These are my favorite poster posse tributes to Wonder Woman which slayed at the box office this weekend.

Poster Posse celebrated the Princess of Themyscira by releasing a bunch of really cool posters that were all about Wonder Woman. Below are my favorite, but you should totally peruse the collection.

This one's done by Chris Malbon, and it just looks awesome.

This one is done by artist Daniel Nash. I love how the ruins of war spell out the Wonder Woman logo.

Not bad for the 9th largest opening weekend for a movie that isn't a sequel or a spin-off, right? For those of you who've seen the movie and now want to get into reading Wonder Woman comics, may I recommend:

Wonder Woman by George Perez volume 1 (This is Diana's post-Crisis reboot and from which the movie borrowed quite a lot). 

The Legend of Wonder Woman (a retelling of her origin set during World War II).

Wonder Woman Rebirth Volume 1: The Lies and Volume 2: Year One.

All of these can be found on Amazon :) See you Wednesday for Insecure Writer's Support Group!

Wonder Woman was the best comic book movie I've seen since the original Avengers

Spoiler Alert: I'm going to talk about the movie, which I saw last night with best friend Brad Habegger.

First off, if you are going to see Wonder Woman, you really should shell out the extra bucks for IMAX 3D. It's worth every penny. There's lots of zinging bullets, arrows, and incredible shows of strength that 3D is meant to carry.

Second, it was hard to pick any one scene that was good, as they were all incredibly high quality. The story by Zach Snyder was tight, and the director, Patty Jenkins, did an amazing job putting the story arc down and giving us a reason for Gal Gadot's superhero to have a bitter taste about mankind.

The story begins on the island of Themyscira, which is showcased beautifully by an island location that looks straight out of a Mediterranean paradise. Hidden from the world by magic, we are introduced slowly to the character of Diana, who (like her Roman namesake) is a goddess in her own right. But we all kind of knew that, because how else could you ever explain Wonder Woman's powers and not make her a goddess? She (rightfully) is as powerful as you'd expect any immortal being to be.

However, the origin story is not without its faults. One of the things that Brad pointed out to me was that (for DC) the Greek mythology and the gods are now canon, the same as the Norse mythology did for Marvel in Thor. This bugs him because it puts that particular religion on a pedestal and makes it more "correct." Begrudgingly, I agree with him. But, if it weren't for the strong mythological background, I'd argue that Wonder Woman wouldn't be nearly as famous as she is. People like it when superheroes have powers that can be "explained" within the framework of human knowledge. They also like it when the costume has meaning, instead of just some red spandex. With Wonder Woman, her braces are an echo of enslavement, her headband is a nod to their greatest warrior, and her belt is a nod to the belt of Hercules.

All of these things have meaning, which just serve to make her more of an icon.

ASSORTED MUSINGS:

1) I missed seeing Wonder Woman flying around in her invisible jet. I've heard that they are already planning a sequel that will take place as another "period" film (probably this time against nazi's in WWII). Maybe we'll see it then.

2) I loved that they showed Wonder Woman flying. In the comics, she's always flown around (sometimes with great magical golden wings). It's about time that they embraced that dynamic instead of just showing her jumping really far.

3) I like that they established she was a goddess. In the comics, Wonder Woman becomes the new god of war. So this seemed to be a great fit with the written material.

4) I never get tired of the lasso of truth. I love how it glows gold and seems to respond to her thoughts.

5) I was disappointed that the "god slayer" sword was just a sword, albeit a well crafted one capable of sundering pillars. I was kind of hoping for some awesome magical sword that she could cut Superman with in Justice League.

Wonder Woman is finally here and I'm so excited.

This Friday, the only female superhero that has survived all the way from the golden age of comics in the 40's to the present-day gets a movie with all the Hollywood trimmings. It's the first in decades. The early reviews on Rotten Tomatoes stand at 97%, which has REALLY got me excited. But to say that Wonder Woman is a hero for the ages understates her icon status, which managed to succeed in a primary audience of young boys. That's a feat of which DC comics should be proud.

Wonder Woman as a character was designed from the beginning to not just be a powerful woman, but a symbol of feminine power. It also helped that her origins were tied so closely to Greek mythology, which every kid in elementary school grows up learning to appreciate alongside works of fantasy. I love how Marv Wolfman and George Perez reinvented Wonder Woman in the eighties, and her more recent reinventions/reboots are equally impressive. Also, it can kinda be said that on the Marvel side of comics there really is no equivalent. Captain Marvel falls far short. Even 75+ years on, Wonder Woman stands alone.

Wonder Woman may (in fact) be the most famous heroine of all time. Readers please correct me, but is there someone else? No offense to the Lara Crofts, Buffy's, or Princess Leia's out there, but no one else has graced everything from lunch boxes, to wall murals, to t-shirts. I'm seriously challenging you to come up with another name that's as well known/famous as Wonder Woman.

Early reviews for the movie peg it as the best film since The Dark Knight (directed by the genius Christopher Nolan). That's high praise. And what we get in this film is not the relentlessly grim, cynical take of iconic characters that have sprinkled DC movies for the last few years, but a character played to Diana's strength. One reviewer said that she comes across as "vulnerable, optimistic," while having a "moral core." I think that's super cool.

I think the long drought of poor DC movies is over guys.

Let's talk about that Wonder Woman trailer that dropped last week.

I absolutely loved the new trailer for Wonder Woman that dropped last week. It is filled with incredibly beautiful shots, however, none grab me so much as this one, where Diana dives into the sea just off the shore of the Amazonian island of Themyscyra to save Steve Trevor. It rightly illustrates just how outside the realm of human athleticism and ability Diana actually is.

Because of press releases, we already know that the movie is set during the first World War. Even Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) correctly calls it "The War To End All Wars," which I believe is how it was referred to back then. It makes me curious if the German troops will be the villains in the film. The Germany of World War I is a lot different from the Germany in World War II. There's a lot more "moral gray area" than the second. The clash of empires slaughtering the flower of youth of an entire continent isn't as good a story as the defeat of an Evil Nazi Empire. However, the distance back in time is difficult for contemporary writers to empathize with, i.e., it's difficult for us to depict class, gender, or race at all accurately for that time and to still feel like we have heroes to for whom to root.

That being said, this adventure that Diana undertakes is supposed to disillusion Wonder Woman for decades to come and make her unwilling to interfere in the world of men. Another thing that occurred to me from watching the trailer is that Diana must have some kind of precognition. She doesn't appear to be moving fast enough to block the bullets by sight (like the Flash). So something about her abilities allows her to see projectiles in time before they actually occur so she knows where to be in order to block them.

Here's the trailer if you haven't seen it yet.

Say what you will about Batman v Superman. Wonder Woman's entrance was the best of any character since Darth Maul lit up a double-bladed lightsaber.

Warning: there may be some spoilers in this post.

Last week I saw Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and I'm actually going to say that I loved it despite the fact that all the critical reviews were terrible. I think my passion for it has to do with the way Zach Snyder films/portrays superhero action. Disclaimer: I love to watch really powerful heroes and villains slug it out on screen. It's fun, and Zach Snyder uses odd camera angles (to put the viewer in the action) and the clever use of computer graphics makes it look like the punches and sword swings really have a lot of power to them (as opposed to the silly wire work present in CBS's Supergirl). Also, Wonder Woman's entrance (when she saved the Batman from Doomsday's face beam of death by blocking it with her magical bracers) was the best entrance since Darth Maul was introduced to audiences in The Phantom Menace.

And yes! for Batman v Superman embracing Kingdom Come Wonder Woman. In that comic book (drawn by Alex Ross) Wonder Woman has the sword of Hephaestus (because it's magical it can actually cut Superman) and wings (along with her normal gear). Plus kudos to Zach Snyder for really capturing how powerful Wonder Woman's magic lasso is, i.e., it's unbreakable. And her having Doomsday in it was nothing less than spectacular.

This is a pretty common pose for Darkseid. He sits around
thinking about how he's going to destroy all his enemies.
I wonder who they'll get to play him or if they'll just totally
go all computer graphics on him with a voice over.

Another thing that I loved about the movie was that it is the first time that a movie starring either Batman or Superman went "big" and decided to embrace the DC universe at large. I'm excited at the prospect of the Justice League now, fighting hand-in-hand against Darkseid (who was foreshadowed to be on his way in the "dream sequence" when Bruce Wayne saw a post-apocalyptic desert emblazoned with the Omega symbol).

Darkseid is basically DC's version of Galactus or Thanos. He's a merciless dictator from a world named Apokolips, and is the leader of a group of evil gods. Darkseid is on a quest for the Anti-Life Equation, which can rob all sentient beings of free will. Additionally, the winged creatures you see in the vision that Batman has are called "parademons" and they're Darkseid's minions.

This picture by George Perez was the
source of many a nerdgasm back in the day.

Darkseid is a great bad guy to use because he's so powerful. Let's face it, when you have heroes with the kind of strengths that Wonder Woman, Superman, and the Flash bring to the table, you've got to have bad guys that can handle all of that. One of my favorite stories from comic book history was actually a crossover of DC and Marvel where the Justice League and the Avengers went up against Darkseid (yeah he's that powerful). In one scene, Superman ended up using Captain America's shield and Thor's Hammer. At the time, that was an epic nerdgasm. Seriously.

I admire comic book world building, and I think I understand it in this way: first you build this really powerful character. Next, you go about finding ways for that character to be challenged in the universe in which it lives. It's actually basic and simple but leads to a lot of interesting things when (as a writer) you start answering questions. For example, you might ask: how did so and so get his powers? And the answer essentially leads to world-building.

In some ways, I do the same thing in my writing by starting out with a character that I personally find compelling (and who has interesting powers) and then set about building a universe for that character to inhabit. Before long, stories emerge and voila: world-building 101. For you writers out there, do you have any tips on world-building that you'd care to share in the comics? Did any of you out there actually like Batman v. Superman? I know most people gave it bad reviews even if it did manage to demolish the box office this weekend. But who knows, comic book movies never have been strong on critical review.

Gal Godot's Wonder Woman has stirred up five different controversies and a movie isn't even out yet.

I'm really excited for Batman vs. Superman this March (March 25th to be exact), and I think most of that stems from the fact that I'm really looking forward to Wonder Woman. But do you know the controversies?

1) People have complained that the actress playing Wonder Woman (Gal Godot) is too thin and that her arms don't have muscle. Hmm. I beg to differ on this one as artists over the years have shown that she's not really this super-built, muscular woman. I mean, this is how she looks like in the comic books:

And then compare/contrast this with Gal Godot as Wonder Woman...

I think she looks pretty accurate to the one pictured in the comic. Although Linda Carter made an amazing Wonder Woman, she may (in fact) have been a little more curvy than the Wonder Woman in the comic books.

2)  When Wonder Woman gets her own movie, it will be set in World War I and not World War II. Everyone knows Wonder Woman rescues Steve Trevor and fights the Nazis! Eh, I think exploring World War I affords many opportunities not fully explored in film (especially given that the bulk of Wonder Woman seen on tv was from a seventies series, part of which explored World War 2 and then part of which continued in modern times with Wonder Woman driving a Mercedes). World War I was born out of intolerance, greed, and colonial expansion. It will just be a world of men being awful to each other in general, instead of the Axis fighting the Allies in a contest of pretty much "clear cut" good and evil. And World War 2 has been done to death. World War 1 just sounds so much fresher in context with good storytelling.

3) Wonder Woman may have a pet tiger than she can talk to (and can communicate like a person).  When this rumor broke, so many people were outraged by it. But honestly, what's wrong with having an animal on screen that can talk? This is a movie with superheroes? She's a comic book character that has a major villain called Cheetah. Why is a talking cat such a big deal as long as it looks great on film? People are so silly.

4) Wonder Woman's costume. Apparently people are kinda/sorta torn over the whole sword thing and they're also upset over the wedge heels. In other words, wedge heels are inappropriate for a person to fight crime while wearing. I dunno, they look okay to me. And let's not forget that she's got gifts from the Greek gods.

5) Wonder Woman is 5,000 years old, basically retired, and very jaded about mankind. So yeah, this broke this weekend, and I'm not sure how I feel about this latest revelation. But really old characters can be a lot of fun because they know so much. It also will make it so that she's not some innocent lass when it comes to dealing with the patriarchies in the world. I think it is a fresh take on the mythology of the character and enriches her for future stories.

So what do you think? Do people just like to bitch about Wonder Woman, or is this whole thing going to be a disaster?

This two-minute short will make you believe the world is ready for a Wonder Woman movie

Click to Embiggen

I own the above issue that came out in the eighties. If you can't tell, it's Wonder Woman #1 featuring a full reboot complete with origin story of the iconic character. I mostly bought it because George Perez moved from The New Titans to launch Wonder Woman and give the character the sendoff she deserved (Perez is my favorite comic book artist).

What led me to this little rant today is a post I found on io9, which caught my eye. It was a two-minute short created by amateurs featuring Wonder Woman (albeit with some artistic license), and I absolutely loved it. This makes me question, why hasn't Wonder Woman been greenlit for her own movie? They gave one to Green Lantern (which still makes me cringe) and Wonder Woman's origin story is way better than Green Lantern's. Just look for yourself at the above spread. Doesn't that panel just hint at the awesomeness contained within? You have Hercules holding Diana in chains (where her bracers that deflect bullets and her strength come from) not to mention all of her other cool magic items. In a nutshell, this origin story is pretty darn amazing.

It's immersed in Greek mythology. You can't tell me that Greek mythology doesn't make money, because it totally does. Think of Percy Jackson and all of his adventures. Want another example? How about the two Clash of the Titans remakes. Sure they're terrible, but they ring the register every single time.

This two-minute short will make you believe the world is ready for a Wonder Woman movie. Please watch it. You won't regret it.

Second Crusader Flash Fiction Challenge, New Award, and Opinion On The New Wonder Woman Costume

Rachael Harrie over at her blog has got the second crusader challenge posted with a deadline of this Friday (so I figured I should get busy and get my entry posted). The rules are simple. Basically, write a flash fiction piece of no more than 100 words that includes "The goldfish bowl teetered"... and then fill out the form on her website. Anyway, here is my slightly less than 100-word entry into that contest and I hope that I win a prize :).

   The goldfish bowl teetered on the desk as Kian pushed on it with his pencil. Brianna looked up from her ornithology paper and put her hand to the cold glass. “Stop it,” she said.

   Kian’s blue eyes were filled with mischief. “You know, a few years ago the city council of Monza, Italy, barred people from keeping goldfish in bowls because gazing outward would present a distorted view of reality.”

   “Your point?”

   “How do we know that our reality isn’t similarly distorted? Assuming that it is, wouldn’t you want someone to break the glass?”

Okay I won another blog award and this one was passed to me from the amazing Rogue Mutt and you can find his blog here.

You are supposed to answer three pointless questions and I assume that they are "of your choosing" so I made the following questions (similar to the ones that Patrick chose for his):

1) What is your favorite condiment? For me, it's probably salsa.

2) Who is your favorite 80's singer? I'm going to say Madonna.

3) What character do you relate with from any television series past or present?  I think I relate to Harriet from Harry's Law. Played by Kathy Bates, I could totally see myself being her (if I was a lawyer) with her same attitude and desire to do good.

Next, recipients of this award are to pass this on to five other bloggers (similar to a chain letter) but the idea being that their blog is awesome. So, I wracked my brain to think of the most awesome blogs out there. Oh, and you should visit all of the blogs you picked and let them know that they've won heehee. :-)

1) The awesome Rachael Harrie, Queen of the Crusade.

2) Michael di Gesu and his blog "In Time..." Michael is such a wonderful spiritual person, really, if you haven't visited his blog, please do so. 

3) David Powers King and his science fiction blog.

4) The Focus blog by my new friend who posts under the name Munir.

5) The Lady On A Roof blog showcasing some of the best places to go in New York & Brazil (or wherever she travels). If anything, I love peeking in on her blog because I can live vicariously through her travels :-).

Okay, now for your opinion on the new Wonder Woman costume.  I've always been a fan and I had an earlier post on wonder woman located here.

My opinion... I don't like it.  It's too shiny and I don't like the covered legs and the boots with the stars running down the sides.  Now, I may get to like it in the future, but as of right now...not a fan.

Anyway, what's your opinion?