Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Note: For some reason, Amazon's blurb about this box set is actually the blurb for Wonder Woman: A Celebration of 75 Years. Wonder Woman: A Celebration of 75 Years is a single hardcover book of roughly 400 pages. Wonder Woman 75th Anniversary Box set, the item discussed here, is a box set containing four books from some of Wonder Woman's best writers. Now, on to the review: I find it a little odd that Wonder Woman's 75th Anniversary box set only includes stories from the last 30 years. Sure, the stories in this box set are great, and certainly worth a read. But why wouldn't they including anything from the Golden Age or Silver Age? I know people have a misconception that there were no good Wonder Woman stories before 1987, but that's just false. Regardless of someone's opinion of that fact, I believe that if you're going to celebrate 75 years of Wonder Woman, you should celebrate 75 years, not 30 years. As for the item itself, it's a really great collection, especially for someone who isn't well versed in Wonder Woman. Included in this box set are the first volumes of four very popular and accessible runs on Wonder Woman. All four paperback books feature new covers (based on art from the previous releases of the books) styled in the same motif as the outer box. The outer box is a fairly thick box, honestly thicker than I was expecting. It's really nice. The first volume in this set is writer/artist George Perez's "Gods and Mortals," collecting Wonder Woman v2 issues #01-07 from 1987. Perez's run, and especially this first volume, set the stage for everything Diana would become in the decades following. Perez sets up the origin story of the Amazons, Diana, her supporting cast, the Gods and Goddesses of Olympus, and Diana's battle to save Man's World and Themyscira alike. THIS is the place to start if you've never read Wonder Woman before. I find that people who are especially used to modern (post-2000) comics often find this book hard to get through. It is a wordy tome, and there's a lot of exposition. Personally, I think the level of exposition helps add to the epic feel of the story arc, making it feel more like a Greek mythological epic than a comic book. Certainly worth a read. The second book included here is writer Greg Rucka and artist Drew Johnson's "Down to Earth," collecting Wonder Woman v2 issues #195-200 from 2003-2004. This is the first volume of Greg Rucka's original turn as writer on Wonder Woman. Rucka is generally regarded as one of the best Wonder Woman writers from the last 30 years. He seemed to have an understanding of the character that few writers before him aside from Perez seemed to exhibit. Diana, the ambassador, releases a book of essays and and speeches that reinforce her personal world view. But she's met with both praise and resistance. It's a great start to a fantastic run on Wonder Woman, and well worth reading. The third book is writer Gail Simone and artist Terry Dodson's "The Circle," which collects Wonder Woman v3 issues #14-19 from 2008. Gail Simone's run tended to alternate between 4 issue story arcs and 2 issue story arcs, so this book actually presents her first two story arcs on Wonder Woman, The Circle and Expatriate. The Circle introduces a dark part of Diana's own history, and sets up some of the most interesting and compelling antagonists Diana had faced in years. Expatriate features Diana fighting to save the Khund from a Green Lantern. Simone is yet another writer who just seems to get Diana. Diana here is compassionate and caring, but strong and cunning. She's pulled in many directions, but always follows her heart. She extends her hand before she raises her fist. The final book in this collection is writer Brian Azzarello and artist Cliff Chiang's "Blood," collecting Wonder Woman v4 issues #01-06 from 2011-2012. This is the first volume of Wonder Woman's New 52 series after DC rebooted their entire universe. Azzarello and Chiang's take on the book is very different from previous runs. While Diana, at heart, is the same character she's always been (aside from a major change to her origin), we see a different side of the world she inhabits and the Gods and Goddesses that treat her as a plaything. This run was both controversial and beloved. This was a drastic change for Diana. Personally, I enjoyed it. Azzarello's run is not my favorite run (by a long shot), but he crafted a dark epic worth reading. Overall, this is a fantastic collection, especially for a new reader. My only real complaint is that there's nothing earlier than 1987 in these books. Why wouldn't DC include a reprinted copy of The Wonder Woman Chronicles Vol. 1, which features her original 1941 origins? I understand why the four books that were chosen are in this set. But, in order for this to truly be a celebration of 75 years, they should have included the first book of William Moulton Marston's original run on the book.