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4.0 out of 5 stars
It is slow, but give it a chance..., December 20, 2005
This review is from: Wonder Woman: Bitter Rivals (Paperback)
Bitter Rivals is the follow up to Down to Earth the first Wonder Woman volume written by Greg Rucka. Reading Down to Earth is not mandatory to understand this volume, but it helps a LOT. As Bitter Rivals starts we find Wonder Woman under attack from multiple fronts.
Wonder Woman has come under attack by the Silver Swan, she is being attacked in the press and she finds a murder at her doorstep. She has made a powerful enemy who is aranging the pieces on the board against her, even if, as we see with Dr Psycho, they are not always entirely controlable. Her enemy does come across as a female Lex Luthor, which struck me as rather peculiar, but I was able to move past it.
Meanwhile, as they say, things are not at all well in the world of the gods as Paradise Island has suffered a cataclysmic event and a newly freed Circe helps resurect an ancient threat.
Rucka builds his story slowly, very slowly. He first shows us Wonder Woman in her element, as more than just a superhero, but also a crusader and an ambasador. We get to see the forces that gather against her build and then strike, and we see Wonder Woman fight back and call on her allies for assistance. Rucka is pushing Diana towards a breaking point we will see later in the build up to Infinite Crisis and IC itself. Rucka s run on Wonder Woman is he road to IC.
Bitter Rivals is a middle chapter in his Wonder Woman saga and thats why it has some issues standing on its own. Its why I cannot give it five stars. It is great, but should be read as a part of the greater whole.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
My first Wonder Woman book may be my last!, April 2, 2011
This review is from: Wonder Woman: Bitter Rivals (Paperback)
Title: Wonder Woman: Bitter Rivals
Publisher: DC
Writer: Greg Rucka
Pencilers: Drew Johnson, Shane Davis, Steve Sadowski, Linda Medley
Inkers: Ray Snyder, Andrew Currie, Linda Medley
Collects: Wonder Woman #200-205
Price: $12.95
How do you write about a character with mythical origins, put her into a contemporary setting, try to include dozens more mythical characters, gods, and monsters from ancient myths, and have everyone interact in an interesting and likeable story? Greg Rucka, I don't envy you your job.
This is the first Wonder Woman story I've ever read, and it could very well be the last. This just doesn't work for me. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm no fan of magical beast and characters unless they are in a fantasy world setting. I think sci-fi and fantasy are like oil and water. They don't mix well at all. One of the DC universe's biggest weaknesses is their incredibly large pantheon of gods, goddesses, and magical characters. There are simply too many to handle. They step on each other's toes and their powers and origins are contradictory. Who's really in charge? Who really has the authority? Who is the real deity and who are the pretend ones? Who has the power to create? Who can grant immortality? Where does the power come from? It just doesn't make sense. If you're not one for deep thoughts or care little about spiritual matters or the purpose of life, these things may not bother you, but I have a problem with it. The DC universe's spiritual realm is more of a disaster than Marvel's. Magical or mythical characters just don't work in contemporary settings. That's why, for me, if they ever made a live-action version of Avengers, it just wouldn't work for me unless Thor and Scarlet Witch were excluded.
Anyway, back to the story. This story focused on Wonder Woman's attempts to save one of her friends from a terrible tragedy, her hidden foe plotting against her, an old enemy from the past rising back to life to threaten her at some point in the future, and lots of women running around scantily clad. The story included, blood, profanity, sex, and violence - not really what I was expecting from the book - especially since the first few pages seemed to be aimed at a younger audience.
Rucka puts forth an admirable effort at trying to incorporate the supernatural and magical elements on the Wonder Woman mythos into a believable, real-world setting, but it's all just too implausible. I can't swallow that, and that takes all the fun out of the book for me. Still, I applaud his efforts. This book has got to be one of the toughest books DC has, in terms of writing the character. If he was writing stories of Wonder Woman set strictly in Themyscira, I could genuinely enjoy it. This book and this character just don't work for me.
And why are there four artists and three inkers for a six issue story arc? Can't we get a single person for at least one arc? I hate it when editors have to do this or choose to do this. I much prefer story arcs written and drawn by a single duo, not a big group. That's one of the things I disliked about Outsiders - a book that continues to do things like this. Ugh. Although the artwork was strong throughout the book, I didn't keep track of who was doing which pages, and I have no desire to.
Are you getting the feeling I didn't like this book? You're right. I thought it was a waste of good talent. Any one of the people who worked on this book could have been put to better use on something else. The whole cast seems talented enough, so why not put them on something worthy of their talents. In fact, let's just cancel this title altogether.
This review is just hard to write. It's pretty rare when I like the entire creative team's efforts but don't like the book. I guess what this boils down to is that I really dislike this character, so it's hard to like much about this book. Great talent, wasted efforts.
Writing: 7/10
Artwork: 8/10
Overall: 7.5/10
Hmm. Look at that! A 7.5 score, but I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Rucka makes Wonder Woman matter!!, August 10, 2010
This review is from: Wonder Woman: Bitter Rivals (Paperback)
Yes, I know its too late to matter but Greg Rucka's Wonder Woman matters. In the past few years she hasn't but what he does here, weaving action, political intrigue, mythology, and science into an amazing title that is unique in a cluttered market. The art here was fantastic making Diana both sexy and powerful and making the supporting characters recognizable. Overall, this was a really good read.
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