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Originally posted at PrimeTimeGeek.com.
PTG Episode 130 is brought to you by the A.A.A. (Anime Addicts Anonymous) Podcast. If you haven’t already, please do check out their most recent episode, Episode 43, featuring hosts Chiaki, Mitsugi, and Hatake along with a special guest (me!) reporting on the latest news in the anime world, reviewing several anime series from the most recent season, and discussing the topic of the week. This week’s upcoming episode will focus on a particularly hot-button topic, anime’s alleged influence on violent of self-destructive behavior in young people, so you can bet I’ll be downloading to hear what they have to say. Check it out!
In this episode we bring you our thoughts on the debate that raged across the geek realms for much of last week, the change to one of comic books’ most enduring heroines, Princess Diana of Themyscira, known to the world as Wonder Woman. The Wall Street Journal referred to it as “superhero fail.” Hollywood industry reporter Nikki Finke declared in her blog at Deadline.com that DC Comics has “ruined Wonder Woman.” On the other hand, fashion critic and Project Runway judge Tim Gunn, who has weighed in on superhero fashion before, said “I love Wonder Woman’s new look.” Now it’s our turn, and the opportunity warranted the return of the “Felix is Fuming” sounder.
There’s more in the podcast, but here, in this space, I’ll just say this. New Wonder Woman writer J. Michael Stracynzski, in his published comments on the subject, insists that Diana has become “stuffy” and “the mom of the girl next door that you want to date,” and thus is in need of redefining. But in my humble opinion it’s deplorable what DC has done, because the motive isn’t about “redefining” Diana at all, but instead reads to anyone else who follows the industry as a stunt, a transparent ploy to boost flagging sales in a flagship title that has failed to gain consistent traction among monthly comic book readers. Wonder Woman has so many admirers among women around the world who see her as a symbol of hope, truth, and strength, but alas, the majority of them don’t buy comics from month to month, and thus, apparently, their feelings don’t matter to the bean-counters and the powers that be. What they’ve done was unnecessary, and it’s a disgrace, nothing less, and the sooner it goes the way of all “drastic change” in comic books, which is to say the sooner another writer or editor undoes the change, the better.
Also in this episode we review another “epic fail”, The Last Airbender, M. Night Shyamalan’s adaptation of the renowned anime-inspired Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender. We wrap the hour by reviewing two DC Comics releases from last week, (of course) Wonder Woman #600 and Justice Society of America #40 (Willingham, Merino). Enjoy!
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