I’ve been in a bit of a comics reading slump, save for the earlier post about the origin of Tetris, but I’ve dived back in over the last two months. These are my favorites.

Some are new, some are older, but they’re all worthy of your reading time.

DC Comics

Absolute Wonder Woman Volume #1: The Last Amazon. Story by Kelly Thompson, art by Hayden Sherman.

I avoided this book for a while because, as much as I love Thompson’s writing, I wanted little to do with a grittier Wonder Woman. Oops. My bad, and apologies to Thompson and Sherman because I was so wrong. I loved it.

In this world, Diana is given to Circe to raise, and much of what follows reminds me of Maleficent, as Circe grudgingly realizes she is growing to love the small being in her care. They’re trapped in Hell, but they’re together, and Diana grows up to be the hero we all love, still with a loving heart and a strong sense of justice. From there, the familiar origin plays out, though this time Diana must make a sacrifice to send Steve Trevor back to the world and to escape from Hell herself.

The conclusion, with Diana armed with the sword from the cover, reminds me of Gail Simone’s quote: “When you need to stop a war, you call Wonder Woman.”

This is a fantastic story, and Sherman’s art is so perfectly suited to showing the gore and violence of Hell and battles, and yet also portrays the humanity and love shared by the characters so well.

Speaking of Gail Simone…

Gen-13: Road Trip, written by Gail Simone, Carlo Barberi; art by Drew Geraci.

This is an older work that I picked up in the bargain bins at New York Comic Con, thrilled I’d finally found something new to me by Simone to read. I’d passed it by back when it was first published because I was utterly unfamiliar with the Wildstorm characters. I’m pleased to say that this collection is readable and fun, even for those who know little about this team or haven’t read volume one in this series. Gen-13 are teenagers searching for their identity and hiding secrets, who eventually become a family. I grew to love all of them.

Absolute Batman #1-6: The Zoo. Story by Scott Snyder, art by Nick Dragotta

The great advantage of this comic is that it’s unburdened by continuity while still staying true to the core of Bruce Wayne: the child who witnessed tragedy and is determined to prevent as much suffering as he can. With a free hand, Snyder reinvents Bruce Wayne as a normal person, rather than a sad rich kid, who grew up with a group of friends that may or may not be part of his Rogues Gallery in the future.

The biggest change is that Martha Wayne is alive. Had reviews led with that, I’d have been more eager to check it out.  She’s a vibrant character, hoping to change Gotham by working with Jim Gordon, a candidate for Mayor. Of course, all of Gotham’s power brokers are against them.

Batman/Bruce is fallible, and the sense of menace and possibility of failure is ever-present.

As for the art, Dragotta took a lot of teasing online about the instantly dubbed ‘thicc’ Batman, but his recreation of Bruce works in context and seems to me a callback to the overly large Bruce from Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. Gotham is dirty, people are messy, it’s dark and menacing, and its action sequences are top-notch. It’s a great mesh of story and art.

The only niggle I have is Super Secret Agent Alfred Pennyworth. He’s a bit over-the-top, supercharged with weapons, and looks like something out of a 90s EXTREME comic. I prefer my spy Alfred to be more like George Smiley, quiet and deadly.

Original Graphic Novels

Drome by Jesse Lonergan

An original graphic novel, this story of a world–or maybe a universe–being created is visually stunning. It contains incredible often wordless storytelling, and should become an instant classic.

It shifts seamlessly from base human emotions to godlike interference to pondering the meaning of existence. I gasped numerous times as I turned the pages. That’s how stunning the art is.

Lucas Wars written by Laurent Hopman, art by  Renaud Roche

This readable and fascinating graphic non-fiction book is a translation from the original French publication. I had no expectations before reading, save a vague idea it might be about the divisions in the current Star Wars fandom.  Again, happy to be proven wrong, as this is the origin story of Lucas and the first Star Wars movie.  This book details Lucas’ growing up, the events that shaped him, his original pipe dream of making movies, and the winding history of his best-known creation, a movie that just as easily could never have existed.

The story draws on many non-fiction sources, including books and interviews, all detailed in the bibliography. What impressed me the most was how Hopman and Roche tell such a good, fast-paced story by blending all these disparate sources. It’s a terrific blend of art, editing, and writing. Lucas is depicted with compassion but not shown as perfect. His first wife, Marcia Lucas, is a well-rounded part of the tale, and her contributions to Star Wars are featured prominently.

The fight for financing Star Wars is almost as epic as the movie itself, with a ton of Hollywood boardroom infighting and dirty tricks.

If you love the original movie, you want this book.