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DC Finest - Wonder Woman #1983-1986
DC Finest - Wonder Woman: The Legend of Wonder Woman
Compelling Wonder Woman stories from the 1980s, long out of print, return in the latest volume of the fan-focused DC Finest series!
DC Finest presents comprehensive collections of the most in-demand and celebrated periods in DC Comics history, spanning genres, characters, and eras!
In DC Finest: Wonder Woman: The Legend of Wonder Woman, readers can experience long out-of-print adventures starring the Amazon Warrior, taking place in the year before the game-changing Crisis on Infinite Earths event. In these tales, written by Dan Mishkin with art by luminaries including Don Heck, Diana faces signature foes including Circe, Cheetah, Dr. Cyber, and more!
Plus, this collection includes The Legend of Wonder Woman by writer Kurt Busiek and artist Trina Robbins, presenting a then-contemporary 1980s take on the iconic hero filtered through a Golden Age aesthetic.
This volume collects stories from Wonder Woman #306-329; DC Comics Presents #76; Blue Devil #10; The Legend of Wonder Woman #1-4.
DC Finest presents comprehensive collections of the most in-demand and celebrated periods in DC Comics history, spanning genres, characters, and eras!
In DC Finest: Wonder Woman: The Legend of Wonder Woman, readers can experience long out-of-print adventures starring the Amazon Warrior, taking place in the year before the game-changing Crisis on Infinite Earths event. In these tales, written by Dan Mishkin with art by luminaries including Don Heck, Diana faces signature foes including Circe, Cheetah, Dr. Cyber, and more!
Plus, this collection includes The Legend of Wonder Woman by writer Kurt Busiek and artist Trina Robbins, presenting a then-contemporary 1980s take on the iconic hero filtered through a Golden Age aesthetic.
This volume collects stories from Wonder Woman #306-329; DC Comics Presents #76; Blue Devil #10; The Legend of Wonder Woman #1-4.
632 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2025
About the author
Dan Mishkin
317 books5 followersDan Mishkin is a comic book writer who has worked on superheroes, sci-fi, and sword & sorcery, as well as comics featuring funny animals and American history. He is a co-creator of the girls' fantasy adventure Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld, the superhero series Blue Devil, and the current webcomic Amazon Academy.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 22, 2026
Not great, not horrible
June 16, 2026
2.5 stars
This covers comics published from 1983-1986, leading up to the ending of the original Wonder Woman run, until the events of the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" event rebooted and relaunched her title (along with all of the other DC comics.)
You can see the attempts of the writers to wrap up any lingering questions or threads from the character's then-45 year run of stories. Interestingly, although these are comics from the 1980s, there were references to events I recognized from the Celebrating the 60s omnibus, such as WW losing her powers and the death and return of Steve Trevor (apparently it happened twice!)
Reading this shortly after reading the Wonder Woman Golden Age collections in the DC Finest line, it's interesting to note how the character and her world were represented 40+ years after the original stories by her creator. In some ways, not much changed - Colonel Darnell and Major Steve Trevor are still here, albeit with increases in rank. Diana's sidekick, Etta Candy, is also here, but she is unrecognizable in relation to her Golden Age counterpart. Wonder Woman maintains her secret identity as Diana Prince, again a member of the military (after she left in the 1960s to open a boutique.)
The Amazons and Paradise Island also remain, and it's here that we begin to see threads that will be brought back in the post-Crisis years, such as Themyscira, a lost Amazon clan out in the world, and a significant Amazon heroine named Artemis. None of these things show up exactly how they will after the reboot, but it's fascinating to see (what I assume to be) the beginnings of the ideas here.
As far as the stories go, I just didn't enjoy them that much. Circe teams up with an Aztec god and turns a bunch of men into animals. Gremlins steal Wonder Woman's invisible jet. One of the gremlins hangs around to become Steve Trevor's sidekick (what?) There is a simplicity to the style, both of the story and the art, that makes it just . . . fine. It's just fine. Knowing that George Perez's lush, heavily mythology inspired, highly detailed (in both art and story/characterization) run is right around the corner makes these stories suffer quite a bit by comparison.
I did appreciate that there was an overarching plot to this run, and that it came together pretty well by the end. However, the only issue that truly left an impression on me was the final issue of the original Wonder Woman run - it really did pull out all the stops and go out on a bang!
It's bittersweet though, to see the romance between Diana and Steve finally culminate, knowing that he is about to be erased from continuity (the Steve Trevor in the original post-Crisis comics reboot was much older and not a love interest for Diana.)
The four-issue miniseries The Legend of Wonder Woman by Kurt Busiek and Trina Robbins finishes out the collection, bridging the gap between pre- and post-Crisis comics with a Golden Age tribute. Unfortunately, this didn't land for me as it misses everything that made the original Golden Age run so surprising and subversive. Instead, we have a cookie cutter Saturday morning cartoon story, complete with a whiny child insert character.
It's definitely not my favourite period of Wonder Woman, but interesting to read these comics.
This covers comics published from 1983-1986, leading up to the ending of the original Wonder Woman run, until the events of the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" event rebooted and relaunched her title (along with all of the other DC comics.)
You can see the attempts of the writers to wrap up any lingering questions or threads from the character's then-45 year run of stories. Interestingly, although these are comics from the 1980s, there were references to events I recognized from the Celebrating the 60s omnibus, such as WW losing her powers and the death and return of Steve Trevor (apparently it happened twice!)
Reading this shortly after reading the Wonder Woman Golden Age collections in the DC Finest line, it's interesting to note how the character and her world were represented 40+ years after the original stories by her creator. In some ways, not much changed - Colonel Darnell and Major Steve Trevor are still here, albeit with increases in rank. Diana's sidekick, Etta Candy, is also here, but she is unrecognizable in relation to her Golden Age counterpart. Wonder Woman maintains her secret identity as Diana Prince, again a member of the military (after she left in the 1960s to open a boutique.)
The Amazons and Paradise Island also remain, and it's here that we begin to see threads that will be brought back in the post-Crisis years, such as Themyscira, a lost Amazon clan out in the world, and a significant Amazon heroine named Artemis. None of these things show up exactly how they will after the reboot, but it's fascinating to see (what I assume to be) the beginnings of the ideas here.
As far as the stories go, I just didn't enjoy them that much. Circe teams up with an Aztec god and turns a bunch of men into animals. Gremlins steal Wonder Woman's invisible jet. One of the gremlins hangs around to become Steve Trevor's sidekick (what?) There is a simplicity to the style, both of the story and the art, that makes it just . . . fine. It's just fine. Knowing that George Perez's lush, heavily mythology inspired, highly detailed (in both art and story/characterization) run is right around the corner makes these stories suffer quite a bit by comparison.
I did appreciate that there was an overarching plot to this run, and that it came together pretty well by the end. However, the only issue that truly left an impression on me was the final issue of the original Wonder Woman run - it really did pull out all the stops and go out on a bang!
It's bittersweet though, to see the romance between Diana and Steve finally culminate, knowing that he is about to be erased from continuity (the Steve Trevor in the original post-Crisis comics reboot was much older and not a love interest for Diana.)
The four-issue miniseries The Legend of Wonder Woman by Kurt Busiek and Trina Robbins finishes out the collection, bridging the gap between pre- and post-Crisis comics with a Golden Age tribute. Unfortunately, this didn't land for me as it misses everything that made the original Golden Age run so surprising and subversive. Instead, we have a cookie cutter Saturday morning cartoon story, complete with a whiny child insert character.
It's definitely not my favourite period of Wonder Woman, but interesting to read these comics.
December 5, 2025
I enjoyed this way more than the Wonder woman origins and omens finest. Much better cohesive writing. It took a few issues to get into, but after that it becomes a page turner as the overall plot arc weaves seamlessly into one issue and the next. Some great side characters and side plots also mixed in, and has some really great humour sprinkled throughout the drama and plot. Dan Mishkin on writing duties, I've never read anything from him before, but he produces some fantastic stuff here, much better than Gail Simone imo. The final couple of issues written by Mindy Newell are solid, not quite as good as Mishkin, but then it's only 2 or 3 issues, so not really fair to compare, and the final issue by Gerry Conway nicely wraps things up in a satisfying way. (I pretend IC 12 didn't happen)
Special mention has to go to the work of Don Heck. Absolutely phenomenal work throughout the run. I in fact think his Wonderwoman might in fact be my favourite. She hasn't looked better imo, and that includes the George Perez rendition. Heck just captures her beautifully, and his settings and backgrounds, just really great.
The final 4 issues of the titled legend of Wonderwoman by Kurt Busiek and Trina Robbins was entertaining also, but not as good as the Mishkin/Heck run, but it's nice to have it added to the collection. Robbins captures the Golden age version really well, and Busiek captures the golden age spirit for the most part.
Of all the wonderwoman finests out so far, this is by far the most enjoyable one. Highly recommended.
Special mention has to go to the work of Don Heck. Absolutely phenomenal work throughout the run. I in fact think his Wonderwoman might in fact be my favourite. She hasn't looked better imo, and that includes the George Perez rendition. Heck just captures her beautifully, and his settings and backgrounds, just really great.
The final 4 issues of the titled legend of Wonderwoman by Kurt Busiek and Trina Robbins was entertaining also, but not as good as the Mishkin/Heck run, but it's nice to have it added to the collection. Robbins captures the Golden age version really well, and Busiek captures the golden age spirit for the most part.
Of all the wonderwoman finests out so far, this is by far the most enjoyable one. Highly recommended.
August 5, 2025
The Trina Robbins miniseries which gives this volume its title is a treat, but I've read it before. The bulk of the volume consists of the final issues of Wonder Woman before her 1986 erasure from DC continuity (to be followed by the George Pérez revamp), which are entirely new to me. Sadly, they aren't great, and Diana's sappy mooning over various romantic interests is a great illustration of why the character needed rethinking. I'm glad to have filled in a gap in my comics knowledge, and it's worth buying for the Trina Robbins content if you haven't already read it, but otherwise there are much better runs of Wonder Woman available to spend your money on.
January 14, 2026
3.75. I enjoyed this way more than I thought i would!
I think there’s a really interesting dynamic with the amazons in Mishkin’s run, I really liked the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover issues and the variety of villains.
Highly recommend if you wanna check out vintage comics, I want to read much more from the ‘DC finest’ line.
I think there’s a really interesting dynamic with the amazons in Mishkin’s run, I really liked the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover issues and the variety of villains.
Highly recommend if you wanna check out vintage comics, I want to read much more from the ‘DC finest’ line.
December 24, 2025
A great run and the end of the Wonder Woman era pre Crisis. The overarching plot and endgame actually worked great and the ending stuck the landing. Also enjoyed the Golden Age style story the collection is named after. Covers 1983-1986.
January 5, 2026
The regular issues are a lot more fun than I expected, however, the titular 4-part mini-series is rather weak. Overall, it was still a really fun read.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews