Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: Gods and Mortals

Wonder Woman (1987) (Single Issues) #1-7

by George Pérez (Writer and Penciller), Len Wein (Writer), Walter Simonson

Collecting WONDER WOMAN #1-7, featuring the young Amazon's origin and her introduction to "Man's World." Before she has a chance to fully assimilate into her new home, Wonder Woman must battle the chaos of the Greek god Ares, as he plans to bring upon World War III! This collection, the first in a 4-volume series reprinting the first two years of George Pérez's run on WONDER WOMAN, also features an introduction, rare art, and a new cover by Pérez.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Wonder Woman, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy

192 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1987

About the author

George Pérez (June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an American comic books artist and writer, known for his work on various titles, including Avengers, Teen Titans and Wonder Woman.

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Storyline: 3+++
Artworks: 5+++

I hated very much the "Man of Steel", "Batman v Superman" and "Suicide Squad" Warner/Legendary movies, but it seems the Wonder Woman one is going to be good.
So, when I found two days ago the whole George Pérez run of the character at a comic convention here in Rome (destiny, fate or who knows?), it seemed to me it was almost time to read some Diana Prince graphic novel.



Maybe storyline and dialogues aged as not much well as Frank Miller's and John Byrne's Batman: Year One/Man of Steel post-Crisis on Infinite Earths previous relaunchs/reboots of other two DC comics "Trinity" characters, but I really enjoyed all the Greek Mythology parts/references in this volume (great fan of it since I was a kid).







And Pérez artworks are just over the top.

Shame on me for discovering just now this classic gem.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought I would do a separate review for the story as a whole. You can only say so much in an update…

Actual rating 3.7 stars.
I really enjoyed the first issue, the story of how the gods created the Amazons and who they were before Diana came to be.
I also liked how involved the gods were. It made sense in the fact that it was also their existence on the line if Diana failed in her mission.

I’m not sure the Decay plot was necessary.
I liked the implications it had for Phobos and I suppose it was the debut of Wonder Woman to the world… But did it need two issues?

Anyway, I was surprised when I noticed how old Steve was. I am so used to thinking he and Diana are romantically linked that it felt a bit weird at first. Glad there was no hint at all of that here.

I also really liked that it wasn’t some hand-to-hand fist fight Diana just barely won against Ares.
Ares completely overpowered Diana until she used a gift given by the gods to show him what exactly would happen if he succeeded.

The last issue tied everything up while creating a new plot in introducing us to Barbara Minerva!
I haven’t read anything about the Cheetah and only have Wonder Woman 1984 as a reference so I’m excited to learn more about her.

Overall, this story wasn’t what I was expecting but I enjoyed most of it. Plus I’m glad to finally be reading Wonder Woman comics!

While I was in the middle of this story, the writer George Perez sadly passed away.
Thank you for creating wonderful stories and making Diana into such an incredibly interesting icon.

Links to individual status updates:
Issue #1│Issue #2│Issue #3│Issue #4│Issue #5│Issue #6│Issue #7

[Jemir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very few comic book stories or story arcs delved into the character of Diana in the way George Perez had. A sort of "Year One" reboot following the events of Crises On Infinite Earths this volume introduces us a warrior culture called the Amazons from the hidden (though its more like "rarely-visible-to-mortal-means-of-perception) island of Themyscira and their complex history amongst mortals and the (Predominately Greek) Gods of myth.

Born into this, as a gift from the gods, from clay to be raised as the daughter of Queen Hippolyta and trained in the ancient warrior ways of her culture is Diana. The story is a slow burn that tells of how she earns the chance to represent themyscira in "Patriarch's world" (the "world of mankind" so to speak) and stop The God of war Ares from unleashing his plan. Having no idea what the upcoming Wonder Woman movies will draw from or look like I can't envision this story line - or aspects of it- not playing a role in the final output. I think that most that read it may see why.

[Artemy · Rating 3 out of 5]

George Pérez's Wonder Woman is a fascinating read from a historical perspective, but this is a mid-80's comic, and today it feels very dated. It's exposition-heavy, extremely wordy at times, and full of clunky, cringe-inducing dialogue. However, it doesn't seem fair to criticise the comic for all of those things, because this is just the way comics were written back then, and it's still quite readable compared to a lot of other stuff from that period. And to give Pérez some credit, he is doing some remarkable job establishing the mythology of Wonder Woman, it's very thorough and well thought out. The artwork is pretty remarkable, too, full of detail and character. In the end, it's not a very exciting read, but it is interesting educational material.

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Decent reboot of Wonder Woman character after the events of the Crisis on Infinite Earth mini-series. This appears to be a really difficult character to make into a compelling series but Perez does a pretty good job with this reboot.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good stuff here, but rather creepy at times.

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gods and Mortals is the updated retelling of the origin of Wonder Woman after the Crisis, brought by George Pérez.

This book has left me with mixed feelings. While the art is top notch and extremely detailed, it is the writing that suffers.

There are several changes made to the Wonder Woman mythos, and all of them are welcome ones. And there is a certain part in the beginning that leaves the readers with an unsettling mood. Apart from these problems, Diana's struggle and perseverance to defeat the evil by fighting against all odds is very well written and is one of the main things that carries the entire book.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crisis on Infinite Earths wiped Wonder Woman from existence in the mainline DCU. This was her (literal, in fact) rebirth. This particular trade (issues 1-7 of the rebooted Wonder Woman) is exposition heavy in the extreme, but it really has to be. George Perez laid down a fairly comprehensive mythology that would stick with Wonder Woman pretty much right up to the reboot. That much is fantastically plotted, and from what I've seen so far, he seemed to be doing a pretty good job writing Wonder Woman, apparently a challenging character. It is, however, somewhat dated. This shows up especially in the panel layouts, but the dialog, art style, and some of the tone are showing the book's age. It's good quality work of the era (mid 80s), besides giving pretty essential background to the character.

[Ghofran · Rating 3 out of 5]

SPOILERS


The word rape culture comes to mind. The amazons are brutally raped and the author is like "well, revenge is not the answer and it's your own damn faults you dumb chicks because you failed blablabla". If you pretend that never happens the rest is good. What else? Oh yeah because you ladies took revenge on your rapists and want to go after the monster responsible for it you forget how pure you used to be because lol you were raped and got upset about it lol you bitches failed. Good god. I'm mostly enraged because I KNOW what's coming later on and I'm not ready to throw my computer across the room for that "lesson" about forgiving your rapist. However I was told it was cut out from the trades? I hope so.

If you ignore that, which is just the first issues, then the rest is fine. It's engaging, interesting, and dare I say addictive. But it's still very wordy and slightly dated, especially when it comes to the gods.

[Boris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Чудесна графична новела. Вплитането на гръцката митология в света на Wonder woman беше направено на ниво, героинята не е това, което си представях от филмите и много се радвам, че успях да се запозная с образа ѝ чрез рисунките на Джордж Перѐз.

Със сигурност ще проследя и останалите части от този рън.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just stunning and unexpected, and a great remedy for the bad taste that Wondie's been leaving in my mouth since the New 52 reboot. Rich and complex, with beautiful artwork. Instead of rejecting or trying to change the character or her origin, Perez fully embraces it, proving you can make Diana compelling in her own environment and, fancy that, can even include the goddesses and other female characters! A joy and a welcome palate cleanser.

[Tamsin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This combined two of my most favourite things - Wonder Woman and Greek mythology - and was involving to read from beginning to end. The art work was fantastic, story arcs engaging and was an all round joy.

[Alayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

De cómo se crearon las Amazonas, cómo luego fueron expulsadas a la Isla Paraíso, donde nació Diana, y cómo luchó contra Ares en su primera misión en el Mundo de los Hombres y sus primeros pasos como super heroína.
Genial.

[John Yelverton · Rating 4 out of 5]

George Perez takes the Wonder Woman mythos and makes it better than it ever was.

[Ann D-Vine · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's actually kind of phenomenal how modern this one reads; while still presented the same as any Silver Age book (it's a lot more text-heavy than comics are nowadays, which was certainly in vogue at the time), it's delightfully forward-thinking plot of powerful femininity, a strong yet flawed characterization of Wonder Woman herself, and the fallibility of the literal Gods themselves. It doesn't hurt that they seem to have pilfered a lot of this arc for the Wonder Woman movie.

Honestly, I can find very little fault in this one. It's book one in the Wonder Woman 75th Anniversary box set - an extraordinary introduction, I'm sure, to anyone unfamiliar with the character and her legacy, and I'm super glad they lead off with this one. George Perez seemed to pour his heart into this one, with the results speaking for themselves as intelligent, mature, and deeply reverent. Even in 2018, the level of investment and belief in its morals and politics is of great import - there's worrying relevance to be found here.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the use, in many cases, of mythology in this, in particular how it is used to show the flaws of the god. It makes up for a bit too young Wonder Woman. The relationship between mother and daughter was particularly nice as well.

[Your_Average_Magical_Girls_Fan · Rating 1 out of 5]

In retrospect, what turned to be a complete destruction of everything that made Wonder Woman an Icon during the pre-crisis era, except for the 70's period penned by Dennis O'Neil. Bogging down in greek mythology what was a way to turn it upside down and show that the greeks were completely wrong in their depiction of matriarchy-matrilineal societies was an HUGE mistake, not that different from the destruction of the Batman mythos done by Frank Miller - No, he didn't "go back to the noir and pulp roots of the 40's", don't believe who tells you otherwise - or the though-bubbles infested reboot of Superman by John Byrne. I'll give one and one only positive element, at least Perez developed a bit the diplomatic side of Diana. Other than that, this simply belongs to the garbage bin. Avoid.

[David Hollingsworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always really liked Wonder Woman, despite not really having much familiarity with her canon. I've only read Tempest Tossed, which was lovely, but it's definitely too new to be part of any ~canon~ of beloved Wonder Woman stories. So I decided to give this one a try. It was a good time!

This story is something of a new origin story for Wonder Woman (they love doing that in comics, don't they?). The Amazons are made from the souls of women tortured in the world of men, given new life by the gods. Princess Diana is the special daughter among the Amazons. As a teenager, she becomes champion among them. Eventually, she must set out into the world of man to help them against Ares and his machinations for war.

If this sounds a bit like the 2017 movie, it's because it is- or at least sorta. It doesn't take place during World War 1, but in the "present" (from when the book was written in the late 1980s). Other than Stephen Trevor and a few plot beats, it's fairly different in the details. But the main idea of the movie is roughly the same: Diana must use not just her strength, but her love of peace and justice, to inspire humanity to be better and overcome the warmongering temptations of Ares.

What worked for me is that all the characters are fleshed out well. I thought it was interesting (in a good way) that Stephen Trevor's background was as a Vietnam veteran who is implied to have spoken against a My Lai-style massacre in Vietnam. He even expresses surprise his commanding officer was never fragged (threatened by soldiers with grenades) in 'nam! That's pretty gutsy to put into a comic. I very much respect it, as it immediately tells us Trevor is someone who has the integrity to resist the God of War.

My only real complaint is that there is a ton of text. That probably sounds a bit odd to say as someone who reads everything from Marx to Dostoyevsky, but I think they could've been more conscious of visual storytelling. It feels like a majority of the panels have as much text as picture. I get that it's customary to have stories with gods feature lengthy Shakespearean dialogue from those gods, and more generally it's fine to delve into dialogue, but man, there were some times were it was just too much. Having pages upon pages of huge text boxes that take up half of each panel makes it feel like they could've just written this as a novel instead of a comic.

That aside, this was a good read. It didn't pull me in as much as I hoped, but that wasn't its fault. I've had an even busier than usual last couple weeks with my baby, so I made pretty inconsistent progress. I'd gone full days without reading, which is pretty rare for me even during my busiest weeks. So that prevented me from settling into this story more comfortably. But, even with the interrupted reading pace, I still had a good time. I'll have to reread it eventually.

[Artemis Crescent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bloody expensive purchase well spent.

It was only a matter of time before I took a look at George Pérez's rewriting of Wonder Woman's origin story after the 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' event, which was made to reboot and retool the DC Universe in 1985. My collection of the superheroine's comics is growing more and more, and though I feel I already know her inside and out and as intimately as any fangirl can dream of, without worrying about not being considered a "true" fan or some such bollocks - still, essential reading is essential. And after seeing the pleasant surprise that is the 'Wonder Woman' summer blockbuster this year - finally made seventy-five-plus years after her creation - I was pumped to get back into the stories of this phenomenal, original and wondrous superwoman.

'Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: Gods and Mortals' turns out to be really interesting.

Wonder Woman's Amazonian heritage, and the complex history of her fellow sisterhood before arriving on Themyscria and Diana's blessed birth from clay, remains the same as it was originally in the 40s. Only this time the mythos is given more depth and detail. Feminism - or the eighties second-wave feminism - is presented with pride, and issues such as male entitlement, toxic masculinity, and the archaic patriarchal society lingering on as an excuse to hate and fear women, are explored. Ignorance and hatred are clearly shown as bad things, like with the Amazons originally being made by the female Greek gods (idea and leadership by my dear Artemis!) from the souls of women who were killed by men. Misogyny takes on many forms. This social sickness has always been around and it continues even more insidiously in our "enlightened" times, and it cannot be allowed to thrive further and win, for everybody's sake.

Greek mythology is also front and center in this comic; every deity has a purpose and a personality. The characters - the Amazons, the mortals, and the gods, even, as it turns out (thanks to Diana), including the obviously evil Ares - struggle and deal with so much suffering. The reader really gets a feel for them as people, more so than Wondy herself.

I think the only weakness in 'Gods and Mortals' that matters is Diana's characterization. She's kind, caring, thoughtful, and a badass as always; however, I feel that she isn't given quite enough of a presence in her own comic, leaving less of an impact and impression compared to the other, stronger characters. I like that she is mostly in the dark about what is going on in her journey - as is common for a supposed protagonist whom the reader follows - as she leaves her home island to stop Ares from destroying the world via manipulating men and women to launch nuclear weapons. She is learning from each of her experiences (including speaking better English in man's world), being guided by gods and humans alike. But her naivete wears thin after a while. What I found to be most interesting about the warrior princess, aside from how she uses her Lasso of Truth in battles, is her fear of guns, after barely deflecting bullets in her final trial at the Amazon tournament on Themyscira. Maybe this - an inkling of Diana's stance against, and fear of, war and violence? - gets explored further in the later issues.

But it is a hero's journey Wonder Woman takes, with MacGuffins and everything. She does fly - there is no need for an invisible jet! She will not resort to brute force to defeat her enemy, and save the world from nuclear war. Wonder Woman is the name the American press gives her (Superman is mentioned in this!) after she defeats a monster of decay that terrorized the city she is staying in. They already admire and respect her enough to give her her own unique identity, in the public eye, without making her a female version of Superman, an established male superhero. She is love, decency and hope. She is truth.

Steve Trevor is probably at his blandest here. I barely remember what he did; we don't even see Diana take him into hospital for his burning-plane-above-Themyscira injuries, once she is teleported by Hermes to man's world. That is how little Pérez seems to care about him. Steve fights and is framed for murder in his own army base, but that's all that stands out about him. No romance is present in this volume, not properly. Thank Hera. Though I am confused as to how Steve's fate, his destiny, is said to be tied with Diana's - according to a prophecy - when they barely talk to each other! It comes out of nowhere and it makes Steve appear even more superfluous in the story. It's not like the other soldiers are useless.

I love Etta Candy in this version of Wondy's origin. She's a brave, motherly lieutenant and a foil to Diana's view of feminine beauty standards; no wonder, since all her life she has only been around women whose fitness ideal equals tall and skinny. Etta is an equal to the men in her field, is unpretentious, and a Mama Bear: she will do anything to protect her loved ones. Professor Julia Kapatelis, a reluctant mortal guide to Diana, is an actual mother, and a smart and fantastically capable woman - a middle-aged woman at that. Her daughter Vanessa gets infected by the decay monster and is on the brink of death, so the stakes are more personal for her to help Diana on her mission. Julia, whom Diana calls a sister, is another credit to feminism,

The artwork is typical eighties comic books, nothing special. Let's conclude this.

'Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: Gods and Monsters' is a fun and soulful superhero origin story. The mythology, the wide array of truly strong female characters, the political intrigue, and the action are all well-integrated and balanced in their places in the comic. The layering of the divided worlds of the Greek gods and the modern day mortals - and Wonder Woman as the saviour of both - is written excellently, and so is the pacing. While it is not the strongest starting point to getting to know Wonder Woman as a character, nor for new readers to understand why she is so popular, there is enough here about her and her iconography and values that nothing important is missing.

I'm super glad I read it. History is important. The past a vital learning curve and experience.

Final Score: 4/5

[Celluloid Doll]

Wasn't sure if I was going to log this here because famously comic books aren't real literature but this was turned into a graphic novel so it actually counts due to the transitivie properties of the word novel. Wierd tirade aside I was kinda shocked at how second wave feminist this was, not how radically feminist it is because it isn't anything that crazy but how specific alot of its concerns where. It essentially functions as the opposite of those "greek myths reimagined" books you see on shelved today where the greek myths are rewritten to contain progressive elements, instead exacerbating and making the reactionary patriachal elements of those myths blatantly apparant. Atleast in the first issue it does kinda fade into the background in later issues but it's still an ever present motif. Also contains a shockingly naunced case of sexual assult, atleast as far as comics in the 80s go, depicting it as this ever presenting freudian trauma that manifests in men during intense moments of castration anxiety and is fundementally linked to the continued enlsavement of women. Again, the later chapters fail to keep the venom of the early issue but they're fun nonetheless.

[Vikas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is part of Wonder Woman 75 years celebration set. This was the first one and fittingly it is a sort of retelling of Wonder Woman's origins and works well in that regard. As the title says the story jumps between the Gods of Olympus and the Mortals on the dear ol' earth. I would agree with others in that the art is excellent and it is fun to see how much the art has changed in the 30-40 years. I would continue through the series after a sojourn to a non-graphic novel for a bit.

I have always loved comics, and I hope that I will always love them. Even though I grew up reading local Indian comics like Raj Comics or Diamond Comics or even Manoj Comics, now's the time to catch up on the international and classic comics and Graphic novels. I am on my quest to read as many comics as I can. I Love comics to the bits, may the comics never leave my side. I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and then just Keep on Reading.

[Brian Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is so very much a creature of its age - mid to late 80's with the cold war still on and the threat of quick annihilation still in the air - that it's difficult to judge it beyond that. Perez artwork is at it amost detailed, which is just bordering into too much, but it is still beautiful and distinctive and iconic of the age. He was probable the best artist they could have put on this reboot to make comics reads sit up and take notice. He's not a great plotter, so there's a little more tell than show, and Len Wein's work with the scripting was doubtless helpful for Perez's first stab as being the plotting lead, is a bit old school and over wordy at times, especially considering the other books coming out in the DC post crises reboots. Still, these are modest concerns - it's a nice, respectful, well realized and creatively re-imagined Wonder Woman that deserves plenty of kudos.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back in the late 1980s, I mostly read indie and underground comics, but one the few mainstream titles I picked up was The George Perez run on "Wonder Woman." At the time, it was mostly for the astonishing artwork, but now, revisiting it thirty years later I can really appreciate the wonderful storytelling here as well. A rebooting of the WW legend, this is an exciting, if verbose by today's standards, story full of action and old-school goodness. If you are looking for some comics to read before seeing the new movie, this is a marvelous place to start!

[João Batista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Desde o “sopro da criação”, aqui temos roteiro e argumento muito bem desenvolvidos. Visuais da década de 1980 e críticas ao próprio povo norte-americano; apesar de criada por um homem, Mulher-Maravilha tem voz em ações com ideais feministas. A “arma do trovão” parece ser a solução para militares e os bozominions do Brasil resolverem tudo, não?... Como a Princesa Diana poderá mostrar à humanidade como não se destruírem?
Boa tradução, mas “deem” e “veem” perderam o circunflexo e a regência do verbo “atender” precisa ser revisada.
Citação: “Com certeza não é o Super-Homem!”

[Chaitra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I shouldn't have started this, because as far as I know my library carries none of the other George Perez Wonder Woman volumes. But then again, it is a wonderful introduction. There is none of the wish fulfillment crap I've come to associate with WW, and it's a coherent origin story. Ares is her main villain in this volume, and even though he comes to his senses too late according to me, he does come to his senses. All in all, a great origin story.

[João Teixeira · Rating 2 out of 5]

Não adorei, mas também não detestei... Goatei de conh3cer a "origem" da princesa Diana de Temiscira e dos seus antecedentes mitológicos... Não gostei especialmente da vinda da dita princesa para o mundo do homem dos anos 80... O argumento desta parte é fraco (para não dizer ridículo)... Há histórias que não sobrevivem ao passar do tempo... o que não significa que não tenham o seu interesse...

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought going back to the originals was a good idea but NO! Not aged well.

[aLejandRø · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sorprendido gratamente por la riqueza y profundidad con que Wein & Pérez abordan esta trama, crónica del origen del personaje, fascinante por la incesante participación del Olimpo griego y demás criaturas mitológicas.
En cuanto al dibujo no soy gran fan del estilo Pérez, sin dudas un gran artista, creo sí que con un entintado más enérgico se hubiese mejorado bastante el resultado final.

[Tomas Leiva Mercado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me gusto el comic, me gusto como se fue desarrollando el origen de las amazonas y Diana, fue muy interesante.