Deserving of the "Year One" designation. Wonder Woman's received a heap of origin stories the past couple years, but they've tended to be the best WW stories. This one is no exception. ( )

A pretty good retelling of Wonder Woman's origin story and first arrival in "Man's World". I liked the art, the optimistic way it portrayed our heroine, and the prominent use of WW's supporting characters. This is the first book that made me care about Dr. Minerva (Cheetah) at all. It's confusing that this is "Volume 2" but I assume that's due to the weird publication order. ( )

Loving this origin story-great artwork and a great hero! ( )

A perfect follow up to volume one, filling in a lot of the history of Wonder Woman and her crew. Love it. ( )

A perfect follow up to volume one, filling in a lot of the history of Wonder Woman and her crew. Love it. ( )

A great origin for Wonder Woman with a lot of heart and some gorgeous, warmly colored art. I would recommend reading Vol. 1 and 2 concurrently, switching off every issue, starting with issue 1 in "The Lies". ( )

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Wonder Woman Vol. 2: Year One by Greg Rucka (illustrated by Nicola Scott) is a graphic novel which retells the origins of Wonder Woman, and her first year as a protector. This graphic novel collects issues 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, an 14 of Wonder Woman.

When I first picked up this issue I thought to myself “why do we need another origin story?”, usually the retelling are boring and rehash old mythology without bringing anything new to the table. I’m glad to say that Wonder Woman Vol. 2: Year One by Greg Rucka (illustrated by Nicola Scott) kept the origin story fresh and interesting, I was actually very surprised.

I thought the way the author introduced the Greek gods, in animal form handing gifts to Wonder Woman to more the story along, was very imaginative, but bordering on stupid. I’m glad it was just a short part and move the story light years ahead instead of dragging on though.

I thought the parts which took place on Themyscira were great. The relationship between Diana and her mother, Hippolyta, was effective and played well on the mother/daughter connection. The issue which introduces the origins of Barbara Ann Minerva / Cheetah is also very good and entertaining. I never really liked Cheetah, but now I’m looking forward to find out more about her.

The art was excellent, very enjoyable and expressive. Strong story and strong art really make a killer combination in graphic novels and it’s always a pleasure to read one. The one thing I will never understand is the idea to arrange the run as every other issue, it’s confusing and unstructured.
This is an origin story, why is it volume 2? ( )

I didn’t want to like this book. No, I wanted to hate it because who needs ANOTHER origin story for this character? I thought, this has been done to death. I only got it because I wanted to have all the Rebirth collected editions to date and continue picking it up in trades as it is published. I read it though because I knew I wanted to do this week, so I went in very skeptically. I was like “this is going to be horrible” and I am shocked. It wasn’t horrible. It was better than I thought it would be. This is because Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott created just the right touches for this storyline. There are so many elements I can talk about, so lets start…

read the rest of my review on cassiewinters.com ( )

In what may be the lone DC Universe Rebirth title worth reading, Rucka actually manages to make the umpteenth retelling of Wonder Woman's origin fun and exciting. The bullets and bracelets sequences really stand out as the most effective and moving use of that particular aspect of Wonder Woman. And it was very satisfying to a lifetime reader to finally see Diana's sexuality made canon. ( )

Loved this, great characters, great story and the pure friendliness of Wonder Woman shines through. Fell in love with the Jenny Frison alternative covers, Frank Cho didn't appeal as much.
I'm left wondering what the long-term effects of healing on the Island are going to have on Steve Rogers (apart from apparently creating a big bill for t-shirts... he does end up shirtless a lot). Despite the cover almost being an upskirt moment overall it was a good read.
It re-read it and it was still interesting. ( )

This second volume of Greg Rucka's run of Wonder Woman brings us to her home, Themyscira, where Diana has grown bored with the island and yearns to know what is beyond. At the same time Steve Trevor is getting ready to set out with his team in search of a lab believed to belong to the terrorist group known as the Sear Group. Steve's mission goes awry and his plane crashes on Themyscira, leaving him as a sole survivor. The Amazons save Steve and eventually decide to hold a competition on the island to see who will go back with him, although all know that Diana will win.

Diana and Steve soon set out for America where they quickly discover just what Diana is capable of and the powers she holds. During a terrorist attack by the Sear Group on a local mall, Diana is introduced to the world, saving countless lives and wrangling up the attackers. Interrogation of the group leads to the truth, that Ares, the God of War, is behind this deadly group and Diana must now face her purpose and take him down.

Greg Rucka compiles a great backstory for Wonder Woman in volume two, allowing for a mix of Diana's time on Themyscira, how she ends up teamed with Steve Trevor, and her discovery of her place in the world as a superhero. Despite this volume being a collection of issues 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 in the series, the story has a seamless flow. While reading the first volume in this collection I felt disjointed and disappointed by the material, the opposite is true of this volume. Volume two is a solid journey in to Wonder Woman, which I would recommend to anyone new to her comic book world. ( )

With the movie coming out in a few months it’s nice to find a decent novel to keep us entertained until then. Rucka does a wonderful job by providing us with a great adaption of the perfect female icon. It was obvious he really put some effort into providing a story that would grab your attention and keep you flipping through the pages. I liked how there was a good balance between more modern updates and elements of the original classic storylines plus the humorous moments thrown in added some fun. What was nice about how Rucka wrote this is it works well as a standalone, separate from the other volumes, and you could easily read this prior to Volume 1 without feeling like you’re missing much if anything at all.

Art work certainly does justice to Rucka’s writing as it brings his words to life and breathes some vibrancy into the story.
( )

The Lesbian (even if some of it is subtext) is strong in this TPB. Heh, suffering Sappho, I have to remember that one. I have no doubt that the next writer will undo it all, but, it's nice right now, and it added a level of enjoyment while I was reading it too. I mean, just the fact that Rucka acknowledges that on an island of only women there might just be some women loving women who live on it (Kasia; Hippolyta; Philippus; etc?)

As for the TPB itself, it's basically what it says it is. Wonder Woman's origin story, again. I mostly liked how it was done. It's mostly the normal story with just some slight tweaks and such here and there, most of which I did like.

We get to meet Etta Candy, Steve Trevor, Barbara Ann Minerva, and more. Some are much as they were, others are slightly, or very different. But, each of the meetings played out in a very organic way, and even the introduction of Steve Trevor didn't make me want to throw the book across the room (I've had Wonder Woman Origin stories where I definitely wanted to throw the book when he was introduced, more than once). And, I totally loved the look that Diana had on her face in the panel after she saw the high heels that one of the women was wearing. Heh. Priceless.

It was a really cool TPB (not surprising since it was by Rucka) and I can't wait for volume three!

I got this ARC through Netgalley on behalf of DC Entertainment. ( )

Greg Rucka's Wonder Woman Vol. 2: Year One begins with the parallel lives of Diana of Diana of Themyscira and Steve Trevor before Trevor's crash on Paradise Island. From there, Rucka portrays Diana's winning the honor of escorting Trevor back to man's world, her attempts to learn about that world, and her early conflict with Ares, the god of war. Much of this retreads territory originally covered by William Moulton Marston in his original Wonder Woman stories and George Pérez's post-Crisis reboot of the character, though it updates it for DC's latest reboot, Rebirth. Nichola Scott's art combined with Romulo Fajardo Jr.'s colors are gorgeous and nicely compliment Rucka's update of Wonder Woman's origin, but this story primarily serves to reintroduce the character to the new canon. Enjoyable for fans who enjoy the references to earlier versions and the new additions, but not terribly necessary for appreciating the character. ( )

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