Superman and Wonder Woman, Vol.1: Power Couple
Grade : A-

I know what you’re thinking - Superman and Wonder Woman? Where’s Lois Lane? Well, this graphic novel is set in the new alternate DC Comics universe, and Lois doesn’t seem to be around. Instead, the Man of Steel is dating the Amazing Amazon, and in my opinion, it’s a great match. In this collection of seven comics, the couple must try to align both their superhero and private selves while, obviously, saving the world. This graphic novel places questions of equality front and center, and the answers are quite satisfactory. If you’ve always thought of superhero comics as a boys' club, this is the story that may change your mind.

<!-- var browName = navigator.appName; var SiteID = 1; var ZoneID = 4; var browDateTime = (new Date()).getTime(); if (browName=='Netscape') { document.write(''); document.write(''); } if (browName!='Netscape') { document.write(''); document.write(''); } // --> When the story begins, Superman/Clark Kent and Wonder Woman/Diana Prince (already dating) jointly respond to crises on behalf of the Justice League. Enemies are popping up from the Phantom Zone, and not only must they be subdued, but their emergence must be explained and cut off. General Zod of Superman film fame is one of the new arrivals, but this time, he’s claiming to be good. This is the main plot (rather than a romance, I’d call this book “action with strong romantic elements”) but the relationship issues are well integrated. The fight scenes expose a problem for Superman: he has no experience with someone who is his equal in strength and toughness, so he can’t shake his protective instinct despite his girlfriend being a near-immortal half-goddess. Wonder Woman, raised as a warrior princess, wants Superman to acquire fighting skill to make better use of his amateurish farmboy strength. In the midst of this, an internet leak forces Wonder Woman and Superman to go public with their relationship, which they’ve been arguing about all along (she’s for, he’s against).

Power Couple treats romance and relationships as a valid concern for men as well as women. In one of my favorite scenes, Superman turns to none other than Batman to talk out his problems. How can you not love two of the most archetypal examples of American manhood having a serious, reflective conversation about love, with no profanity or bro slang in sight? Plus, Batman gives darn good advice: “Diana [Wonder Woman] makes her own choices. That could not be more clear. [And] if you two are together, then you’re together. Your problems are going to become her problems, to a certain extent, and vice versa.” Solid! Here’s hoping this leads to a new advice column. We could call it “Dear Batty.”

This is a book I asked for solely based on its cover, a strategy which works much better with graphic novels than with print ones since the same people are often involved with both. It’s more like judging an audio book by its sample clip than judging a print book by its cover and blurb. Nobody knows clinches like romance fans, and this is the best one I’ve ever seen. The artist clearly worked extremely hard to show the protagonists as powerful and equal, which is the core theme of this work.

I liked the art inside as well. Although the physical poses are sometimes stylized, the artist avoids the infamous horribly sexualized poses that plague comic book women. Wonder Woman’s body is athletic rather than pornographic, and while it’s not totally realistic, neither is Superman’s. I like Wonder Woman’s ethnic nose, but as a fellow Mediterranean schnozzer myself, I noticed that it wasn’t consistently portrayed across issues and images. On a non-character note, if you’re new to superhero comics, or if you last read them decades ago, you may be surprised and/or displeased by the amount of blood and the graphic depictions of injuries or dead bodies.

While this work is available in both e- and physical editions, I do not recommend purchasing it digitally. I read a digital ARC, and the page layouts make reading online very awkward. The layouts aren’t problematic for print - in fact, I liked them - but many are two-page spreads, with a core central image and other panels around the edges. In electronic form, this central image is chopped in half, sometimes at awkward locations like two-thirds of the way up a flying superhero body. Not only do you lose out on the full impact of well-crafted art, but sometimes the scene doesn’t even make sense. Is the punch on the other side of the page connecting to the enemy? Is the dialogue box on page 2 supposed to be read before or after the one on the previous page? This is a serious problem for a work being released in e-format.

Romances typically focus on the courtship, so it was different to read a graphic novel entirely about making the relationship work once you’re in it. I think the authors found interesting problems for these two superbeings to work through, but I really, really wanted some flashbacks to how they got together. (Perhaps they’re saving this for a later issue?) I haven’t been keeping up with DC, and I occasionally found myself unclear on the new universe. I think it’s still accessible for new readers, and the upside is that it will probably encourage you to branch out into more stories. The author worked about as much internal life into the characters as possible given the amount of plot and the limits of the page, but I still wanted more character development. Newbies would, I think, feel this even more strongly.

Female geeks have had mixed responses to the upcoming debut of a female Thor, with many asking why the big publishers don’t simply tell better stories for the women they have. Well, in Power Couple, Wonder Woman at least is getting that better story. And as romance fans know, it doesn’t diminish a good heroine to share a book with her hero. The fact that they’re together just makes it more fun.

Grade : A-
Book Type: Graphic Novel

Sensuality: Subtle

Review Date : October 2, 2014

Publication Date: 2014/09

Review Tags: Gods and Goddesses

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Caroline Russomanno

I'm a history geek and educator, and I've lived in five different countries in North America, Asia, and Europe. In addition to the usual subgenres, I'm partial to YA, Sci-fi/Fantasy, and graphic novels. I love to cook.

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