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Title: Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia by Greg Rucka, J. G. Jones, Wade Von Grawbadger, Todd Klein, Dave Stewart, William Moulton Marston ISBN: 1563898985 Publisher: DC Comics Pub. Date: July, 2002 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.33
Rating: 5
Summary: A Greek Tragedy
Comment: Well ... I just had to write a review and give it five stars, despite being tired and sleepy (almost midnight as I write this). Only two persons had reviewed this book, and one of them gave it only one star, grossly skewing the average rating and possibly affecting what unsuspecting potential buyers might think of this GREAT book. The Hiketeia is a dark and depressing story, very much in the vein of classic Greek tragedies. Wonder Woman grants sanctuary to a young woman, Danielle Wellys, and becomes bound to give Danielle protection without realising that Batman is after Danielle for having murdered several people who caused her younger sister's death. The story resonates with Aeschylus's Oresteia, with its theme of duty and vengeance and their consequences - Orestes was commanded by the Gods, through Apollo's oracle at Delphi, to avenge the murder of his father, Agamemnon, by killing the murderer, his mother Clytemnestra. He duly performed this horrendous duty, bringing the wrath of the Furies, ancient goddesses who hound murderers of blood kinsmen, upon his head in the bargain. Orestes was in a no-win situation - had he failed to kill his mother, the Furies' wrath would have also descended upon his head for failing to avenge the murder of his father. While the Oresteia ended on a happy note - Athena absolved Orestes of any misdeeds and placated the Furies by appealing to their egos - Greg Rucka goes one step further by giving The Hiketeia a bleak ending without any deus ex machina plot devices often used by the ancient Greeks. While the characterisation of the Furies as scheming witches plotting Wonder Woman's downfall is contrary to what the ancient Greeks themselves would have thought of them, I greatly enjoyed this story for being true to Wonder Woman's roots in Greek mythology. The colours used are muted to reflect the darkness of the story, but the art-work is gorgeous. Go beyond the S&M cover of Wonder Woman's heel on Batman's face and you will discover a modern Greek tragedy well worth reading and re-reading several times.
Rating: 1
Summary: DC must be nuts....
Comment: I could never belive that Wonder-Woman and Batman would come to blows like they do in this story. In the monthly JLA stories, they always had a certain respect for the other;s abilities, in fact, sometimes it appeared Wonder-Woman agreed more with Batman then Superman. Thus their behavoir in this story is just unacceptable.
Rating: 4
Summary: A Modern Greek Tragedy....plus the Caped Crusader!
Comment: This "deluxe" hardbound book has some obvious similarities to Christopher Moeller's "A League Of One," also offered from DC Comics a year or so back. Lavishly illustrated and thoughtfully written, they both follow Wonder Woman in 'extra-curricular' (that is, outside the continuity of her monthly comic) adventures, and feature supporting heroes from DC's pantheon. Both books are fairly quick reads, and both deserve the occasional re-read. Unfortunately, both books have a somewhat hefty list price...one good reason to buy them at Amazon's discount.
"The Hiketeia," though it shares some of "League"'s artfully dark style of illustration, isn't written in the same epic manner. At times gloomy and drear, "Hiketeia" is more of a modern Greek tragedy, and has a predictably sad ending. In brief, this story follows a young woman named Danielle, whose sister has come to an untimely end at the hands of drug dealing lowlifes. Though Danielle has always emulated Wonder Woman's heroic ideals, to the point of teaching herself ancient Greek and studying Greek history, her life is changed by a visit from the Furies, a trio of Greek goddesses who thrive on vengeance. Also known as the Erinyes, these hellish goddesses convince Danielle it is her blood obligation to exact revenge upon her sister's tormentors and killers.
Danielle runs afoul of Batman, but escapes him to seek sanctuary with Wonder Woman. She is 'bound' to Diana by performing the ancient ritual of "hiketeia," and Wonder Woman agrees to protect Danielle and provide for her. Eventually Batman tracks the girl to her hideout (the Themysciran embassy), but WW prevents him from taking Danielle into custody. In doing so, Diana honors the sanctity of hiketeia, but defies the laws of modern society. There's much more to this story, but I don't want to spoil it for fellow readers.
Greg Rucka's story is at times riveting, and his characterization of Batman and The Furies is commendable. Longtime Wonder Woman readers may object to the way Diana subverts her sense of reason, in order to honor a ritual that puts her at odds with modern/cultural justice. But there's no questioning her resolve, or her faith. The Furies, despite their blood-thirsty nature, are portrayed as slightly whimsical deities, a nice touch. Batman's importance in this story is belied by his prominence on the book's cover. Though he is a potent reminder of the magnitude of Danielle's crimes, there isn't a single page in this book devoted to his search for the girl, or his reaction to Diana's "interference."
Drawn by J.G. Jones and inked (somewhat heavily) by Wade Von Grawbadger, "Hiketeia"'s visuals are an excellent complement to
Rucka's tale. The style is clean and reasonably realistic in comic book terms, and all the main players are depicted in fine form. Story colors are generally good, though emphasis is given to moody blue-greys and amber lights. The cumulative effect is modern enough to please the average comics fan, and also respectful of classical illustration...a nod to "serious" readers. My only quibble with artwork is the cover, which takes WW and Bat's battle way out of context. It's a powerful image that could easily be misinterpreted as political commentary or a gender statement.
I'd call this a "five star" book if characterization for Wonder Woman was more consistant with her comics "norms". But that's a highly subjective view, so I can still recommend this book to fellow WW fans with few reservations. Fans of the Big Bat may be disappointed to see just how small his part is, but I don't think anyone will find him out of character here. Given the shortage of hardbound WW books, I'd say this one is a must for collectors.
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Title: JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice by David S. Goyer, Geoff Johns, Carlos Pacheo ISBN: 156389937X Publisher: DC Comics Pub. Date: 04 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Catwoman: Selinas Big Score by Darwyn Cooke, DC Comics ISBN: 1563898977 Publisher: DC Comics Pub. Date: 31 July, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: The Dark Knight Strikes Again Vol. 3 by Frank Miller, Lynn Varley ISBN: 1563898721 Publisher: DC Comics Pub. Date: 31 July, 2002 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
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Title: New X Men by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Ethan Van Sciver ISBN: 0785108874 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: July, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.99 |
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Title: Wonder Woman: Mythos by Carol Lay ISBN: 0743417119 Publisher: Star Trek Pub. Date: 31 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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