Gerard Jones (1) (1957–)

A really fascinating book on the role of make-believe violence with a really nuanced discussion of media violence. While it's focusing almost entirely on children it was really fascinating and a lot of stuff I didn't know here. It's also interesting to note that the author isn't really a progressive. As you read it you come to see the author as probably a pretty conservative person, at best maybe a centrist - several cases comes up where he really show he doesn't like certain media products - but one who was able to listen to the people in question - why do you partake in this product, and really follow that inquiry and come to conclusions that it isn't the evil that it's made out to be. Really fascinating.… (mer)

This was bought for me as an anniversary gift by my ex. He knows I'm a fan of Wonder Woman, so he thought this would be a good purchase. It also happens to be from the time I was still heavily into comics, but includes stories I had not read.

So, here we have a post Death of Superman/Return of Superman Justice League storyline that sees the return of a previously seen Justice League villain called "The Overmaster," a strangely all-powerful being known for completely destroying civilizations and taking a single specimen as remembrance. How is this a Wonder Woman story? Well, she's just taken over as the leader of the League, much to the chagrin of one Captain Atom. It's interesting how much disrespect WW receives in this story because it's in the Post-Crisis timeline where she has only been in "Man's World" for just under ten years. In this continuity, it is Queen Hippolytta's tenure as Wonder Woman that make up the Golden Age adventures.

The over-arching story is okay, but it feels like Mark Waid, Gerard Jones, and Dan Vado didn't have as much time to tell the story as they wanted. Some of the happenings feel rushed, like panels had to be cut for space and leave a few holes in the storytelling, which is unfortunate, because it's a decent story, including an important moment in minor-Leaguer Ice. A lot of this story deals with friendships, both the Fire and Ice and Blue Beetle and Booster Gold friendships are tested during the battle with the Overmaster. Also, the art in the earlier issues seems lacking to me.

Overall a fine story, just wish the writers had a few more issues in which to space it out, which is saying something when you consider that they were using the three existing Justice League titles to tell it. Still, worth the read for someone tracking the Pre-Crisis versus Post-Crisis changes like I am at the moment. A good gift, I think, just a pity he couldn't find the first volume as well.… (mer)