter, the iconic actress who played Wonder Woman on television in the 1970s. The layout is not typical graphic novel panels, but often are two-page spreads or montages with a few thin black lines to differentiate the pictures and to direct the flow of the action sequences. The people in the crowds are so realistic, you know that Ross is painting them from models as he did later in the superb Kingdome Come, which also featured Diana in the DC classic.
This book not only reinforced that Wonder Woman is a hero for the ages but also ably connected her to our modern-day world. This lovely stand-alone graphic novel was a treat and I highly recommend it for both the message and the art! (actual review 4.5/5)
This review can also be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2019/09/0...
July 7, 2016
I really like these DC 60th Anniversary Tabloids. The first one I read was Superman: Peace on Earth. The focus of these is the artwork (in my opinion). They're oversized books and the pages are filled with amazingly detailed artwork. The stories are also inspiring, broadcasting the best version of these heroes. In this one, Wonder Woman struggles with humanity not accepting her as an Amazon or superior being. She eventually learns from Clark/Superman that blending in and fighting against evil WITH humans is sometimes better than fighting ABOVE them.
Altogether an inspiring comic and I hope to read the others.
Altogether an inspiring comic and I hope to read the others.
February 10, 2024
Un vehículo para el lucimiento de Ross que produce páginas espectaculares (aunque un poco estáticas) pero en conjunto es un tebeo un tanto anodino.
February 23, 2024
(Zero spoiler review)
A charming little tale, although more a narrative stream of consciousness than a story per se. We get what is sadly now an all too rare glimpse at the more heroic, the more heartfelt, the more human aspects of super hero, and who epitomizes that more than Wonder Woman. I've often been critical of Dini's work in the past, and though not flawless here, his grasp of the finer elements of superhero storytelling, not to mention the precious little nods to bygone days here and there, certainly helped to elevate this above any other of his works I've read. Naturally however, the star of this show has to be Alex Ross, whose continual 'slumming' in the comic industry not only defies credulity, but lends such credence to the legacy of this industry. Many other lesser artists have left comics behind for various reasons, but Mr. Ross returns time and time again, for the love of these characters. He certainly doesn't need Marvel or DC to pay the bills. His Wonder Woman is absolutely stunning, even if the star spangled knickers costume isn't my favourite. What we get here is the Wonder Woman Dini and Ross grew up reading. It's a very sad indictment on not only modern comics that such heroicism, such heart, such humanity is in such short supply.
OmniBen.
A charming little tale, although more a narrative stream of consciousness than a story per se. We get what is sadly now an all too rare glimpse at the more heroic, the more heartfelt, the more human aspects of super hero, and who epitomizes that more than Wonder Woman. I've often been critical of Dini's work in the past, and though not flawless here, his grasp of the finer elements of superhero storytelling, not to mention the precious little nods to bygone days here and there, certainly helped to elevate this above any other of his works I've read. Naturally however, the star of this show has to be Alex Ross, whose continual 'slumming' in the comic industry not only defies credulity, but lends such credence to the legacy of this industry. Many other lesser artists have left comics behind for various reasons, but Mr. Ross returns time and time again, for the love of these characters. He certainly doesn't need Marvel or DC to pay the bills. His Wonder Woman is absolutely stunning, even if the star spangled knickers costume isn't my favourite. What we get here is the Wonder Woman Dini and Ross grew up reading. It's a very sad indictment on not only modern comics that such heroicism, such heart, such humanity is in such short supply.
OmniBen.
June 19, 2023
Spirit of Truth is an amazing delve into the Wonder Woman mythos. Her interactions with man kind make her question the validity of her mission. The patriarchal, misogynistic governments which time after time demine women and those they deem less than, impose their will on there societies. Wonder Woman because of her immense power is feared by most and finds it difficult to cope. Seeking the aid of a trusted friend she talks with Superman to ask how he deals with the pressure. With a renewed sense for her mission she heads out to continue her pursuit for justice. One of the best Wonder Woman stories I've read.
Read
October 6, 2017Ni tiene historia, ni tiene nada. Eso sí, enmarcaría cada página (si no tuviera texto).
July 18, 2017
5 estrellas para el arte de Alex Ross, una puta pasada. El guión de Paul Dini por desgracia es una puta basura.
December 5, 2022
alex ross art style is so beautiful i wish i could have a physical copy of it. This was more of a character based story than plot based
October 16, 2023
Rispetto alle altre opere che ho letto di Dini, dedicate ai grandi eroi DC, questa graphic novel destinata all'amazzone è quella meno riuscita.
Meno riuscita perché non è affermato il concetto di verità, meno riuscita perché è l'unica che chiede aiuto e si confronta con un altro eroe, in questo caso Clark Kent- Superman.
Meno riuscita perché come storia è meno efficace, meno lineare rispetto a Batman: War on Crime Shazam: Power of Hope e The World's Greatest Super-heroes e tutto sommato prende anche poco.
Sempre ottimo Alex Ross, ma qui non andiamo oltre le 3 stelle.
Meno riuscita perché non è affermato il concetto di verità, meno riuscita perché è l'unica che chiede aiuto e si confronta con un altro eroe, in questo caso Clark Kent- Superman.
Meno riuscita perché come storia è meno efficace, meno lineare rispetto a Batman: War on Crime Shazam: Power of Hope e The World's Greatest Super-heroes e tutto sommato prende anche poco.
Sempre ottimo Alex Ross, ma qui non andiamo oltre le 3 stelle.
March 21, 2020
This is part of a series by painter Alex Ross. I have the Superman volume and I've read the Batman one, but missed this one along the way. When it showed up in Hoopla with my library, I thought it was time to correct that.
Unlike the rest of the series, Wonder Woman doesn't really have an alter ego. So this story is more about her developing a way to observe and help without standing out. As stories go, it's not bad because we see Wonder Woman as a kind of outsider, and see her learning how to gain trust.
The real reason to read these is the fabulous painted art by Alex Ross. His work is stunning here, as is typical. To see these 4-color heroes in a full palette of paint is fun for a long time comics fan. I enjoyed this one.
Unlike the rest of the series, Wonder Woman doesn't really have an alter ego. So this story is more about her developing a way to observe and help without standing out. As stories go, it's not bad because we see Wonder Woman as a kind of outsider, and see her learning how to gain trust.
The real reason to read these is the fabulous painted art by Alex Ross. His work is stunning here, as is typical. To see these 4-color heroes in a full palette of paint is fun for a long time comics fan. I enjoyed this one.
April 9, 2024
Personal branding plays a role in a superhero's life. Diana learns this the hard way as she is shown criticism and apprehension over her appearance when going to the Middle East and Asia. She believes people will feel secure with a superhero on-site. Instead, her revealing outfit and superpowers either revolt or disgust others. Can Superman help her understand what she is doing wrong?
I loved the artistry of this book. The pictures were more like an old children's fable with worrisome war scenes. It was quite different from what I'm used to with DC.
I loved the artistry of this book. The pictures were more like an old children's fable with worrisome war scenes. It was quite different from what I'm used to with DC.
July 27, 2018
3.5/5 stars
There's no doubt about the painting prowess of Alex Ross and the writing abilities of Paul Dini. And when these two masters work together, the result has got to be one hell of a masterpiece. This series by this duo has been absolutely breathtaking both in the aspect of storytelling and art. However, Spirit of Truth falls a bit short than Superman: Peace on Earth. Nevertheless, its an amazing book. An insight on Wonder Woman's character and her motivations. A must read for WW Fans.
There's no doubt about the painting prowess of Alex Ross and the writing abilities of Paul Dini. And when these two masters work together, the result has got to be one hell of a masterpiece. This series by this duo has been absolutely breathtaking both in the aspect of storytelling and art. However, Spirit of Truth falls a bit short than Superman: Peace on Earth. Nevertheless, its an amazing book. An insight on Wonder Woman's character and her motivations. A must read for WW Fans.
September 20, 2017
Me gustó que se explicara el por qué ella comienza a ocultarse como si fuera una humana.
March 22, 2020
A good balm for today.
May 8, 2025
she's stunning but wonder woman's eyes scare me
May 1, 2020
Nice art
January 9, 2016
I generally like Paul Dini, and Alex Ross's artwork is of course beautiful -- but as a Wonder Woman story, I kind of hate this book.
Because the basic thrust of the story is that Diana is so alien, so far removed from humanity that she cannot empathise or relate to them. Diana. That's just-- I cannot even articulate how laughable that is. This is a character who has over and over again been portrayed as deeply compassionate, who is an ambassador for her people, who has shown time and again her diplomatic savvy, but in Dini's hands she's culturally ignorant, incapable of subtlety and unable to comprehend why certain people might be frightened by a super-powered flying tank in a bathing suit.
No kidding, at one stage Diana actually flies into a market place in an Islamic state, glides up to a group of women and asks them (and I'm paraphrasing), "Hey ladies, have you heard anything about some displaced villagers being forced to act as human shields? I promise I'm not working for the military. No, really, I realise I'm swanning around in what’s essentially an American flag, but I can assure you nobody will know you’ve talked to me. It's not like I'm in any way conspicuous. Hey-- hey! Stop throwing rocks at me! Can't you see I'm trying to help?!"
Which brings me to the reason why I've knocked this book right down to one star. The story carries some frankly uncomfortable racial undertones. I don't believe this was Dini's intention. I think what he was trying to do was see Diana exposed to a wide range of people, all of different cultures and walks of life, in the course of her crime fighting; to have her struggling to connect (ugh) and realise that she needed to come down from her pedestal to truly experience the world (seriously no).
The problem, aside from how absurdly out-of-character this is, is that this basically involves Diana venturing into a number of stereotypical African, Asian and Middle Eastern dictatorships, confronting stereotypical autocrats and being confounded by stereotypical frightened/ignorant villagers. It's more than a little discomforting, and the implications are unfortunate.
Basically, Spirit of Truth is a pretty book with shockingly bad characterisation and no substance.
If you're looking for a really good Wonder Woman graphic novel, I recommend trying Christopher Moeller's JLA: A League of One (which is far prettier anyway) or Greg Rucka's Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia (which is perfect) instead.
Because the basic thrust of the story is that Diana is so alien, so far removed from humanity that she cannot empathise or relate to them. Diana. That's just-- I cannot even articulate how laughable that is. This is a character who has over and over again been portrayed as deeply compassionate, who is an ambassador for her people, who has shown time and again her diplomatic savvy, but in Dini's hands she's culturally ignorant, incapable of subtlety and unable to comprehend why certain people might be frightened by a super-powered flying tank in a bathing suit.
No kidding, at one stage Diana actually flies into a market place in an Islamic state, glides up to a group of women and asks them (and I'm paraphrasing), "Hey ladies, have you heard anything about some displaced villagers being forced to act as human shields? I promise I'm not working for the military. No, really, I realise I'm swanning around in what’s essentially an American flag, but I can assure you nobody will know you’ve talked to me. It's not like I'm in any way conspicuous. Hey-- hey! Stop throwing rocks at me! Can't you see I'm trying to help?!"
Which brings me to the reason why I've knocked this book right down to one star. The story carries some frankly uncomfortable racial undertones. I don't believe this was Dini's intention. I think what he was trying to do was see Diana exposed to a wide range of people, all of different cultures and walks of life, in the course of her crime fighting; to have her struggling to connect (ugh) and realise that she needed to come down from her pedestal to truly experience the world (seriously no).
The problem, aside from how absurdly out-of-character this is, is that this basically involves Diana venturing into a number of stereotypical African, Asian and Middle Eastern dictatorships, confronting stereotypical autocrats and being confounded by stereotypical frightened/ignorant villagers. It's more than a little discomforting, and the implications are unfortunate.
Basically, Spirit of Truth is a pretty book with shockingly bad characterisation and no substance.
If you're looking for a really good Wonder Woman graphic novel, I recommend trying Christopher Moeller's JLA: A League of One (which is far prettier anyway) or Greg Rucka's Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia (which is perfect) instead.
November 4, 2021
Review to come.
February 16, 2020
Story-wise it's 4. Dini does a good job capturing Diana's essence and gives the reader and the heroine some questions. For example: how can you help people who are intimidated by you? So Diana goes around the globe helping people in different ways, observing and searching for an answer. I do wish it was longer and had a more complex story but the creatives behind it achieved what they wanted I believe. Not many action scenes but more soul searching and acts of kindness.
Now, art-wise it was DOPE!! Alex Ross is an art god and I'm so happy that he's kept creating to this day! Is he the best painter in the whole wide world? I guess we'll see after I get my hands on Kingdom Come and have an artgasm. Reading this book's basically looking at screenshots of a movie. If I were Alex Ross I'd merely draw variant covers and go on vacations with my paycheck but he's drawing complete books!! Like-?!?!?!? My brain is happy and a very good evening to all.
Now, art-wise it was DOPE!! Alex Ross is an art god and I'm so happy that he's kept creating to this day! Is he the best painter in the whole wide world? I guess we'll see after I get my hands on Kingdom Come and have an artgasm. Reading this book's basically looking at screenshots of a movie. If I were Alex Ross I'd merely draw variant covers and go on vacations with my paycheck but he's drawing complete books!! Like-?!?!?!? My brain is happy and a very good evening to all.
October 25, 2017
How is it that nobody talks about this book? It was perfect.
We can always trust Paul Dini for a good story, and that art from Alex Ross, I would recognize it everywhere, glorious. For real, these took out the best of Wonder Woman in this book and showed that she is more than a goddess, she can also be a normal woman.
Short, yet, is anyone wants to know who is WW, and the ideals that she stands for, this is the perfect reading. I could reccomend to anyone.
We can always trust Paul Dini for a good story, and that art from Alex Ross, I would recognize it everywhere, glorious. For real, these took out the best of Wonder Woman in this book and showed that she is more than a goddess, she can also be a normal woman.
Short, yet, is anyone wants to know who is WW, and the ideals that she stands for, this is the perfect reading. I could reccomend to anyone.
September 11, 2024
For this review, I'm doing something slightly unusual.
First, I'm going to tell you that I adore this story and that I read it at the precise perfect time in my DC fandom to get the most out of it. I've been getting very frustrated with how Diana is used in DC's stories (across various media) and feeling exhausted that--for all of her amazing potential as an inspiring and uniquely compassionate character--too often she seems to be reduced to "pretty lady with a sword". She and Superman (who plays a surprising but welcome role in this story) have come to mean so much to me, surprisingly late in life. For this story to both understand "the Wonder Woman project" (as imagined by Marston with shocking prescience) and to have such clarity of introspection... I really do love it. It made me tear up a number of times, and it's really not that long.
So with that out of the way, I'm going to write way more than anyone is likely to read about how I think the art is kind of a huge failure.
Alex Ross has amazing technique. More than being detailed, realistic, and painterly, he also depicts a slightly uncannny (but therefore appropriate) luminosity to our god-like friends that lead these stories.
He also...
Hey, uh, look. I don't think i'm accidentally saying anything embarrassing about myself when I mention that--when Ross paints Diana--my eyes sometimes go directly to her legs. It's hardly my fault when--in one of the first panels in which she is actually acting as Wonder Woman--all you see is her barely-clothed legs.
I think that people can have honest disagreements about what it means for a woman character to be sexy (truly not a problem; characters of all genders can be sexy in various ways to various people) versus sexualized (which is cheap at best and regressive at worst). I don't think it's always easy to draw the line between what's problematic and what's not.
But.
We couldn't put a skirt on Diana again for this? Like, I'm honestly sympathetic to Ross's task given the parameters of Wonder Woman: iconically, she typically wears a skirt at most (and often less). She's supposed to come across as tall and powerful: a lot of that comes from the legs. Canonically, she has light skin, which--against any similarly canonical blue clothing--is going to pop.
But for Ross's style, I'm way less ready to excuse skin-tight or lack of clothing. Not because it suddenly becomes easier to draw folds in fabric, but because he's chosen complexity already.
In my irregular fits of pretending to be a cartoonist, people are very likely to have clothes that hug their body pretty tightly. Because I didn't plan ahead and don't have the technique to capture anything more sophisticated.
In the typical comic book art style, I'm very realistic about the fact that many of our heroes wear tight clothing (not just women) because it's way, way easier to get those pages drawn on time. Ross has chosen to adopt a more fine-arts style and make every panel a work of art in itself.
My protest is less "you're already working harder, Alex, so just work even harder". I don't want to be confused for saying that. Rather, I think that the various creative forces for this book should have thought harder about how much Diana's legs become the focal point, especially when it doesn't really seem to be that they're depicted as powerful in themselves. Like, there's not a lot of muscle definition; that doesn't seem to be the point.
To speak to a slightly different problem: I learned recently that Alex Ross uses a lot of action figures for reference, and--beyond any of my objections above to how much Diana is reduced to her legs--one criticism I may have of Ross is that there's a very static quality to a lot of his art, one that is less surprising if you know that he's literally posing rigid action figures to guide his work.
To my mind, it is far easier to suggest motion (and also to exaggerate expressions) in traditional cartooning than it is with the realistic painting that Ross utilizes. By this, I mean to both partially excuse Ross and complain that I may never like his art as much as I would like traditional art for comics. For this medium especially, too often his figures appear to be frozen rather than captured.
For example: in this book, Diana arrives at a peaceful demonstration that is at risk of boiling over into violence. Unsurprisingly, it does: tanks advance on the protestors and chaos erupts.
This sequence is severely deprived of both energy and drama because of the stiffness of Ross's paintings. We are told that a tank is driving directly at a woman who fell down in front of it, and she's seconds from being flattened.
She doesn't look panicked. The scene doesn't feel frenzied. The tank doesn't look like it's moving.
Simpler and more dynamic art would have been way more effective here. I think that Alex Ross is an interesting exception to the visual language of comics, but I've yet to be convinced that he's a superior option to a more conventional approach (at least for interiors). (When it comes to storytelling and the medium as a whole, at least. People will disagree about the isolated value of his art. I know that I find his painting of Diana chilling with a deer to be breathtaking, for instance.)
First, I'm going to tell you that I adore this story and that I read it at the precise perfect time in my DC fandom to get the most out of it. I've been getting very frustrated with how Diana is used in DC's stories (across various media) and feeling exhausted that--for all of her amazing potential as an inspiring and uniquely compassionate character--too often she seems to be reduced to "pretty lady with a sword". She and Superman (who plays a surprising but welcome role in this story) have come to mean so much to me, surprisingly late in life. For this story to both understand "the Wonder Woman project" (as imagined by Marston with shocking prescience) and to have such clarity of introspection... I really do love it. It made me tear up a number of times, and it's really not that long.
So with that out of the way, I'm going to write way more than anyone is likely to read about how I think the art is kind of a huge failure.
Alex Ross has amazing technique. More than being detailed, realistic, and painterly, he also depicts a slightly uncannny (but therefore appropriate) luminosity to our god-like friends that lead these stories.
He also...
Hey, uh, look. I don't think i'm accidentally saying anything embarrassing about myself when I mention that--when Ross paints Diana--my eyes sometimes go directly to her legs. It's hardly my fault when--in one of the first panels in which she is actually acting as Wonder Woman--all you see is her barely-clothed legs.
I think that people can have honest disagreements about what it means for a woman character to be sexy (truly not a problem; characters of all genders can be sexy in various ways to various people) versus sexualized (which is cheap at best and regressive at worst). I don't think it's always easy to draw the line between what's problematic and what's not.
But.
We couldn't put a skirt on Diana again for this? Like, I'm honestly sympathetic to Ross's task given the parameters of Wonder Woman: iconically, she typically wears a skirt at most (and often less). She's supposed to come across as tall and powerful: a lot of that comes from the legs. Canonically, she has light skin, which--against any similarly canonical blue clothing--is going to pop.
But for Ross's style, I'm way less ready to excuse skin-tight or lack of clothing. Not because it suddenly becomes easier to draw folds in fabric, but because he's chosen complexity already.
In my irregular fits of pretending to be a cartoonist, people are very likely to have clothes that hug their body pretty tightly. Because I didn't plan ahead and don't have the technique to capture anything more sophisticated.
In the typical comic book art style, I'm very realistic about the fact that many of our heroes wear tight clothing (not just women) because it's way, way easier to get those pages drawn on time. Ross has chosen to adopt a more fine-arts style and make every panel a work of art in itself.
My protest is less "you're already working harder, Alex, so just work even harder". I don't want to be confused for saying that. Rather, I think that the various creative forces for this book should have thought harder about how much Diana's legs become the focal point, especially when it doesn't really seem to be that they're depicted as powerful in themselves. Like, there's not a lot of muscle definition; that doesn't seem to be the point.
To speak to a slightly different problem: I learned recently that Alex Ross uses a lot of action figures for reference, and--beyond any of my objections above to how much Diana is reduced to her legs--one criticism I may have of Ross is that there's a very static quality to a lot of his art, one that is less surprising if you know that he's literally posing rigid action figures to guide his work.
To my mind, it is far easier to suggest motion (and also to exaggerate expressions) in traditional cartooning than it is with the realistic painting that Ross utilizes. By this, I mean to both partially excuse Ross and complain that I may never like his art as much as I would like traditional art for comics. For this medium especially, too often his figures appear to be frozen rather than captured.
For example: in this book, Diana arrives at a peaceful demonstration that is at risk of boiling over into violence. Unsurprisingly, it does: tanks advance on the protestors and chaos erupts.
This sequence is severely deprived of both energy and drama because of the stiffness of Ross's paintings. We are told that a tank is driving directly at a woman who fell down in front of it, and she's seconds from being flattened.
She doesn't look panicked. The scene doesn't feel frenzied. The tank doesn't look like it's moving.
Simpler and more dynamic art would have been way more effective here. I think that Alex Ross is an interesting exception to the visual language of comics, but I've yet to be convinced that he's a superior option to a more conventional approach (at least for interiors). (When it comes to storytelling and the medium as a whole, at least. People will disagree about the isolated value of his art. I know that I find his painting of Diana chilling with a deer to be breathtaking, for instance.)
June 27, 2017
This is an oversize graphic novel, with gorgeous water color illustrations that are the main focus. It's a somewhat origin story, dealing with what makes Diana care about humans and what motivates her to do what she does for human kind.
September 19, 2021
Read as part of The World's Greatest Superheroes.
Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth is a fantastic Wonder Woman story about Diana's want to help, yet her alienation at being a threatening outsider.
There's an amazing two-page spread of Wonder Woman lifting up a tank before it rolls over a protester (I believe it's supposed to be a depiction of the Tiananmen Square protests).
(WW:)"It's all right," I gently said, helping her up. "The danger's over." She stared at me fearfully for a few seconds. Then finally gasped, "What are you?"
"A friend," I smiled. "A woman, just like you."
"No," she shot back. "You're not at all like me!"
With that she turned and ran. The girl had seen me only as an unwelcome intrusion into her world. A bizarre creature every bit as threatening as the tank that nearly killed her."
When Wonder Woman tries again to intercede in another situation across the globe, she is shunned and literally stoned. "Humbled and heartbroken" she goes to her friend, Clark Kent for advice. He explains that while he is superhuman, he was still raised human. His life as Clark Kent allows him to never lose sight of his humanity, which helps him help others by allowing him to "work alongside people, rather than above them."
The dichotomy between human and superhuman identity (and power) infuses this Wonder Woman story with a good conflict as she learns to navigate the World of Men. She's rebuffed as she tries to help. She's a warrior as she tries to make peace. And she, like us all, is a being of contradictions. (Diana sees herself as a woman, just like the woman she saved from the tank, yet she was the one who was holding a tank while the woman she saved was on the ground.)
Art is incredible.
Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth is a fantastic Wonder Woman story about Diana's want to help, yet her alienation at being a threatening outsider.
There's an amazing two-page spread of Wonder Woman lifting up a tank before it rolls over a protester (I believe it's supposed to be a depiction of the Tiananmen Square protests).
(WW:)"It's all right," I gently said, helping her up. "The danger's over." She stared at me fearfully for a few seconds. Then finally gasped, "What are you?"
"A friend," I smiled. "A woman, just like you."
"No," she shot back. "You're not at all like me!"
With that she turned and ran. The girl had seen me only as an unwelcome intrusion into her world. A bizarre creature every bit as threatening as the tank that nearly killed her."
When Wonder Woman tries again to intercede in another situation across the globe, she is shunned and literally stoned. "Humbled and heartbroken" she goes to her friend, Clark Kent for advice. He explains that while he is superhuman, he was still raised human. His life as Clark Kent allows him to never lose sight of his humanity, which helps him help others by allowing him to "work alongside people, rather than above them."
The dichotomy between human and superhuman identity (and power) infuses this Wonder Woman story with a good conflict as she learns to navigate the World of Men. She's rebuffed as she tries to help. She's a warrior as she tries to make peace. And she, like us all, is a being of contradictions. (Diana sees herself as a woman, just like the woman she saved from the tank, yet she was the one who was holding a tank while the woman she saved was on the ground.)
Art is incredible.
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