Wonder Woman (DC Comics)

[The Joker]

Wonder Woman #600 variant cover by Adam Hughes from back in 2010. Featuring Hughes' rendition of Sensation Comics #1.





Back when I was still buying comics, pre-ordering was very untypical of me. However, WW #600 was a special case. I picked up the main George Perez cover, along with the Don Kramer 2nd printing cover (featuring the short lived black leather jacket/black pants look), but the Hughes cover was the one I really wanted. I can't remember what I paid for it, but my OCD for particular variant covers was probably at a all time high back then. Now, it's pretty much non existent.

[thecolorsblend]

I luvz me some Adam Hughes. Guy's a legend. I have no idea how he makes a living tho since it doesn't look like he does full interiors very often and I can't imagine that covers and pinups pay very much.

But I've always been fond of this one:



I always found it telling that you can identify each character even tho they're dressed fairly identically to each other. Zatanna, Babs and Wonder Woman are easy but the others could've (and should've?) been very hard to distinguish from each other. But somehow, they're not.

And here are some scans from Wizard #45, May 1995. A fairly lengthy interview with Hughes.

[Silver Nemesis]

I've got that Return of the Jedi comic. It only adapts the movie as far as the scene where Obi-Wan tells Luke that Leia is his sister. Apparently the rest of the film was covered in the second issue, but my local comic book store didn't stock that back in 1994 so I never got to read it. Still, the first issue does a decent job adapting the movie's opening act, including the entire Tatooine sequence. If the second half is as good, the two issues combined would make for a satisfying adaptation.

[The Joker]

Adam Hughes' cover artwork on Wonder Woman was really caught my eyes back in the day, but I do remember first seeing his art on the covers for Vampirella and Tomb Raider as well.

I do vividly recall reading from Wizard Magazine that Adam Hughes was set to do a "All-Star Wonder Woman" book which would follow both the All-Star Superman and Batman books, and was to feature Adam Hughes art on both the covers and interiors, but unfortunately nothing came of it.

Adam Hughes sold Wondy very well, and DC Comics at the time were well aware of this. As Hughes' art was featured on the covers of both the "Official Character Guide" book from the early 2000's, and also the "Essential Encyclopedia" from around 2009/2010.

[The Joker]

In 2001, DC Comics ran the "Just Imagine" series of titles, which featured Stan Lee's re-imaging of DC Superheroes. To which, Wonder Woman was one of these.






In this Stan Lee version of Wonder Woman, Wondy is not Diana Prince, but Maria Mendoza. Who wields a divine golden staff (empowered by a Sun God) that turns her into Wonder Woman.

I can't honestly say I was really crazy about this reimaging (or really any of the other "Just Imagine" books), but if there was a silver lining, is that the book does feature Jim Lee on cover art, as well as penciling the interiors as well.

Interesting enough experiment, sure. The novelty of Stan Lee dabbling with DC Superheroes was enough to peak some curiosity. Just not enough to really clamor for more.

[The Joker]

José Luis García-López's cover for Wonder Woman #128 vol. 2 during the John Byrne era. If I am remembering correctly, every DC Comics title featured a face profile on the cover for a month or two in 1997.



Another memorable cover during Adam Hughes stint as cover artist on the Wonder Woman title during the early 2000's.



This particular issue kicked off another Post-Crisis retcon where "Wonder Woman" is reestablished as a JSA member, but rather than it being Diana, it's her mother Hippolyta via time travel. Making Hippolyta effectively, during this stage in Post-Crisis history, the Golden Age Wonder Woman.

Diana would eventually go on to meet her Golden Age/Earth-Two counterpart (as the Hughes cover suggests) during the "Infinite Crisis" event.