Wonder Woman #7 and Wonder Woman more generally

Have some posting to do, so below is a comment I wrote in regards to the ever insightful writings at "Too Busy Thinking About My Comics". Most likely it will be published after approval, and even have a reply, assuming the author isn't too busy.

For the sake of context for yourself, check out this link: http://toobusythinkingboutcomics.blogspot.ca/2012/03/on-wonder-woman-7.html

Hi Colin, you're probably tired of responding to not dissimilar messages about this post, but I'll add my voice to the din.

The most important thing to say is that I really do appreciate your take on this Wonder Woman issue, you've made me more than a little embarrassed for myself for not seeing the sexism on display (though to my credit, I have also been put off by Wonder Woman's all male entourage- excepting the new Hermes who I think is really cool), and now that you mention it, a Wonder Woman comic SHOULD be a place for women and girls to pick up an issue and feel a charge of inspiration!

(Though I do feel Wonder Woman has grown into that role over the years, as opposed to the idea that Wonder Woman inherently deserved that role since her creation- not that that's necessarily what you think, Colin, and not that it's all THAT big of a distinction to us in the here and now, but to me there were an awful lot of worrying Wonder Woman covers back in the day with her inexplicably chained up...)

So even though you've opened my eyes some- I still think this was a decent comic! Yes, even as a stand alone issue! Our heroine could have easily left well enough alone, she was getting weapons from Hephaestus, and she certainly doesn't need to make any more enemies amongst the gods, but she percieved an injustice and could do no less than try to help them! Having read the other issues of the series there's the added weight Wonder Woman is under, feeling that she has failed her family on Paradise Island, here's something of a chance to redeem herself in her own eyes... only to discover that she presumed too much in thinking the male Amazons wanted to be freed.

It's the sort of humbling experience I've read dozens of times from Spider-Man, from Superman, from all sorts of characters, so why not Wonder Woman?

And I'll tell you "Why not Wonder Woman?" (ah, don't worry Colin, I've been paying attention to what you've written) it's because there are no other books to show her winning out, being strong and positive and whatnot. For every dozen times a story is told where Spider-Man is humbled there are a hundred others where he stands triumphant (or, lest I forget, even if every Spider-Man story ended with the protagonist humbled, well sir, the young lad about town could turn to Superman, Batman, Iron Man, any of various Captains, etc etc to get their hero fix.). What's the ratio on Wonder Woman stories? Not NEARLY as good- especially not since ye olde Infinite Crisis. It's been a dark time for Wonder Woman.

I guess what I'm saying is I intellectually agree with you, without being inclined to feel as strongly about it as you do. Sorry! I did say I was embarrassed about it...

All that said, I do want to point out that with all the comics I've dropped since the advent of this new 52, I added Wonder Woman to my pull list because it was given a creative team I respected, that told me DC was finally trying (however misguidedly, depending on your opinion of the current book) to push the character to the forefront, and I haven't been let down by the quality of the story telling (excepting the two issues not drawn by Chiang, but hey, the guy probably needed a breather).

I will be dropping Batman from my pull list, hopefully before the next issue comes out. Wonder Woman isn't even close to being on the chopping block. As a Batman fan and not really a Wonder Woman fan, that's pretty huge, I think.

(As an aside: as far as Wonder Woman goes, I liked the stuff where she was an ambassador for Themyscira, and had the Minotaur friend. I've bought "The Heketaia" by Greg Rucka for any female friends of mine that'd like Wonder Woman stuff, because I really like that interpretation of the character/I love that story)

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And that was my comment. I'm pretty sure I misspelled "Heketaia" but I was too lazy to look it up on google.