The Wonder Woman party continues!
Today in Superheroes, we had a visit from Greg Rucka, who wrote one of the Wonder Woman comics (The Hiketeia) we read for today. Lots of elements of Greek tragedy (plus the Furies!), very cool, and Batman gets his ass kicked. I highly recommend it.
Apparently, hiketeia is an actual ritual that shows up in The Iliad and The Odyssey. Yay for learning something new!
His talk was actually really interesting, since he gave us a look at what it's like to be entrusted with a character who's essentially part of the great DC Comics trinity (the other two being, of course, Batman and Superman), and who is also, while part of the trinity, getting short shrift because she's so complicated and comes from such a detailed backstory. Unlike the origin stories of Superman (last survivor of a dying race falls to Earth, does good) or Batman (sees parents murdered, seeks vengeance), Wonder Woman's can't be explained in a single sentence. There's too much to her, which makes her both rich for interpretation, but slightly daunting.
Plus, her ultimate goal is not one that's very...compelling, I suppose. Batman, for example, wants vengeance in the night. That's cool. Wonder Woman...is here to spread peace. It's hard to find someone who doesn't agree with the idea that peace is a good thing. Add into that the fact that almost every man who writes or draws her wants to fuck her (and it shows), and Wonder Woman really starts getting difficult to take seriously.
After class, he stayed behind and signed everyone's books (and all with different inscriptions, which is unthinkably fabulous and awesome). Mine says "She gives us hope. Cherish it." I blushed a lot and stammered. After class, Celeste, Becky, and I had to find people to gloat at who would appreciate our gloating, so we went to the comics shop and flailed around about the awesomeness of Greg Rucka and look he signed our books and he's so dreamy! It was nice.
Next week we start The Fantastic Four and Spiderman. I'm sad to leave Wonder Woman, but now that I know more about her, something tells me it won't be goodbye for long.
Apparently, hiketeia is an actual ritual that shows up in The Iliad and The Odyssey. Yay for learning something new!
His talk was actually really interesting, since he gave us a look at what it's like to be entrusted with a character who's essentially part of the great DC Comics trinity (the other two being, of course, Batman and Superman), and who is also, while part of the trinity, getting short shrift because she's so complicated and comes from such a detailed backstory. Unlike the origin stories of Superman (last survivor of a dying race falls to Earth, does good) or Batman (sees parents murdered, seeks vengeance), Wonder Woman's can't be explained in a single sentence. There's too much to her, which makes her both rich for interpretation, but slightly daunting.
Plus, her ultimate goal is not one that's very...compelling, I suppose. Batman, for example, wants vengeance in the night. That's cool. Wonder Woman...is here to spread peace. It's hard to find someone who doesn't agree with the idea that peace is a good thing. Add into that the fact that almost every man who writes or draws her wants to fuck her (and it shows), and Wonder Woman really starts getting difficult to take seriously.
After class, he stayed behind and signed everyone's books (and all with different inscriptions, which is unthinkably fabulous and awesome). Mine says "She gives us hope. Cherish it." I blushed a lot and stammered. After class, Celeste, Becky, and I had to find people to gloat at who would appreciate our gloating, so we went to the comics shop and flailed around about the awesomeness of Greg Rucka and look he signed our books and he's so dreamy! It was nice.
Next week we start The Fantastic Four and Spiderman. I'm sad to leave Wonder Woman, but now that I know more about her, something tells me it won't be goodbye for long.