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BROWN: Hefty Wonder Woman tome breaks free of boxed restraints

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I realize the 80th anniversary of Wonder Woman’s first appearance in comics isn’t until Oct. 21, but if you start this week’s reading suggestion right now, you might have it finished by then.

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I’m talking about the Wonder Woman omnibus edition by George Perez, which is more than 600 pages long. I completed it earlier this summer and I love it, although not because the character is a feminist icon. It’s for the play with panels.

I am hardly an expert on the warrior from Paradise Island. I recall vaguely how her creator, William Moulton Marston, had a thing for ropes, and I grew up with the Linda Carter TV series on in the background. I also knew Perez was tapped in 1987 to revitalize the title.

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But the real treat in this weighty volume isn’t how Perez added to the storied character’s legacy. It’s his composition.

Perez explodes the staid four- or six- or nine-panel page. Some of his pages have seven panels, some 10, some 17, some seemingly none. There are panels within panels. Some of the action happens between the frames, and he emphasizes Wonder Woman’s power by having her appear to fly off the page, breaking free of the boxed layout.

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This is joyous work. I am willing to bet that the now-retired artist had a ball doing each individual issue. And how is Perez, who made his name as a penciller, as a writer? Surprisingly strong.

What stands out for me is how he takes so much time to set up battle scenes. There is plenty of build-up, so readers get a chance to become acquainted with Wonder Woman’s foes, which makes them more threatening.

And his experimentation isn’t just with panel size and placement. Despite their creativity, mainstream comic creators are notoriously averse to change, yet Perez made many changes to the Wonder Woman universe by, for instance, killing off important characters.

Another twist: In this book, Diana Prince’s sometime love interest, Steve Trevor (played most recently on the big screen by Chris Pine), is actually her brother. No, I didn’t see that coming either.

danbrown@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/DanatLFPress

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