Won-der Wo-maaan!

Wonder Woman: Love and
Murder Jodi Picoult, Terry Dodson, Drew Johnson and Paco Diaz 129 pages; published 2007

Over the course of my (self-confessed) nerdy life, I have found myself being compared to the “The Comic Book Guy” on more than one occasion – an amusing, if not entirely flattering comparison. Yet, despite my love of superheroes and whole-hearted desire to have a legitimate reason to wear a cape, comic books are my weak link in my geeky chain.

When I heard that Jodi Picoult had been asked to write the story for an edition of Wonder Woman, however, I was pretty excited. After getting a fifteen-minute primer from my decidedly more comic-book nerdier brother I was set to go. (And yes, I made sure I wore my WW jammies to match!)

The previous collection of comics left Wonder Woman in a sticky situation after taking the law in her own hands and killing the ‘bad guy’. In Love and Murder, Wonder Woman decides to leave this persona behind and become simply Diana Prince, leading a ‘normal’ life as a FBI agent.

However, as is often the case with superheroes trying to catch a break, her old life doesn’t seem prepared to let her go. With the fate of the Earth – not to mention the life of her poor, all-too-human partner – at stake, Diana must consider what is more important, and to what lengths she should go to save others.

I enjoyed reading this graphic novel. The story was engaging and suspenseful despite my limited knowledge of WW – though I was comforted by the appearance of more familiar superheroes – and the artistry was just beautiful. I was aware, while reading the book, that it was part of an ongoing story, but it was self-contained enough to stand alone. A good read for comic book fans – new and expert alike. 3.5/5