Wonder Woman: Earth One

Wonder Woman: Earth One #1-3

by Grant Morrison, Yanick Paquette (illustrator)

Wonder Woman’s origin has been retold numerous times…but never before like this! From the mind of author Grant Morrison (Animal Man) and the brush of artist Yanick Paquette (Swamp Thing) comes this familiar but unique take on Wonder Woman’s origin. Torn between upholding her duty to the Amazons and her desire to help those in need, Diana must learn to be not only a warrior, but a leader if the Amazons are to survive the conflicts of Man’s World. Collects Wonder Earth One Vols. 1-3.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Wonder Woman, Fiction, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics

376 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Grant Morrison has been working with DC Comics for twenty five years, after beginning their American comics career with acclaimed runs on ANIMAL MAN and DOOM PATROL. Since then they have written such best-selling series as JLA, BATMAN and New X-Men, as well as such creator-owned works as THE INVISIBLES, SEAGUY, THE FILTH, WE3 and JOE THE BARBARIAN. In addition to expanding the DC Universe through titles ranging from the Eisner Award-winning SEVEN SOLDIERS and ALL-STAR SUPERMAN to the reality-shattering epic of FINAL CRISIS, they have also reinvented the worlds of the Dark Knight Detective in BATMAN AND ROBIN and BATMAN, INCORPORATED and the Man of Steel in The New 52 ACTION COMICS.

In their secret identity, Morrison is a "counterculture" spokesperson, a musician, an award-winning playwright and a chaos magician. They are also the author of the New York Times bestseller Supergods, a groundbreaking psycho-historic mapping of the superhero as a cultural organism. They divide their time between their homes in Los Angeles and Scotland.

Reviews

[Carmela Berkhouse · Rating 2 out of 5]

while i enjoy the art for the most part, the core themes of feminist revolution in a male run society, and its general progressivism with being a mainstream mega popular character, i just cannot ignore how god damn fascist this book is. grant morrison clearly did not know how to comment on how the amazonians way of “love by force” is no different than a violent society, men still have no agency in their book, it really is just childish reverse sexism. instead what we get is basically akin to a nerd incapable of removing his fantasies from his politics, sexy sci-fi/mythological fascist women who use lesbian BDSM to cure naziism. truly genius ideals, who needs to arrive at conclusions by intellectualism? i do understand showing love and compassion is the way to help people understand your cause, but we do all understand the difference between that & ‘The Authors Barely Disguised Fetish’, right? it’s frustrating because i want to enjoy this book for its progressive ideas, but it feels more like moral luck than actual spine, no real commitment to ideals or rational conclusions based on values, just vibes.

beyond this though, Diana is a very wishy washy character, while i do like that she faces conflict, something that bugged me is that it feels like it all just rolled off her back. to some degree Diana should be an all powerful being, but i didn’t really pick up even a scent of long term remorse over the death of her mom. she doesn’t really grow, she turns from a curious rebel to a feminist icon party girl. riveting, truly riveting. and look, i earnestly don’t mind stories about vapid girls who do drugs and drink to soil their brains, lord knows i love reading about myself, but i don’t really feel like we committed to any angle here, she existed as the story needed her to, not as a real woman.

ultimately the kicker here is this is feminist literature that does not respect women or view them as beings with true agency, they are plot devices or they are comedic fetish material, that is the purpose they serve here, and it’s embarrassing the message it tries to force down your throat while not understanding what it preaches in the slightest. big let down, as someone who’s never read wonder woman before, this feels like it was certainly a bad start, even if i did enjoy it a little mindlessly at times. entertaining if you can just shut your brain off entirely, but it does not hold up under the merits of even a little ideological scrutiny. the ‘i’m a male feminist’ of comics.

[Krystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ehhhh.

This was okay, and it was nice to read a fresh take on Wonder Woman's origins, but wasn't a huge fan of the writing.

Some of it was really good, and had me hanging on. Other parts were really confusing and hard to follow.

I also have a lot of problems with these male writers of WW that seem to think WW standing up for women means 'bringing the world of man to its knees.' Feminism is not wanting to dominate men, and for some reason male writers of WW just don't seem to get that? They're very gung-ho about destroying the patriarchy but I don't think they really understand what that means for women.

It was an interesting portrayal of some of the characters, but ironically the men are more fleshed out than WW herself. Instead, she's barely here.

Not my favourite WW comic by any means, I'm afraid. All up, kind of disappointing.

[Aidan]

Broke: Wonder Woman is the Greek mythology superhero

Woke: Wonder Woman is the feminist superhero

Bespoke: Wonder Woman is the dominatrix BDSM superhero

[Isaac Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm confused. I enjoyed this story but it felt a little off. I felt as though a critique of Themmiscara was coming and then it never materialized. The society felt non-violently authoritarian. Maybe I'm just not getting it. Still was enjoyable.

[Jos Trinidad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this in today's current climate was really interesting. Despite being published over 10 years ago, the themes of gender equality and support for movements that help everyone is so contemporary. Unsurprisingly political and unabashedly feminist, this was a great comic to truly embody the cyclical nature of motherhood and daughterhood. Coincidentally reading this around Mother's Day, it triggered so many memories and quotes about how much mothers stunt themselves to let their daughters grow. I think that it's truly apparent in the beginning and end of this collection that there is a heavy focus on the symbolic meanings of motherhood and how daughters continue the stories their mothers stopped to raise them.

I really loved the story this book told about relationships and societal dynamics that women face in their day-to-day, sometimes without even realizing it. The commentary it makes about then-contemporary events showed me how little progress we have made in the past decade and how much work we still have to do.

[Sophie Guichardan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a lot of opinions and thoughts on this that I am unsure if I can articulate in a clear way.

To preface— I am a huge fan of Wonder Woman's character and I have generally loved Grant Morrison's writing for characters like Superman and Batman. I have no issue with Diana not being written by a woman (though it is not preferred) as long they know how to write her well and how to write important elements of her story (Themyscira, Steve Trevor, etc).

In this story, I do feel like Grant wrote Diana generally well but every other element of the story really missed the mark for me.

I understand the choice to lean into the bondage/BDSM roots of the character's original author through this version of the Amazons but I honestly just really hated the sexual depiction we got and struggled to push through that. It permeated into other issues I had with the story and I personally found that the "feminist" narrative the story was attempting to be a bit unrealized.

I also found the race-swapping element of Steve Trevor to be a bit problematic at best in this regard, as I am not sure GM successfully executed what he was trying to achieve by the end of the novel with the Amazon's unchanged authoritarianism.

Sigh... I guess I may need to go re-read All-Star Superman or Arkham Asylum again to give GM another chance.

[Fil · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a word: wow!

I admit to being a bit concerned after seeing reviews online referencing woke ideology in this story, but as I had already ordered the book, I just crossed my fingers and waited.

My worry was for naught, as I really got into the story after just a few pages. Whether I am too dim to pick up on those references or the reviews I had seen were overly sensitive, I can't say. Hercules as presented in the opening scene was pretty much a douche, but it set the stage for why Paradise Island is as it is. The story pulled me in and I sat up way too late reading to see what happened next. The mark of a truly good tale.

The art: beautiful! Page after page of large double page spreads and well laid out panels.

I was a bit sad when it ended and there isn't another volume to continue the story. But I will be reading this one again.

[kel · Rating 1 out of 5]

this has to be satire. please say sike... (art was pretty tho, but weird motifs kept appearing)

[Nadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐️

“Men, renounce the violence that has kept you in chains, the roles that confine you, the fears that haunt you. And join us in a better world.”

The feminist in me glowed a thousand-fold upon completing this book. The first part of the story follows our icon Diana, navigating her complicated lore and relationship with iconic mother Hippolyta and their complex mother-daughter relationship. The exploration of this dichotomy was well written with gorgeous queer themes and art of Paradise Island (easily one of my fave parts of the book).

Now onto the 2nd and 3rd part of the book, where Diana ventures into “mens world” which she finds to be a hot mess and is disgusted at the sight of how misogyny has left its women and she comes in trying to enact change and provide women with the Amazonian way of life - which honestly seems ideal and at its core the bare minimum of what women deserve.

Diana’s intentions are good but at some point the writing eventually strays to become - “angry feminist becomes violent and only wants to kill and destroy men” and the tone starts to grey. That’s where you can see how this book was written from the POV of a man and how shallow they perceive a modern day feminist to be. Sooo a lil bit of an oof there.

The antagonist being Max Lord didn’t really make that much of an impact and neither did leading men, Steve Trevor. To be honest, they didn’t add too much to the story but I’m not too mad at that because Diana and the Amazons gave what needed to be given.

The side story of having a Nazi Barbie was certainly a CHOICE. And her being the one to cause Hippolyta’s demise was a wild choice. Baffled me really~!

But overall, a pretty fun read with alot of amazing quotes that every woman should memorise by heart when talking down to a man 😌 I hope Paradise Island eventually becomes a reality for women one day, for I would be more than happy to submit to loving submission to the Amazonian women. I hope to see a place where all women can feel safe and happy away from the darkness of misogyny~😉

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonder Woman: Earth One: Complete Collection

For millennia, the Amazons of Paradise Island have lived in hidden isolation from the world of men. Hippolyta, the Queen of the Amazons, is raising her daughter Diana to be a healer and to learn from her fellow Amazons. When Steve Trevor crashes on Paradise Island, Diana makes a choice which will not only change her, but also her home and the world of men.

Morrison's plot is expansive and covers a new origin story, as well as an intriguing plot where the US Government is determined to end the threat of the Amazons. The artwork is not just amazing, but genuinely beautiful. Wonder Woman is drawn to stun in this book, but the emphasis is on power and control and the message of equality and female empowerment makes this an important addition to DC's line.

[Federico Kereki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I cannot avoid thinking that WW sounded a bit fascistic and dictatorial at times...

[Brent · Rating 1 out of 5]

Grant honey this really ain't it.

[Alena Xuan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it for the art.

The rest of it sucks.

Honestly, I could do without the woke agenda and with more Greek mythology.

[Rian Bolger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure if this was the best first read for Grant Morrison, but I saw people mention it all goes back to the odd origins of Wonder Woman with all the bondage and chains and so on, and I was interested.

I'll get it out of the way now. This is missing a star because the pacing is insane. It was really quite hard to follow what was happening, where the perspective had moved to, and at times what period we were in. But the art is gorgeous and the story and themes were quite fun to parse and settle into an opinion on.

I think it's interesting that, no matter how utopian or idealised Amazonian (or Harmonian) society gets, it still indebts itself to a ruling power. I suppose that's what will happen when the Greek Gods exist in no uncertain terms. It's hard to critique the theologic roots of their government when Aphrodite and Athena literally exist. But I'm sure if you viewed our devotions to nebulous ideas like "democracy" or "truth" as an outsider we'd look much the same.

There is obviously a gender-essentialist issue that arrises from narratives like this, but I don't believe it's nearly as guilty as something like Gerwig's Barbie, wherein matriarchy has simply created a virtually identical oppressed class in men. The problem is not solved, but simply inverted. And Wonder Woman: Earth One flirts with this repeatedly throughout. Diana obviously opposes it for the most part, believing a middle ground of true equality is achievable, and it certainly seems like Harmonia has achieved something like that by the end. The council of presidents or something at the end has one man on it, the rest women. Either it was a particularly good run for the girls that year, or this inverted matriarchy is starting to settle into the degree of equality we've seen emerge in the last 100 years. If the latter is the case, I'm largely of the opinion that like, sure. It's probably our turn on the bottom, as white men. We've been on top long enough.

But you'll notice that Harmonia doesn't actually seem to have any explicit, clear cut prejudices against men. And in the "Manly Party" we see just how silly men's rights movements are. We do not see anything about Harmonia to suggest men are second class citizens. They do not live a lesser life. No one at all seems to want for anything. But they're still crying out that they have been oppressed, because they believe equality must be transactional. For women to gain something, men must lose it. For minorities to gain something, the majority must lose it. We live in a world of abundance. Harmonia exists even more so in one. There is more than enough to go around. Everyone could live the same, comfortable life with no strain on resources. But these idiots are convinced when someone is franchised, or given political asylum, or is allowed to marry, that something material, that they didn't even know they had, has been snatched from their hands. The Manly Party is lashing out at a world that loves it because they are not the sole focus of that love. They have to share an infinite resource with someone else, God forbid.

I do appreciate that a trans woman appears at one point to ask if she's welcome in Amazonia and Diana is just like "Yeah, of course. All women are." But Betty's later comment about a cringe nickname being like a deadname was strange. It felt like Morrison wanted to acknowledge that they know deadnaming is a thing and that it is bad, but they couldn't find room for it anywhere else. A ham-fisted but well-meaning thumbs-up of support. I love hyphens! But I'm not trans of course, maybe it's fine and I'm barking up the wrong tree there.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, what was with the Nazi super soldier? I guess it's meant to reflect this all-forgiving nature Diana espouses where anyone can be reformed. But, I don't know. She's a Nazi! I guess I understand that she's been brainwashed into those beliefs, as many Nazis probably were. I liked that they just reverse brainwash her into being a kind lesbian. Brainwashing someone to believe an objectively kinder, benevolent philosophy is an odd question. I guess because comics brainwashing and real brainwashing are like totally different phenomena. But like, I don't know! I think brainwashing is the only thing that's going to fix an awful lot of right wing freaks out there. Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.

Analysing a world with an island of superpowered lesbians with real world gender politics is probably a vain effort, but it was fun! And I really want to read more Wonder Woman comics, so it won in that regard. Just not that horrible Tom King run going at the moment. Please.

[Tom Selley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grant Morrison clearly had two big things coming into this that sum up my feelings on the book; 40 years of ideas for Wonder Woman and three volumes to fit it in. Because there are interesting concepts being thrown around in this book constantly, but nothing gets enough presence to be developed in a meaningful way.

As it's a Morrison book, a lot of these ideas are drawn from Wonder Woman's Golden Age stories, particularly Marston's bondage-heavy writing. And the general themes of bondage, both in the visuals and in the ideology of loving submission are things I generally enjoyed. They were certainly the most consistent motifs throughout the book, and though it became gratuitously lecherous at times it usually felt like a meaningful inclusion.

Unfortunately, I found Morrisons visions of Amazonian-styled feminism pretty incoherent, it's probably the most dominant case of underdevelopement. To start with, the facist implications of a genetically superior and isolationist nation who follow a single, unchanging ruler are touched on near the start with the suggestion that it is wrong, but nothing much more is said about it. We are shown a vision of a future earth that is completely ruled by women, and what's clearly intended to be a matriarchal paradise comes across as uncanny and almost totalitarian. The conclusion seems to double down on the facist undertones, with the apparent justification that it created a paradise.

On the one hand, this series began in 2016, the starting point for what has become a rapid erosion of women's rights in America and globally, so I can sympathise with the desire to write a female power fantasy in response. But where it falls down is in giving Princess Diana both immense physical and structural power, and pitting her against incredibly underpowered villains. The imbalance that it's responding to is never depicted in a satisfying way.

Overall it's a lot of fun if you don't think too deeply into the traditions of Amazonian culture as they are presented, or the somewhat misguided attempts at a form of feminism that is just as extreme as it is vague.

[Terry Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A subversive and challenging read that refuses to coddle the reader or give in to standard tropes.

Morrison's take on Wonder Woman's origins reads like a feminist manifesto, but without anger or caustic name-calling.

The three volumes collected here play out like a morality tale about gender roles, and Morrison's deft storytelling elevates the portions that might have felt labored or didactic.

Paquette's pencils are absolutely stunning, and the manner in which he frames panels with thematic borders is pleasing and smile inducing.

Enter into this prepared to have a tough conversation with the author about submission, warfare, gender ideologies, sexual norms and quite a bit more.

And a wee bit of punching.

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

ngl war kurz davor den Comic ausm Fenster zu schmeißen aber der Artwork war zu schön

[Piotr Rzeźnik · Rating 4 out of 5]

myślałem że będzie gorzej ale było git

[Sotiris Kosmas · Rating 1 out of 5]

One star allotted only for the art, which is fine although nothing to write home about. The plot, promising to start with, falls off a cliff and becomes non - sensical. The worst offense however is that the story is told without any subtlety or nuisance and the identity politics will make this a very dated comic

[Paul Jr. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This genuinely made ZERO sense. They want to make the world peaceful by brainwashing? What the f*ck Morrison? Confusing time line and weird ass plot, so disappointed.

[Jipi Perreault · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deep look at Wonder Woman but even more the Amazon society which envision a post patriarchy world.

[StephY · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was a kid, I used to think girls were the best ever. While most boys my age at school watched WWE or Dragon Ball, I was watching Winx Club or the Disney princesses. All of them wanted to be the red Power Ranger, I thought the girls were cooler. Superheroes were the small niche where male-led stories captured me. Spider-Man and Batman were all the rage thanks to Raimi and Nolan, but when I caught a glimpse of Diana in Justice League Unlimited, I was enamored by the idea of such a powerful woman. Over 15 years later, much of this dissonance between me and the other boys at school started to make sense.

So, what does this have to do with Wonder Woman: Earth One?

Well, I think Grant Morrison might share some of those views I had when I was a kid. And his openness about his queer identity also informs much of what he writes here. This is a story that puts women on the highest pedestal ever, perhaps even to a fault at times. Everything about Diana, the Amazons and the world's reaction to Wonder Woman feels incredibly idealistic, some might even say it's fetishistic throughout. The art depicts these women as goddesses in every page, with the highest reverence to their bodies in a way that caught me off guard at first but I ended liking by the end (though I feel like the colors might pop more on glossy paper).

Volume One is by far the strongest, as a direct reimagining of Diana's origin we're mostly treading familiar waters. It's on Volume Two and Three where things get really weird. I was told that this story was odd, but the directions they take are sometimes insane. I was on board for some, but others had me scratching my head. It seems like Morrison views the women of this story as beings that can do no wrong, and the ones that do are doing so because of men's influence, which takes away from the nuance a story like this could benefit from. For a story that has its main character preach about "submitting to loving authority", there must he more to it than just blindly accepting change. Morrison hints at this at the beginning but never dwells on it, assuming that just because the Amazons on his story thrived on this idea, the next step on evolution is to simply move from the patriarchy to the matriarchy. But as a simplistic concept? As a fantasy, it's also interesting to just let the imagination go, and wonder about how different things would be if the men in power weren't so hellbent on making life hard for anyone who doesn't look like them.

We've seen superhero stories over the years being used to preach all types of ideas. From the rejection of nazism in the 40s to the fearmongering of communism in the 80s. From heroes that preach leftist ideals to characters that might as well be on the ballot of the republican party. And during all of this, female characters never seemed to catch a breath. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the author.

And perhaps a story where women are unapologetically on top isn't the worst one out there.

[vanessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was definitely a read, and i definitely have thoughts. for context, i grew up with gal gadot's wonder woman (yes.. tragic, but that's the version i knew and obviously i knew BAD). at the start of this compact, diana is portrayed as straight fire, and i LOVE that, but as it went on, the writing just got awkward and strange.

personally, i really think men shouldn't be writing powerful women unless they really know what they're doing. how can a man understand what it feels like to be a woman, along with the pain, and turmoils if they've just never been one?! people always shout "greg rucka is the exception," but like... he's still not a woman?? anyways, that was just a tangent.

the main reason this got harder to read is quite simple: i just stopped caring. steve trevor?? didn't care. the spinstresses? definitely didn't care; "all that ripens is cut down..." girl, what?? shut up. the only saving grace was candy, and she wasn't even really anything. ALSO, the hitler storyline, absolutely wild?! i don't understand why that was the direction, and the whole "reformed blonde woman" thing was just such a waste of time. yes, people can grow, but the whole premise of "yes, we give women a second chance to reform, BUT NOT MEN??" it just does not work. overall, just hypocritical, i don't care.

the portrayal of love and sexuality didn't help either. why are we kissing each other, and everyone? why is everything oversexualised (and this coming from an ex-gal-gadot-run fan). the story is just mid overall (if not WORSE). i don't enjoy this version of wonder woman, and the writing choices are ??? the "happy ending" was unrealistic, the holliday girls of beta lambda are suddenly also going to change the world?? why is this random soroity in charge???

overall, i wish a woman had written this. feminism in fiction needs to be handled with intention and nuance, and i just really didn't take to morrison's "take" on wonder woman. coming from someone familiar with "bad"... this was worse. my two stars are generous.

[Who Watches · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really didn't want to do this, but I just can't justify giving this comic run any more than a single star. At first drawn in by the character and the artwork -- which is stellar, mind you, and makes frequent use of very creative paneling -- Wonder Woman: Earth One gets worse and worse the longer you read, and while I had forgiven some of its hiccups in the first issue, by the end of the third I was rolling my eyes every. single. time. a character opened their mouth.

It's one thing to write a political story, to borrow from and reference modern discourse for commentary, to have something to say. It's another to throw everything in a pot and shit it all back up into a narrative that accomplishes literally nothing, and has little to say other than... fuckin', I don't even know what, something about the patriarchy? Power imbalance between men and women? How a society made entirely of women would be perfect? Okay.

It's all so incredibly shallow. I know Morrison has always been kooky, but recently he's gone off the deep end and I think this is a reflection of that. He's so much more intelligent and creative than to rip modern-speak and paint it all over the page with no deeper meaning at all. Wonder Woman was such a boring character in this, each conflict was pointless and easily resolved, and all the peripheral characters were inane and boring. Mouthpieces for an agenda that doesn't even bother to be more than the sum of its parts. Diana has always been a feminist character, but just pandering to modern feminism isn't enough to make a statement about womanhood and "submission," or whatever the fuck bondage fetish he was inserting here.

Crapola. Pass on this. You can write a progressive story without being CRINGE and this is not it.

[Roberto Diaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't confirm it was the intention of Morrison, since in this editions of Compact Comics there are no forewords, afterwords or creator commentary, but after finishing this trilogy (originally published as three graphic novels) I feel this was a kind of manifesto as to what he as a writer understood was Moulton Marston original idea of feminism with the character. Greek mytjology is window dressing in this book, only as introduction and when magic is kind of needed, this is fool feminist propaganda, and in a silly kind of way. It feels like the amazonian society is as fascist as they portray the evil man's world, only in amazon aisland everyone is beautiful and female. I kid you not, I was chuckling with the way some concepts were handled.

Not my favorite wonder woman origin, but as an earth one book, it was a way to explore a kind of estremist feminist view of Wonder Woman, sugar coated by the incledible art of Yannick Paquette, who structures beautiful page compositions, but lacks the "punch" to do secuential action, at least in this book, that uses the mayority of its page real estate with conversations about hoy the world is better run by amazonians, or trying to take seriously invisible jets and bondage.

The thing about this compact comic is that you get a full story, contrary to the WW Blood and Guts Compact Comic that is part of a bigger arc, still I would have prefer a something more on the Perez, Byrne or Rucka runs in thi collections, but since the target for this are new readers, this modern retelling can open the door to other formats.

[Adam Fowler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the DC Compact Comics version of this. Just want to clarify that up top. Weirdly, the compact comics version doesn’t seem to be an option on Goodreads at the time of writing.

It was great fun. Wonder Woman: Earth One (Compact Comics) collects all three volumes of the story in one edition. I’ve never read a Wonder Woman solo story before and I’m glad I did. It’s such a rich world that revels in its Greek mythology origins and mind-bending flights of fantasy.

Volume one was released in 2016 - a year before the Patty Jenkins movie. That’s interesting because there are a lot of similarities between volume one and the movie - Steve Trevor crash landing on Paradise Island, for instance. After that initial opening the story in WW: Earth One is very different to the movie and all the better for it.

The themes of patriarchy/matriarchy are much more prevalent here than in movie versions and to be honest it raises some very interesting questions. I can’t discuss them here without spoiling the ending, really. But it’s, shall we say, thought-provoking.

There’s also a lot of talk about “submitting to the loving authority” which pretty much requires men to get on their knees and be tied up, submitting to being ruled by the Amazonians. I’d like to see them give that a shot in the movies!

Anyway, loved it. Probably on to The Authority: Relentless next.

[Can Şarman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of the book is genuinely captivating — a story rooted in the tension between genders, with the potential to offer deep social commentary. On paper, it promises a strong critique and compelling conflict.

The atmosphere and initial narrative setup are intriguing, and I was drawn in quickly. I won’t go into spoilers, but the direction the story takes has real potential for emotional and philosophical depth.

However, the characters felt underwritten — flat and simplistic. Their development never really kept up with the gravity of the themes. The central conflict between war and peace, man and woman, feels more symbolic than substantial. It’s stated rather than explored.

By the end, I was left wanting more nuance, more background, and more insight into what these dualities truly meant beyond just being opposites.

As a reader who usually enjoys characters like Wonder Woman, I found them disappointingly hollow in this one. There was emotional disconnect where there could have been richness.

Overall: an ambitious concept with moments of promise, but falls short of delivering on its thematic weight.

[Darii Lazhnevsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Morrison’s Wonder Woman: Earth One is chaotic, bold, and deeply rooted in the Golden Age origins. At first, the heavy bondage themes feel alienating — almost exploitative — but it soon becomes clear this is Morrison engaging with Marston’s original, messy philosophy rather than indulging it.

The book swings wildly between myth and modernity, sometimes jarringly, but the energy is infectious. It’s over-the-top, campy, political, and unashamedly radical — less about emotional depth, more about ideas and spectacle. The utopian ideals can feel simplistic, but compared to the cynical grimdark of the ’90s, i’d rather have stories like this.

Not as moving as some other Morrisons books, but it’s smart, provocative, and alive in ways most superhero comics aren’t. Flawed, yes, but fun and intellectually stimulating.

[J Blank · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s a lot I love in this book, the art is gorgeous and the overall plot is pretty good. The bondage stuff is a bit much for me, and some of the ‘gender war’ plot feels a bit silly. I like some of the Greek mythology that is integrated here (e.g. the amazons themselves, some of the mythical creatures like harpies) and dislike other elements (the ‘cornucopia’ healing ray is ugly and stupid as a design; the threat of the Medusa is immediately nullified as her stoning gaze can just be reverted with no effort). My biggest problem is that nothing is particularly threatening- everything from the Medusa to Area himself is easily overcome (often with a quip about how easy it was). That doesn’t make for a very exciting story.

[jai · Rating 2 out of 5]

a shame i didn’t like this one, wonder woman’s part of the big three! but there was a lot in this not working for me. for a start, the art just did not hit for me at all, very generic and didn’t match the tone imo. and i think the story that it tells is, fine but is there all there is to tell with wonder woman? just themiscyra nearly coming to war with the rest of the world? also this would’ve hit way more if a woman was behind this, grant’s fine but a man writing this is very obvious when it comes to misogynist themes and the history of women’s rights and the battles to get where we are now (which still isn’t enough).