This is my review of a bunch of Wonder Woman comics. The shorter version, in this main post, is spoiler-free. My follow ups may have mild spoilers.

I have read a bunch of Wonder Woman comics lately. In fact, I’m still reading them. Like all things, I have opinions on them.

First off, I should say where I’m coming from. I like Diana because she’s curious about the world, optimistic, compassionate, fearless, and relentlessly badass. Basically, everything you need to be a decent human being. I like that her stories aren’t driven by angst or revenge or other antiheroic nonsense but by her desire to do good and kick evil’s ass. I like that she’s a diplomat who tries to solve problems by finding common ground. I like her relentless self-confidence - I mean, she should be self-confident, but so often characters (particularly female characters) aren’t. Basically, most of the things I like about Wonder Woman are things I like about Squirrel Girl. If anything would justify the return of massive cross-universe crossovers, it’s the possibility of a squirrel girl wonder woman team-up. (Finally, another character who can talk to Squirrels! Erika Henderson drawing Diana!) So I like stories about Diana where she’s a badass with a heart of gold...less so a killing machine. Which, oddly enough, is something that writers seem to do to her from time to time (particularly in team ups - see the Justice League cartoon and Kingdom Come for relatively well executed but still somewhat out of character examples - except for ‘Hawk and Dove’ - that sucked). I like stories about her that are as optimistic and humanistic as the character herself (though they can be pretty depressing, because that’s one thing about having sympathy for everyone, is that its sad even when bad things happen to bad people). I also like writers that take her origins and its implications seriously. I like more Utopian depictions of Themyscira because I think that’s a big part about where she comes from. She’s not just a powerful superheroine who would rather that patriarchy go away (there’s a lot of those), she’s a woman who comes from a post-patriarchal (indeed, to a certain extent, post-hierachical - are they a monarchy or a commune? Not sure) society. She knows it’s possible, she’s here to tell us that. That’s at least one source of her optimism and idealism; her home is living proof that there is a better way to live. So I’m not as interested in grim and gritty Paradise Island stories. I also like stories that pair Diana up with awesome women, rather than ones that make her ‘one of the guys’. Oh, and art that doesn't -just- treat Diana or the amazons or other female characters as an excuse to showcase T and A. This comic is about Diana standing up for compassion, equality and truth with her words and fist, not about Diana posing for straight male readers’ titillation.

So here it goes - Shorter version in the body, long ass reviews in comments

Greg Rucka - Wonder Woman: Rebirth

The Verdict: great synthesis of what makes Diana Wonder Woman, very openly queer take on the character and her friends.

The Good:

• Fantastic art from Nicole Scott in year one
• Great, emotional origin story in Year One
• A supporting cast (mostly women, mostly queer)
• A villains (also mostly women)
• Rucka Cheetah=best Cheetah
• Great take on the Amazons, and Themyscira
• Heartbreaking mother/daughter moments
• Steve Trevor is back, and he lost his shirt

The Less Good but not bad:

• All the stories other than ‘Year One’ are pretty hard to follow if you're new.
• Not much Wonder Woman in some of these Wonder Woman comics

Simone’s Run

The Verdict: Fun take on Diana herself that is often mired in overstuffed and hard to follow plotlines. Totally worth it for the ‘little moments’ and standalone stories, though.

The Good:

• Probably the funniest, most relatable Diana
• Wonderful moments between Diana and other women
• Fun two-issue storylines in between larger arcs
• The most over-the-top asskicking ever in a Wonder Woman comic, probably.

The Not so Good:

• Overstuffed plots that take away from all the great character writing
• Weak (often absent) supporting cast
• Lamest Wonder Woman romance (Diana’s post-crisis sexual frustration continues)
• Bad Villains (except maybe The Circle themselves)

Greg Rucka’s First Run/The Hikateia

The Verdict: probably the best post-Crisis Wonder Woman

The Good:

• The Hikateia is essentially perfect
• Badass Ambassador/public intellectual Diana at her most formidable
• Fun take on the gods
• Good Villains
• Perfect, not-too-fast pacing
• Stellar dialog writing

The Not so Good:

• I got nothing - I guess except for the Hikateia it may seem a little ‘media res’ for intros to the character.
• Oh, and Diana’s post-crisis supporting cast is notably weaker than hers in ‘Rebirth’

George Perez’s Run

The Verdict: I can see why this is considered a definitve take on the character

The Good:

• Great, if 80’s tastic, art
• Well paced, thematically rich, topical stories
• Ass kicking Galore
• New supporting cast members are interesting

The Less Good:

• Clunky, dated dialog
• Legacy supporting cast members (Etta and Steve) are lame
• Cheetah is lame

Marston’s Golden Age Comics

The Verdict: Imaginative, fun comics that are essential reading for any fan that can get past the common faults of 40’s comics.

The Good:

• Diana is so fun! And Confident! And Happy!
• Best Etta Candy
• Endlessly imaginative, fun stories

The Less Good

• It’s a 40’s comic (clunky dialog, occasional racial caricatures, more than occasional slurs for Japanese people)

JLA: A League of One

The Verdict: Diana at her badass, pure-hearted best

The Good:

• Gorgeous Art
• Great unity of character and plot
• Nice moments with Diana and the rest of the justice league
• Wonder Woman versus a FUCKING DRAGON - if you're not telling DC 'shut up and take my money' then I have nothing to say to you.

The True Amazon

The Verdict: Maybe the most interesting alternate take on the character I can think of, with great art

The Good:

• Did I mention this book was pretty?
• Great Amazons
• Great, if Jerkish, characterization of a young Diana
• Hits you in the Feels

The Less Good:

• Don’t read if you don’t want to see Diana be an asshole. No, I'm not being hyperbolic. She's a fucking jerk.

The Legend of Wonder Woman

The Verdict: an interesting but not perfect tribute to and reinterpretation of Golden Age Diana

The Good:

• Great Art
• Second-best Etta Candy
• Imaginative story that doesn’t follow the normal Wonder Woman arcs

The Less Good:

• Way too wordy

Wonder Woman: Earth One

The Verdict: A failed attempt to update and ‘grow up’ the themes of Golden Age Wonder Woman comics; better writing and more cartoonish art could have made this a fun take on the more fetishistic and sexual aspects of the character, but it doesn't work.

The Good:

• Etta’s pretty awesome

The Bad:

• Leering, cheesecake-filled art
• Characters that don’t like each other
• Terrible, shallow Amazons