The Amazon Princess..... "Full Circle" "Gang War, Conclusion"
Wonder Woman #4 - April, Year One	by Des Davies

The maitre'd had rarely had to struggle so hard to stop from staring at one of the guests at the restaurant. It wasn't unusual for the Hollywood elite to drop in as Gino's Place had developed a reputation as the best Greek restaurant on the West coast. However, the woman that glided into the lobby area today simply outshone the so-called stars.

Dressed in a simple pair of blue jeans and loose-fitting white blouse the woman radiated a presence that others could only dream of. Long raven-dark hair cascaded down to her shoulders in a tumble of curls, but it was the smile that was aimed directly at him and the warmth in the blue eyes that captivated the man completely.

"May I help you?" he asked after finally rediscovering his voice.

The woman didn't seem to notice the delay and she replied, "Daryn Phillips is expecting me for lunch."

Before the maitre'd replied a voice rich with the deeper tones of the south said "Diana. I'm very glad you could make it."

Taking her hand, he bowed as he lifted it to his lips. Releasing her hand he stood up to his full height and smiled broadly before turning to the maitre'd.

"I will see the lady to my table. Thank you."

As he turned and gestured casually for Diana to precede him he said softly with gentle laughter sufficing his words, "Do you have that effect on everyone?"

Diana glanced back at him with a puzzled look on her face, "What sort of effect?"

Trying hard to keep the surprise from both his face and voice, Daryn replied with a smaller smile, "The effect of charming every man you come into contact with."

Diana's look of puzzlement continued for a second before she replied, "I suspect it has something to do with the gift of Hestia."

She turned once more as they reached the table set towards a quieter area of the restaurant and was pleasantly surprised when Daryn walked around and held her chair as she sat before taking his own.

"Thank you for taking the time to have lunch with a old man Princess," he said with sincerity in his voice that was echoed in his eyes.

"Well as you are 'so' old Mr.Phillips, I thought it would be wise to do so sooner rather than later."

Daryn Phillips' deep bass laughter rolled out after a moment of surprise at his guest's response, and it was long moments before he was able to regain his composure.

"As the French would say Diana, touché."

He continued, "Have you eaten here before?"

"No, but I already find the design and feel of the place to be very pleasing. It brings back memories of home. Is the food good?" she asked then took a long drink from the water glass in front of her, then refilled it.

"It is excellent. Shall we order?" he asked handing her a menu.

Ten minutes later the waiter had taken their order and Diana had answered several of Daryn's questions about her home.

With a smile that spoke of a certain amount of mischief Diana asked, "So what other questions were you going to ask before duty interrupted us at the museum?"

The smile that had played around his face suddenly got wider and his bright white teeth shone out of his dark face. He looked like a schoolboy that had been given access to the treasures of a candy shop.

"The period that I'm currently interested in deals with the Trojan wars. I was wondering if you knew much about that period?"

Daryn Phillips leaned forward in his chair in anticipation of her answer but as long moments passed and she did not respond he grew concerned that he had been too forward. He noted the small bead of sweat rolling down the side of her face and the almost glazed look in her eyes. With concern evident in his voice he said, "Diana?"

The question broke through the thoughts that had been cascading around Diana's mind and she looked up at her companion and smiled almost sheepishly.

"Forgive me Daryn, that was rude."

"Think nothing of it Diana," Daryn Phillips replied in his warm, southern lilt. "Is everything OK?"

If Diana noted the concern in his voice she did not acknowledge it directly. Instead she replied, "Yes. Talking of home sometimes makes me miss the place. What were we talking about?"

"You were about to enlighten me regarding the Trojan wars."

"You do of course realize that I'm not that old and what I know is based on the histories as they were handed down."

"And of course, history is always written by the winner," Daryn added with a broad smile.

The tall man with the unruly mop of black hair looked at the small handheld computer in his hand, then glanced at the rows of boxes and crates in front of him. With a gesture of his free hand he called one of the young men forward and spoke several quiet words to him. Then the youth was off towards the end of the row and began to load boxes onto a truck parked nearby.

With a long, thin finger he touched the screen of his computer several times. His lips moved rapidly but no sound issued forth. He had picked the youths up at various parts of the city and was sure that none knew the others. That was an important part of the plan and it alone had taken some time to implement. Not as long as gathering the supplies that were needed, especially when it had to be done slowly enough not to alert the authorities.

He gestured once more and another boy moved forward.

"Crates marked with the letters LLVC are to be taken to 2567 Watermarket Street and left in the main room on the ground floor. The envelope that is there is for you."

Having been warned not to speak the youth simply walked down the row looking for the crates assigned to him.

Behind him, the tall man dress in dirty blue jeans and a pressed white shirt complete with tie continued to assign the dozen other youths to other crates. It would probably take the better part of the evening to complete the task but the man did not seem in the slightest bit disturbed by the fact.

Diana stood in the center of what had been the gymnasium of the school. She had purchased the school almost a week before as it fitted her sense of what was needed. The youths needed somewhere to learn that there was more to life than fighting over a small piece of land.

As she looked at the two groups of youths gathered into the room she knew that the majority of the problem lay with the group known by the name Blazing Skulls. Or maybe not the group, but the leader and his personal followers. Diana glanced once more at the leader of that group. She had heard since her time in Man's World that people with red hair tended to lean towards anger. With this boy she knew it was more than simple anger that drove him. During her years with the Justice League she had seen the look in the child's eyes more than once. It was the look of madness coupled with a need to make others feel the pain he felt.

She looked at the other members of the gang and immediately saw the undrawn line that separated the gang into two distinct groups. Those that were with him, and those that followed him because they were afraid.

"It may have been possible to resolve this if I had taken the leader to the police," she reasoned to herself. "But the best change must come from within or another of his cronies would have simply taken his place."

She looked to the other end of the room at the group of Latino youngsters gathered there. Even though she disagreed with the method they had used, she saw that they were simply defending their homes. It was not they, she had learned, that had encroached onto what the Blazing Skulls considered their 'turf'.

Diana remembered her conversation with the police officer she had met the previous week when she had saved him from assassins. From what he had grudgingly told her, she had discovered that the Skulls had been aggressively expanding the area they controlled over the past twelve months. Unfortunately, the police didn't consider the problem high on their list of priorities. Detective Schorr had not been happy when she had refused to explain why she was inquiring. Diana smiled inwardly as she considered the lack of fear he had shown when he had told her to keep out of police business and that Gateway City had no need for a vigilante.

Since purchasing the old, abandoned school that lay in the poorer section of the city called Harbortown, Diana had spent considerable time working on making this one room usable. Now she raised her arms and as her commanding voice rang out silence descended on the room.

"Let your champions step into the circle."

From each of the gangs one person stepped forward. They could not have been more different. The Blazing Skull champion was about five and half feet tall and resembled a human tank. A huge grin was plastered on his face as he stepped into the circled area. Two loud cracks resounded through the room as he popped first one set of knuckles then the other.

The Uso Solo champion was lean and athletic. He would have looked perfectly at home as a decathlete. No smile graced his lips. Instead he looked focused on the circle and his opponent. As he neared the circle he stopped and lowered himself to one knee. His lips moved silently as he offered a prayed before he stood once more and crossed himself before stepping into the circle.

The circle itself had been painted onto the floor with black paint and six burning torches were placed equally around it. The additional light in the room came from lanterns placed around the walls that caused shadows to jump and sputter as wind that leaked in through the damaged walls and roof made the flames jump.

The champions for each gang stopped on either side of Diana. Snap, the Blazing Skull champion, made a crude comment but the expression of the Uso Solo champion remained focused. Instead, Diana turned and with quiet authority said, "You will silence your rancid tongue in my presence or it will be another you face this night."

Snap broke the staring match with the other youth and looked over at Diana. Whatever comment he had been about to utter died in his throat as he looked into the Amazons anger filled eyes. Madness might have played in his mind, but even that was cowed by the force of will he felt directed at him.

Dismissing him Diana looked first at one gang of youths and then the other.

"You have both agreed to this resolution to the fight you began two weeks ago. These two, who you have chosen as your champions will fight within the circle that has been prepared. If anyone outside the circle interferes, they will lose. If any weaponry is used, they will lose. This is not a fight to the death," Diana paused to let the last statement register before continuing, "if either of you attempts to make it so, then I will step in and you will lose. The one standing will be declared the winner. Do you accept these rules?"

A simple "Yes," was the response from both the Uso Solo champion and their leader.

Snap gave a loud grunt and a sour face crossed his face. Sean, the leader of the Skulls sulkily said, "Not like we have much choice."

Diana looked at him and replied, "You have a choice. Accept the rules or forfeit the decision."

He didn't reply and Diana stood silently waiting. Long moments passed by before Sean, with the tone a six year old uses when they have to do something they don't want to, replied "OK."

Stepping backwards she left the circle. With a single word she released the combatants to begin their fight.

Shouts and calls of encouragement erupted into the silence of the gymnasium. Diana noticed that the majority of them came from the Skulls. The more vocal and raucous came from those Skulls that she could tell were closely aligned to the leader of the gang. Many of the others joined in as the thought of the battle ignited their emotions, but the vigor of the leader's cronies was missing.

The youths of the Uso Solo for the most part remained silent although Diana did determine that the name of their champion was Osvaldo.

Snap's grin broadened as he watched Osvaldo begin to circle him. There was an almost dance like quality to the boy's movements and Snap found himself snorting with disgust. Before he could move his opponent said softly in excellent English, "Give it up or I'll have to hurt you."

Snap barked out a laugh and moved towards Osvaldo in a lunge but the boy simply spun on the ball of his left foot and slipped past the fists of his opponent.

Diana watched both boys from sidelines and what she saw and heard pleased her. She had taken a chance with this contest but it looked like the initial part of her plan was going to work. She worked hard to keep her expression neutral as she watched Osvaldo once more spin away from the punches of Snap. This time however, his own hand lashed out in a short, stabbing blow to the back of Snap's head that sent him stumbling forward off-balance.

Instead of continuing the attack, Osvaldo performed a series of side-flips that took him to the other side of the circle. His face remained in the calm, almost placid state that he had begun the fight in and his constant motion did not appear to be causing him any problems as his breathing stayed slow and easy. The same could not be said for Snap, as his face was contorted into a scowl and a drop of saliva glistened wetly at the corner of his mouth.

With a roar he crossed the circle in a run. This time Osvaldo crouched low and with a series of spins threw himself forward to meet the charge. Instead of crashing into each other in the center of the circle, the crowd watched as Osvaldo slipped inside the slamming blow that Snap aimed at him before sliding his own leg in front of the charging Skull. An elbow lanced upward, powered by the spin that Osvaldo had maintained, and hit Snap in the small of his back.

As Osvaldo forward rolled away and then back to his feet, the sound of Snap hitting the wood floor of the gymnasium silenced the crowd for a moment. As he scrambled back to his feet he heard two voices speaking to him. Sean Leahy screamed, "Quit playing with the little snot and rip him apart."

While across the circle, Osvaldo repeated his earlier offer, "Give in now. I won't make the offer again."

Diana turned her attention to both groups of youths. She could see that the leader of the Skulls was beginning to lose control of himself and she hoped that he wouldn't do something foolish. Her eyes narrowed as she realized that not all of the Skulls were present in the room. She briefly debated stopping the fight, but decided to allow it to finish. She berated herself to pay more attention to what was going on around her.

Helena Sandsmark looked up from her desk where she was examining several pieces of jewelry.

"Cassie," she said sharply.

The young girl the comment was addressed to, looked around quickly as if stung. Her eyes finally focused on her mother and an abashed grin spread over her mouth. The look on her mothers face quickly wiped the grin away and she sat there awaiting the expected rebuke.

Helena's attention however, was diverted by the sound of a loud crash that emanated from within the museum.

"What the?" she began as she got up and went towards her door. Just before reaching it she turned and looked again at her daughter who was heading in the same direction.

"Just where do you think you are going?" She allowed no time for a reply as she went on, "You have trig and history homework to be doing young lady."

The "Oh Mom" comment died in Cassie's throat as she looked at her mother. She knew the expression all to well and the fact that there would be no changing her mind. Dejectedly she returned to her books.

Satisfied that her orders were going to be followed, Helena opened the door and then closed it behind her with finality as she left the room. She knew that the only people, beside herself, that should be in the building should be the security guards. If they had damaged one of the exhibits...

She left the thought unfinished and headed towards where she thought the noise had come from. The fact that it came from the direction of the new Chinese exhibit only served to raise the temperature of her annoyance further.

That annoyance turned to shock and then fear as she entered the big room where the most important part of the display was housed. The bodies of three security guards lay in the room and Helena had no idea if they were dead. She counted at least six other men in the room, two of which were examining the case that contained the Wan-Li Crowns.

As she came back to her senses she realized that she had been lucky that so far none of the men had seen her but as she began to move towards the safety of the hall her movement caught the attention of one of the men. With a soft shout to alert the others in the room he took off after Helena.

Helena turned and ran but with the shoes she was wearing she was soon grabbed from behind and ended up lying on her back.

She returned to the hall where the short chase had begun at the end of a silenced pistol. The case holding the crowns was open and one of the men was holding the Emperors crown in his hand. He looked up as she was pushed into the room.

"Miss Sandsmark. It is a pity that we have to meet under such circumstances. If you had been at home where a woman should be then you would not have needed to see this. However, as you are here I will ask you this. Do you know the history of this crown?"

He held up the crown in his hand and Helena replied caustically, "Probably more than you do."

His face held a momentary anger before it was replaced by a self-satisfied smile. "I sincerely doubt that," he said. "Did you know that Wan-Li was a master of Feng Shui? Or that he infused his crown with his abilities?"

"I thought not," he added to her confused look.

Helena thought for a moment about bluffing that the police were on their way, but dismissed it. Instead she said, "So you want the supposed power that is in the crown?"

"The power is there," he replied testily. "If you had any sense of such things you would already know that."

As he finished the sound of sirens was plainly heard drawing up outside the museum, which surprised Helena as much as it did the thieves.

"It appears that either you called the police, or we tripped a set of alarms. However, it does mean that we have an unwanted set of guests. That is unfortunate as it means that I will need take the power of the crown in circumstances other than I would have preferred."

As he spoke he lifted the crown over his head and slowly, almost reverently set it in place. Helena suspected that the look of panic that crossed his face was not what he had been expecting or the convulsive shaking of his body that quickly followed.

The scream that came from his mouth was enough to startle all the men in the room, but the laughter than followed it was infinitely scarier.

What she saw when she looked into the man's face was not what she had seen before. The eyes were now the color of amber and as she watched a long thin moustache grew.

Watching from the shadows of the entry corridor was the source of the alarm that had brought the police. Cassie Sandsmark cursed inaudibly as she watched the events unfold in the room.

Snap got back to his feet and grinned viscously at his opponent. Instead of charging the youth that had offered him an opportunity to surrender he began walking steadily towards him. His eyes narrowed into thin lines as he changed direction to move after Osvaldo, who had begun to dance around the perimeter of the circle again.

Diana noticed the change in the fight as the Skull champion had discovered his brutal frontal assault had failed. It would be interesting to see how the other champion responded to the change she thought. He should be able to continue moving around the circle indefinitely as there was no way for him to be cornered in a circle. She glanced around the room again watching for whatever the Skulls had planned.

The shouts from the Skulls outside the circle were loud and made suggestions that Diana deemed to be impossible. The anger and crudeness of the youths troubled her, but she still maintained the hope that her plan would work out for the best.

The change in dynamics inside the circle drew her attention back once more in time to see a lightning fast back-handed strike slap against Snap's face to the side of his left eye. The punch Snap threw in response met only air as Osvaldo pivoted away again.

The same scene was repeated several more times. Sometimes with additional strikes to the head, but with enough kicks to legs thrown in to keep Snap off balance. Diana was impressed that he had not given in to the anger that was seething around him. The blows had not caused a great amount of damage but there was some blood around his face, and one eye had begun to swell shut. She wondered if he had discerned the pattern that Osvaldo was using in his attacks.

As she considered the last possibility she watched Osvaldo close in again and snap out a short kick towards Snap's knee. Instead of trying to move out of the way of the blow as he had in the past, Snap stepped in and launched a fist into Osvaldo's ribs. The blow didn't strike cleanly, but it did cause the Latino to be thrown off balance for a moment. It was all Snap needed as he threw himself onto Osvaldo's back. One thick arm wrapped itself around the Latino's neck while the other came up and landed a punch into the small of his back.

The breath exploded from the Latino youth and allowed Snap to get a more solid grip around his neck. He was about to bring his other hand down in a chop onto the boys collarbone when he felt a sharp crack hit his own shin. The pain threw his balance off and the two youths tumbled unceremoniously to the floor.

Snap managed to maintain his grip around Osvaldo's neck but only at the expense of being the one to take the brunt of the fall accompanied by a viscous elbow strike that drove up underneath his ribcage. It should have been his turn to have the wind knocked out of him but he fought through the pain to maintain his hold.

Osvaldo slammed his head backwards and both heard and felt the sickening crunch of bone splintering in Snap's nose. This time a scream of rage erupted from Snap and he tightened his arm around Osvaldo's neck and dragged his head to one side. He threw his head forward and bit down hard on the other youths ear. Now a cry of pain came from Osvaldo, but he threw his body to one side and made enough room to bring his arm down in a huge arc.

Several of the youths in the crowd winced at the blow, and it was enough to make Snap release the holds he had as he grabbed for his groin. Osvaldo rolled clear then spun on his hands while bringing his legs high in the air. First one, then the other snapped downwards and collided with the Skull champion's temple. One blow would probably have been sufficient, but the second made sure that Snap was sent careening into unconsciousness.

Osvaldo pushed himself to his knees and stopped there for a moment to offer a prayer. Then he climbed shakily to his feet while holding his mutilated ear with one hand. He looked up at Diana and waited.

It seemed like the entire hall went silent as both groups of youths turned towards her.

"Both champions fought well, but it is Osvaldo, of the Uso Solo that has triumphed. Therefore I ask that the Blazing Skulls honor the commitment they made when entering the hall."

She looked directly at Sean Leahy, the Skull leader. He was only looking down at Snap's unconscious body with a look of total disbelief. When he looked up at her, Diana knew that things were not going to end simply.

A stream of invective flowed from his mouth and Diana felt the flames of anger being stoked inside her own chest. As she moved forward to stand directly in front of the still talking Skull leader she was knocked from her feet by a stream of disgustingly fetid water. The shock of the attack sent her sliding halfway across the wooden floor of the gymnasium before she finally managed to fly clear of the jet. She was soaked from head to toe with rancid, dirty, foul-smelling water.

She had expected to find the two gangs fighting each other, but instead she saw Sean and his closest followers running for the doorway where the hose that was firing the water was being held. It didn't take much effort now that she was out of its direct path to avoid the water jet and Diana threw herself towards the door. This would end now, she committed to herself.

All the fleeing Skulls were already in the corridor. However, they had turned in the wrong direction and were heading deeper into the old school. She called out, warning them that the rest of the building was unsafe but her efforts were met with more abuse.

Two youths that hadn't been in the gymnasium turned to face her. Each had a handgun leveled in her direction. With the lack of room to maneuver in the corridor Diana stopped her forward momentum and with flashes of silver deflected the hail of bullets harmlessly into the ceiling. As the youths ran out of bullets she dove towards them, narrowly avoiding a thrown gun. Gauging her speed carefully she rammed her shoulder into one of the youths that sent him careening into the wall. As he slid to the floor, Diana twisted in the air and crashed her elbow into the other youth's temple. Without a sound he too collapsed to the floor.

Looking down the corridor she saw the last of the youths turn a corner. Then she heard the sound of the pounding of feet change to the ripping of wood and the screams of the youths. Diana accelerated forward and as she rounded the corner she saw just two of the youths clinging to the edge of a huge hole in the floor.

She raced to the hole in time to grab the hand of one of the youths but was moments too late for the other as he lost his grip and went tumbling towards the murky darkness below. Diana tossed the other youth back into the corridor. She was about to fly down and catch the falling youth when she heard, then saw, the youth hit the liquid that lay at the bottom of the hole.

As she watched in the gloom of the hole she saw that instead of sinking into what she had presumed was water, the youth seemed to float on the surface. Then with horror she saw the black substance flow around the youth and he was gone. Many would have doubted what they had seen as it had happened so fast, but Diana had spent too many years observing the strange and she knew what she had seen.

Landing in the corridor she reached down and tore a long strip of the wood out of the floor. Then hovering over the center of the hole she dipped the wood into the liquid and began to stir it. Hoping that she would feel the bodies of the youths. With a look of disgust she threw the wood into the liquid as she noticed the blackness beginning to climb it. If her reflexes had not been as quick as they were, the liquid might have touched her hand. As it were it hung in the air for long moments, writhing like a cobra under the sway of a snake charmer. Then it fell back into the mass of liquid below.

Diana flew back into the corridor above. There was no sign of the other youth she had saved and assumed that he had fled while she had been occupied. She felt numb at the disappearance, and probable deaths of the youths. This was not the way she had planned for this evening to end.

She flew back to the gymnasium where she found that the Latino youths had surrounded the remaining Skull gang members. While they were eyeing each other warily, the leader of the Uso Solo, Reuben she thought his name was, was talking to a badly bruised member of the Skulls.

She lowered herself slowly back to the ground and approached the youths with a heavy heart.

Next Issue: Diana has to deal with the problem at the museum, while the plot against Gateway City deepens. We'll learn more about the results of the end of the gang war too.

Sounding the Horns

Mail galore this time around. The one below is a review from Russ Anderson.
Wonder Woman #2
by Des Davies

Summary:
A whole bunch of bad guys do a lot of mysterious things, while Diana speaks at a school and saves Officer Mike Schorr from gun-toting thugs.

Thoughts:
Given that John Byrne never got around to fleshing Gateway City out during his WW run, I appreciate that Des is going the extra mile to do so. The fun of writing about cities that don't actually exist is twofold: (a) you can make the geography and history up, and (b) you get to define the city's identity. Gotham and Metropolis and Star City and even Keystone all have very distinct personalities. Hopefully by the end of Des's run, Gateway will too.
That is part of the plan, and to honest part of the enjoyment of writing this title.

But the city isn't the only well-defined part of this title. Des throws in a lot of detail, going to lengths to explain how people are dressed and to describe their facial features. This is something that's skipped over in fanfic a lot -- one of the benefits of working with characters who are already visually defined in the mind of the intended audience -- but Des doesn't allow himself any laziness in this regard. He also manages to do it without dragging the story down with unnecessary detail.
This goes along with the idea of defining the city above. It's important to realize how multi-cultural the city is and by defining multiple characters this helps to do this. It's also going to be important as the series moves on.

I like the "new" personality for Mike Schorr. During Byrne's run, he was a hard-bitten city cop (tho I believe Byrne had him as a SWAT rather than a street cop), but his character got mushed up pretty quickly when he fell hard for Diana. I'd like to see some romantic tension between these two, but I'd rather not see Mike reduced to a puppy dog again.
Puppy dog is not what Mike Schorr is going to end up as. He will have a part to play in upcoming storylines but I'll let everyone know now that romance is not in my plans between him and Diana.

There isn't much action in this issue, and Des all but apologizes for that at the end, but I liked the issue just fine. Hopefully we'll see some ass-kicking soon, but there's nothing wrong with the pacing of these last 3 issues.
OK, no more apologizing for the lack of action. After all there was some in this issue, it just wasn't Diana. I'm having a lot of fun writing this title and I know exactly where the title will end up at the end of my run. In fact, I found myself having to move one scene from this issue to the next one as this issue was growing rapidly. Even having done that, this issue stills runs more than 5000 words.

The Verdict: Still a good read. Light on action, but full of great description and a more subtle approach to the character of Diana.
Thanks very much Russ. The action will build as we move ahead. The next issue in fact will be heavily action oriented. My main focus is going to remain on looking at what Diana's role is



Here's another letter from my good friend Derrick Ferguson.
Des,

First off, let me address what seems to be your major concern about the series: namely that there's not enough superhero action going on in the three issues you've produced to date. I guess it all depends on how you define 'action'. Admittedly, there's no major slugfests going on, but there's certainly a lot of other things you've got going on that promise plenty of conflict to come. You've got the street gang war, the ganglord Stefan Holliday preparing to mount a major preemptive strike against Diana, the introduction of a mystery villain, the attempted hit on the two detectives which ends with Orin Scrivello (where have I heard that name before?) being shot and rushed to the hospital and the illegal animal smuggling deal.
Yep, lots of plots and as you noticed this issue another just raised its head. Or did that happen last issue? Even I have a hard time juggling everything. Got to say its fun trying though! I'm surprised no-one has recognized the Orin Scrivello name. Perhaps I should run a contest.

All of these elements are presented very naturally and easily interwoven so that no one plot is dominating the other and in fact keeps things moving along at a very nice pace indeed. In fact, your decision to use elements that a reader would expect to find a more street level hero such as Batman or Nightwing here is kinda unusual and intriguing enough to make me wonder how Diana is going to handle it. I mean, with Wonder Woman I would expect to find mythological foes and themes being used and while I'm sure they're going to show up somewhere down the road, the use of such down-to-earth themes most definitely establishes that you're putting a new stamp on Wonder Woman that distinguishes this version firmly as your own.
There will be a few small mentions of mythical elements but they are not going to be part of the major flow of the title. Everytime I see a Wonder Woman issue that always seems to be the focus. Here I'm aiming at something different. Is Diana going to turn into a Batman clone? Nope. But I'm saying no more.

I haven't picked up DC's Wonder Woman for a number of years now, so I don't know which supporting characters (aside from Cassie Sandsmark) are yours and which ones you're borrowing from DC, but I like the fact that you're taking the time to develop an interesting supporting cast for Wonder Woman. Daryn Philips and Mike Schorr in particular both provide strong positive male presence and both look like they will interact well with Diana, particularly Daryn.
With the move to Gateway it made sense that I'd have to make up a new supporting cast. Some, Cassie, Helena and Schorr were in Byrne's run on the title. But as I started immediately before his run, these are my versions of the characters. It appears that everyone likes Daryn.

Good move on having Diana base herself in Gateway City. One of the things I always liked about DC was that they always had their heroes pretty much spread out over the US. Whether they were based in real or fictional cities, the heroes of the DC Universe gave themselves elbow room so that they could establish their own turf, rather than crowding into New York like the Marvel Universe heroes (If I lived in the Marvel Universe New York, I'd have moved to Florida LONG ago)

I like your Wonder Woman a lot. Its got an excellent leading character, a good supporting cast and enough plots going on so that I'm always wondering where you're going and how you're going to get there. I'm looking forward to more.
Thank you sir. Everything going on here stems from a root cause but it may be several more issues before it becomes clear exactly what that is.



One final letter from Mike McGee. I debated on whether to post the contents of this letter here as it was very insightful. However, here it is.

I never found Wonder Woman to be all that interesting a character. I mean, when I was a kid, I used to watch the "Wonder Woman" TV show, and I found Linda Carter very interesting, but it is hardly the same thing. I guess it's just a matter of personality -- not to put too fine a point on it, but I always thought Wonder Woman was a little bit off-puttingly butch. But THAT isn't even it. What it really comes down to is that this is someone who is pretty much a deity, and as such, it's a little hard to really relate. My favorite characters have always been the ones I could find a personal connection to, and when you're dealing with an immortal who's stepped out Greek mythology, that's a tough one.

Reading the #0 issue, it became clear to me that you sensed this, too, and moved to fix it. Opening with the funeral of Artemis served to underscore just how essentially human Diana is, a surprise not just to the reader, but (one would imagine) to Wonder Woman herself. Following it up with her audience with the goddesses took this a step further, and gave us a sense of perspective...like us, Diana is awed in the presence of the truly divine, and perhaps mystified by its workings. Not only that, but Hippolyta's attempts to skirt the designs of fate...and, with conscious deliberation or otherwise, sacrificing Artemis' life to save that of her daughter...give a nod not to the obvious trappings of a book steeped in Greek mythology (the tales of heroes and derring-do, etc.), but to the less obvious elements of Greek tragedy. (It's shades of "Oedipus" in a freakin' Wonder Woman story!) To me, this was the most interesting revelation in the story, and the one with the most potential for development...so I was a little disappointed when we left Paradise Island without an exchange between Diana and her mother, but not for long.

Grounding Diana in urban reality is only logical when you have a character whose mission is to better "man's world." Sure, you can have her rush off to combat a cosmic threat whenever the need arises...but, hey, that's what the Justice League is for, right? Diana is a crimefighter only incidentally -- her real mission is to eradicate the violence that is the by-product of crime, or (maybe) to weed out the causes of crime itself. If Batman is a vigilante, and Superman a guardian, then Diana is a reformer. So it's cool to see her establish a "real" life for herself, and to sow the seeds of enlightened pacifism through community relations and engendering a respect for history (if any male she instructs at the museum is able to stop staring at her long enough to pay attention to what she's saying). I like to see a writer establish a premise that fits his character and his alone, and that's what Diana's new life does.

The gang storyline looks to cut to the core of her character. Batman, for instance, would just beat up these guys...and, if he saw them again, would just beat them up some more. Although I'm sure there are surprises ahead that may prove me wrong, the gang itself bears little or no physical threat to Diana -- but they do challenge her mission. Just as (to me) the best Superman stories are not about Superman physically triumphing over an obvious evil...I mean, he's Superman, did you really think he would lose?...but about him questioning how he should fight a less evident threat, and whether it is his place to fight a particular "foe" at all, Diana's challenge here is not to stop the gangs from fighting, but to show them why they should stop themselves. You're right to say that this not-too-flashy story is THE essential, archetypal example of a Wonder Woman story, and I'm curious to see how you resolve it.

On a lighter note, I want to put in my vote for the soft-spoken gentleman Diana encountered at the museum as love interest. I don't see age as being a big issue when you're someone like Diana, and let's face it: This woman is a princess, and maybe the only way to write a romantic relationship for her is to show her with someone who treats her with respect and admiration. Mike seems like a cool enough, hardnosed-cop type character, but aside from an "opposties attract" kind of thing, I don't see that he and Diana would really have all that much in common. A lot of tension can be wrought from a contrast of opposites, but I think I'd prefer the quieter, more introspective scenes between Diana and Daryn. But that's just me.
I'm not making any public comments about this letter, except to say there's Daryn popping up again! Mike and I discussed this at length and I know if I start adding comments here I'm going to give something away. Suffice to say thanks Mike. Your insight was very much appreciated.