Wonder Woman #206-217 by Greg Rucka Review

Come one, come all to the Countdown before Countdown! We are post Identity Crisis, the powder keg paving the way for the event to end all events. I will stand here and say that this era of the DCU might be the most unified and exciting it has ever been (though a close second would have to be 2016-2017 Rebirth era). I would even dare call Countdown itself an event with how much impact it has line wide. With Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka, Gail Simone, and Judd Winick at the helm maneuvering all the power players into the places they need to be, there's not much that can go wrong!

 [Wonder Woman : Eyes of the Gorgon] ~ {Written by Greg Rucka}

• Wonder Woman #206 - Stoned, Part I : "The Cat Came Back" = Plotting and scheming! I am at the point where I've completely gotten used to Rucka's style of storytelling; he is the jack in the box, winding up until BAM! The plot just hits you in the face with the momentum created by competent build-up and character development. The Olympus plot is back which I am super happy about, while Diana and Leslie attempt to save Silver Swan, and Circe sets off the Gorgons to collude with Veronica! My favorite scenes were Diana talking to the panther, and Medusa teleporting away after being overwhelmed by 21st century America. Drew Johnson continues to deliver, and don't think I'm not noticing Athena's owl flying in to watch the Gorgons! What is Circe's family business? Why did Cheetah kill Bastalleros? What scheme will the Goddesses concoct?
• Wonder Woman #207 - Stoned, Part II : "Lover's Leap!" = This book is kind of hilarious: Wonder Woman darting around New York stopping Psycho possessed jumpers spliced with Cale and the Gorgons constantly bickering makes for an entertaining comic book. I guess I shouldn't be surprised Psycho dropped the truth-bomb on Diana since he's has his own agenda leading up to the Countdown, but it is nice to see good use of the enemy of my enemy trope. What I like most about that last page reveal is how much the set-up matters, the little things Rucka plants across the past couple issues: Senator Hale and Veronica's relationship, dinner with President Horne, even the kids finding the petrified robin. The more I read, the more I know for certain that Rucka is one of the greatest comic writers of this generation.
• Wonder Woman #208 - Stoned, Part III : "A Serpent In Olympus" = Steve Trevor is back! Interesting politics, high stakes, enemies on all sides! Man is this getting good. One of the things I was most impressed with had to have been Drew Johnson's fight choreography between Diana and Medousa; you can really tell when a brawl flows well from panel to panel, and I would love to know how much both Rucka and Johnson contributed to mapping it out. How quickly the villains working together falls apart is hilarious, and I love the fact that Athena has been in on the Gorgons' agenda the entire time. I would like to see more of this new President Horne and how he operates in relation to the DC Universe at this point in time (will he be a criticism of the Bush era? Then why not use Bush?). 
• Wonder Woman #209 - Stoned, Part IV : "Birds & Stones" = Jesus Christ! There's something about this book guys, something no other writer has been able to accomplish with this character to this day (except Rucka himself): they made Wonder Woman so cool! The brawl at the embassy was brutal, and the presence of Diana's supporting cast increasing the collateral made for some nail-biting stakes! Even though the climax was telegraphed during Athena's chess game at the cold open, that did nothing to sully the weight of a Martin's death. I don't want to use kids as macguffins, but this is a great way to push this conflict into another gear. The Amazon way of peace is paired with the blade dance, fluency in the language of violence. What is Athena planning, and why was she willing to use the child to propel her agenda?!
• Wonder Woman #210 - Stoned, Part V : "Trial By Combat" = Holy mess that was epic! Rucka and Johnson, by God, this is the dream team! Victory at what cost? I'm super excited to see this blind Diana status quo change, and how Rucka will resolve it before Countdown begins. Great fight, great art, and great stakes from the planned live broadcast of Medousa's stare had she won. The reveal of the blindfold was wonderful, and I knew those damn acid spitting vipers were going to come in handy somehow. very interesting how Rucka and Johnson decided to dedicate some panels to the bystanders witnessing the duel; I definitely enjoyed how that ended up being executed. What will the sisters do next? Will Poseidon continue his campaign against Athena? How will Diana deal with her blindness?

[Counting Coup]

• Wonder Woman #211 - "To The Victor, The Spoils" = Gah damn Athena is cold-hearted! This was a pretty great aftermath issue, even though it doesn't feel like a win for us or Diana. The art by Sean Phillips is excellent, he channels this wondrous Frank Miller/Klaus Janson-esque quality that holds everything together really nicely. Introducing Pegasus was awesome, though I would have liked to see the speared giant Chrysaor emerge alongside it. We got some great subplot check-ins with Cale and Circe joining forces, as Cheetah finally frees Hunter from his cell at Iron Heights. The Diana/Athena convo was wonderful as well, and I do think that Diana understands that 'for the greater good' logic, but as we've seen in Kelly's Golden Perfect, Diana simply can't stand by and watch an innocent have to suffer. Who is Circe's daughter? What did Ares do with the other two Gorgons?  Will Hunter dip on his ex to get with Cheetah?
• Wonder Woman #212 - Counting Coup, Part I : "What We Deserve" = Not a fan of the art, but it's completely eclipsed by the bonkers plot developments. Diana's test against the JLA was wonderful, and I love this angle of respect between her and Bruce, something we don't always see in recent runs. Normally, writers like to pit the two against each other and have Superman as the bridge, the mediator to appeal to both. I blame that interpretation mainly on Frank Miller, Tom Taylor, and Geoff Johns' N52 Justice League run. The Olympus sequence had to be my favorite, with Zeus whipping out an uno-reverse in the form of Briareos, the Hundred Hander! No idea how Circe's (and apparently Ares') daughter ended up in the hands of the Amazons, but interested to see if Cale can pull off this extradition plot, what with her government connections. That final scene at the funeral was heartbreaking, duty is the death of love and innocence, but there is no time to grieve when your patrons require you as their attack dog!
• Wonder Woman #213 - Counting Coup, Part II : "Against All Gods!" = It only took a couple pages before I realized how Diana was going to defeat Briareos; is that a result of the build-up from this past arc, or did the cover just sell the reveal? Regardless, not even funky 2000's art can bog down Rucka's plot (even though I loved how they depicted Zeus' facial expressions during the fight). One of the best scenes in this had to be when Athena offered anything Diana desired, with Diana implying that she knew very well what she wanted even though Athena could not grant it 'yet'. At first I thought it was her sight, but then I remembered this whole arc was about the child petrified by Medousa. Something about how Athena is acting comes off as strange to me, I've just been getting an eerie vibe from her ever since the machinations in Olympus began. I never expected to see a version of Athena so Machiavellian in her planning and execution, but at least we get an interesting set up for the upcoming God-War between the Goddesses and the Olympian Brothers.

[Wonder Woman : Land of the Dead] ~ {Written by Greg Rucka}

• Flash #219 - Truth or Dare, Part I : "Make You Better" = Awesome first chapter, the dynamic between Minerva and Zolomon carried the heck out of this. I was extremely impressed with Justiniano's art, his depictions of Zoom and his speed were fantastic. We get some more Rogue War hinting, as well as mentions of the Secret Society, but the Zoom/Cheetah stuff was just so good that it even overshadowed the Diana/Wally scenes. I'm not too crazy about Wally's perceived animosity towards the League, but it makes sense given the fallout of Identity Crisis paired with him being on edge as a result of Zoom being freed. The conversation about the no-kill stuff was annoying, normally Johns is on point with the morality of superheroes, but my personal bias against them killing gives me little tolerance for these kind of scenes. I get that Diana had to kill Medousa and Briareos for her patron, but I'm sure she wouldn't just execute random villains (that seems to be the N52 Johns seeping in, and I just remembered what happens at the end of Superman: Sacrifice!).
• Wonder Woman #214 - Truth or Dare, Part II : "Hero or Villain?" = Fun ending, great fights, but dang am I more interested in the Olympus subplot! Who must Diana save from Hades? Is this just a ploy by Ares to lure Diana into the Bronze Gates? What does the feather mean? Is it a reference to Zeus' eagle/swan form? What are the Empousai?
• Wonder Woman #215 - The Bronze Doors, Part I : "No Place For The Living" = Rags Morales takes this book by force! Diana, Cassie, and Ferdinand venture into the underworld to rescue Hermes; heck yes I'm on board! Every issue I get excited to see more and more of Rucka's adaptation of Greek mythology to the DC Universe, and every issue I have yet to find disappointment. It's the little things that impress me, like his versions of Kharon as well as the Gates to Hades, the Bronze Doors. I loved the sequence with Ares and the brothers, while the tid-bit about Steve Trevor's mother had me do some digging on fascinating Wonder Woman lore I would have never known otherwise. I think it's safe to say that Diana's request to Athena has to be the resurrection of Martin Garibaldi (not her eyes Cassie). The Jonah check-in might be the least interesting scene, but damn does Morales still make it look good. I'm still super skeptical of Athena's agenda, and I hate the toll it's taken on Diana; her line, "It never ends", hit hard as mess. We finally get a glimpse of the Empousai tormenting Ferd and Cass, but Diana obviously has the advantage since she can't see their illusions.
• Wonder Woman #216 - The Bronze Doors, Part II : "Deceiver" = Epic! Ares stole the mess out of this issue, and his and Cassie's scenes together were so much fun. I'm really glad that Rucka has incorporated this plot-line from John's Teen Titans since that was easily one of the most interesting aspects of that so far. Their banter was wonderful to read; I'm assuming that Cassie's dad will be revealed as Zeus since her lasso has his lightning? So much to love: the Medousa rematch, the Hades reveal, Rags Morales art, and even the touching scene of Garibaldi and his petrified son. Who is the redhead talking to Jonah? She was in last issue playing chess, but I'm getting some sinister vibes from her dialogue. What is active? Is it Brother Mark I? Has the OMAC Project been deployed? Is Jonah a Checkmate mole? IS THAT WHY THEY WERE PLAYING CHESS?!?
• Wonder Woman #217 - The Bronze Doors, Part III : "Greeks Bearing Gifts" = Pretty standard finale; happy endings all around. Fights were great, Rags continued to kill it on art, and the reveals were alright given their predictability. You can definitely tell that Rucka compressed the ending to this Olympus storyline to make way for the storm that is Countdown + Infinite Crisis, but I'm glad he was able to give us a fun arc to sum it all up. Zeus' turn back to the light was lame, and I wish we had more set up for why we really needed to bring back Hermes, but maybe it's just nit-picking. Glad that Martin and Diana's sight are both back, but I was expecting some leftover trauma to push Diana into her radical transition into IC. 

JSA/Hawkman Black Reign + JSA #59-66 Review

 [JSA : Black Reign]

• JSA #56 - Black Reign, Part I : "Men Became Gods Overnight" = THIS JUST GOT REAL! Loved this first chapter even though most of it was Black Adam giving expo on the members of his task force and stuff we already knew. The focus on Al and the "true" justice of murder and vengeance is fascinating, and brings forth a significant amount of thought and discussion to the entire "do superheroes kill" debate. It's going to be argued to death for the end of time, and Johns has already spent a huge amount of his run dealing with that theme, but man does it bring some good stories! Let's see how the JSA (and especially my boy Carter) respond to the liberation of Kahndaq.
• Hawkman #23 - Black Reign, Part II : "No Rest In St. Roch" = The JSA takes St. Roch! Power Girl hinting, Pieter giving out doctor's notes, Rick getting over his genetics, and Carter severely maiming a D-List villain; what's not to enjoy! I loved Jay's expression as he noticed Courtney and Billy, while Ted recounting the glory days is always hilarious. I wonder what Nabu said to Hector? You can definitely tell this is moving at a breakneck pace, and Carter taking over is great but also pretty alarming. Onto the next one!
• JSA #57 - Black Reign, Part III : "The Liberators" = From bad to worse! Civil war in the JSA! The handling of the no kill stuff is actually really interesting, and the entire scene inside the meeting room before they invade Kahndaq was fantastic. You can tell everyone cares about each other, and they hold their code to the highest standard. Who or what is plaguing Al's mind? What is Brainwave Jr's true purpose? What is Carter's job for Pieter? The dichotomy they're creating between Adam's faction and the JSA is interesting, and the lines drawn with conflicting perspectives brings some compelling pathos. The Nabu sequence was great as well, with Nabu, Carter, and Adam all relics of a bygone era; each with possibly antiquated moralities in relation to today's world.
• Hawkman #24 - Black Reign, Part IV : "The Invaders" = YOOOOOOO! Rex Tyler is freaking back! This was a great chapter, and now that we're past the halfway point, the endgame's design starts to come together. Is the voice in Al's head Ray Palmer? After the T-Sphere scene I'm definitely starting to think it's him. Nabu hijacks Hector, Courtney's staff gets sliced, Al stomps on everyone, and Billy gets smacked to oblivion. What is the secret within Carter's mind? Is it just the fallout from the fight with Headhunter that has him messed up? The final gambit Rick makes is crazy: time runs out!
• JSA #58 - Black Reign, Part V : "Judgement Comes From Inner Voices" = Holy mess! The Venusian Worm is back! Easily the best reveal of this storyline so far. This issue was a standout, WTF comics all day - every day! Love that Hector uses the Fate pantheon against Nabu, and the struggle between Jay and Carter was compelling as mess. What sets apart the JSA from other super-teams is that they are veterans of the war to end all wars, they've seen combat and the horrors, which is why Jay and Carter's argument maintains so much weight. The deaths of Nemesis and Eclipso caught me off guard; god's wrath plays the long game and Alex was stupid to think he could truly master the Black Diamond. The Billy/Adam sequence was fantastic as expected, and I love the taunting Adam does to cement his purpose and place in this world. I'm happy I got the Ray Palmer reveal but Mister Mind coming back was something I had no way of expecting. Is that Brainwave's true purpose: to be used as a vessel for Mister Mind? Did Mister Mind cure him of his troubles like Adam mentioned in the earlier chapters? 
• Hawkman #25 - Black Reign, Part VI : "Sunrise in Kahndaq" = What a crossover! Very interesting how everything ended up going down, I could definitely feel this was analogous to the then-current wars in the middle east. Sometimes America (and in this case the JSA) can't and shouldn't be the world police, and sometimes westerners have no business trying to force their vision of prosperity onto a culture that they have no understanding of. So the JSA does the right thing: there's been too much bloodshed, it's time to pull out. When an unstoppable force meets an immovable object, the only outcome is for one of them to surrender. I do think it's the right move for Carter to leave the Society, and I hope he gets his stuff together. Very sad to come to the end of Johns' time on this title, though I can confidently say this goes up there as one of the best explorations of the character I've ever encountered.

[JSA : Lost]

• JSA #59 - "Time & Time & Time Again!" = Well dang! This was a wonderful issue, and I am really hoping it isn't a one off on Degaton's character. The non linear storytelling was a lot of fun to piece together, and the character interactions were super interesting. Sean Phillips art is great as usual, and the new dynamic post Black Reign is something I'm very eager to see play out in the following issues. How will Jay Garrick die? What will happen to Rick? Was it Daniel Hall who talked to Degaton through the mirror?
• JSA #60 - Redemption Lost, Part I : "Anatomy Of A Murder" = Terrific spotlight! Having Mandrake do the pencils for the flashback sequence was awesome, and I love the recontextualization of Spirit King/Sloane/Spectre dynamic that sets up this arc. Terrific and Mid-nite having back and forth is exactly what I want to see from this series. The debate is intriguing as well; Johns tackling some of these themes is so refreshing considering how bland his work throughout the 2010's is. The continuation of the Rex Tyler/Hourman stuff is great as well, and the pathos associated with this generational legacy brings you into the headspace of Rex, desperate and broken, distracting himself from his missing son with a d-list clean-up overload.
• JSA #61 - Redemption Lost, Part II : "Revenants" = Loving this! Kramer is killing it with his pencils, but Mandrake's renditions of the JLA/JSA crossover with the death of Terry Sloane had to be the highlight of the issue for me. The angle Johns has tackled with regards to the Spectre and Hal is very dynamic. No part of this arc has been dull so far, and it's break-neck action paired with quiet character moments are making this arc stand out as one of the best Johns has done for JSA. The real question is how Terrific can still be an atheist when God and the Devil have made their presences known through battles against superheroes over and over again. Denial is a heck of a drug?
• JSA #62 - Redemption Lost, Part III : "Vengeance & Judgement" = Johns has once again unveiled his grand design! This whole thing was merely a prelude setting things up for GL Rebirth!. The various pathos presented between the members of the JSA were so fun to witness: Jay is especially one character who's had some great moments throughout this entire run (Injustice Be Done, Black Reign), and the collusion with Spirit King brought forth some tragic growth for the golden age speedster. Mid-Nite and Terrific's dynamics are a delight to read as always, and I'm glad Mike got his full circle after this religion plot got set up in his All-Stars issue. Now that I think about it, this arc is also paving the way for Day of Vengeance too!

[JSA : Smoke & Mirrors]

• JSA #63 - Waking The Sandman, Part I : "Insomnia" = Neil Gaiman's Oneiromancer meets Gardner Fox's All-Stars! The weaving of the Sandman lore into the DC Universe is pretty god damn mind blowing. I simply can't believe we're getting this many concrete references. Granted, we did see Daniel in the first issue of the run, but this is still crazy! Jerry Ordway's art is a joy to look at, and the fact that he's still this good makes me so happy. Love the use of Cave Carson and the mighty mole squad, as well as the Fate pantheon putting Nabu in time-out. Development of Fury is super interesting, and finally resolving the Sand loose end is dope (I'm assuming that's him in the Kirby costume?).
• JSA #64 - Waking The Sandman, Part II : "Night Terrors" = Excellent! Return of Brute & Glob, references to the Endless, wholesome Fates, Power Girl/Wildcat banter, and Rex finally reveals himself to his wife! The icing on the cake is Ordway's art, who truly knocks it out of the park with every freaking page. Bringing back the Hawkgirl angle for Sand is a little out there in my opinion, but it works in the context of the story since she acts as his "lightning rod". Johns folding in the events of Sandman is awesome, and it really hurts to think that we might not have this wholesomeness for very long... for Day of Vengeance is waiting at the door! A wonderful obscure reference I caught was Cave Carson's mention of the 90's Resurrection Man series where Immortal Man and Cave team up with Mitch and Vandal to beat the cosmic Warp-Child. Love you for that Johns!
• JSA #65 - Out of Time, Part I : "Dead On Arrival" = Just when I thought I was going to be bummed out for good, Johns throws a curve ball to keep me guessing! Rick jumping in to take his father's place has me assuming that we'll see a redux of the Extant fight from Zero Hour, but how does Per Degaton factor into this? As of the time I'm writing this, Johns is using Degaton as the main villain of his new JSA series; will this build-up be put on hold and only followed up in the present JSA? The Rex reunion sequence was heart-breaking, but I'm glad that his internal turmoil was resolved and he can go out in peace like a champ. Hourman Android coming back was dope as well, and I hope to see more of him before this run ends. 
• JSA #66 - Out of Time, Part II : "Time To Die!" = Hype, Hype, Hype! Definitely did not expect Rex to survive this issue, and him getting a happy ending is a bright light in this endless cloud of grimdark fog leading up to Infinite Crisis. Hourman Android's sacrifice was epic, the recreations of the sequence from Zero Hour was on point, and the fact that Rex will spend his time rebuilding the Android makes everything come full circle. Don Kramer's art was spectacular, possibly even better than his work during Black Reign. The final sequence with Al and Rip Hunter has me super excited for the penultimate arc before Countdown (and I have hope that the Degaton stuff will be resolved too!).