MUJER MARAVILLA

...but when I woke up today I had pages in my inbox from both Aaron Lopresti, about the Olympian gods, and from Bernard Chang, for the "movie" issues of #24 and #25.

Guys, I can't stand it.

I have worked with a lot of great artists. I have worked with people I've looked up to my whole life. I have had very few artists who I thought were disappointing...Mark Waid teases me about it all the time, "How come Gail never has to work with any BAD artists?"

But this is just CRAZY.

Aaron's pages are going to rip your heart out. They are so emotional and so intense. All the stuff we've been building to happens in this story, and Aaron has elevated himself to a crazy level drawing it. When this is inked and colored, I'm going to have to look at it through a pin-***** in a piece of cardboard like a solar eclipse. It's that gorgeous.

And Bernard's stuff! Holy moley! Listen, I know some people found his two issues to be a bit jarring, sandwiched between Terry and Aaron. I understand that. But for me, I was crazy about it. I thought it was so thoughtful and unique and really beautiful. I'm a big fan...it's one of my favorite art jobs of any book I've worked on in some time.

But THIS is a whole different thing. I'm just saying, prepare yourself for something very, very special. I am a little breathless on both of these guys right now because I just a few minutes ago opened the pages. But this is gonna make a believer out of some skeptics. It's simply one of the best renditions of ______ and ______ ever, and that includes EVERY Wonder Woman artist, period.

Big words?

Maybe. But I mean them absolutely.


These two guys have put their heart and soul into these stories. They have worked and slaved and sweated and raised their own personal standards of excellence to do the best books possible. THAT is something that you don't always get even from the biggest names in the industry.

I am just ridiculously fortunate to be working with them.


I'm going to try to sneak a page or two in here like we did before. It's tough with Aaron's pages because every page is riddled with huge spoilers, but I'll try.


Yikes.


In other business, let's see.

Oh, I got to meet Joss Whedon at a very exclusive Wonder Woman party at SDCC. I told him who I was and he was REALLY nice about it. I told him I regretted him not doing the WW movie, and he produced his hotel key card, which had a photo of Diana from the animated film, and he said EVERY TIME HE USES HIS KEY, IT MOCKS HIM!

It's obvious that he really loves Diana. I talked to Bruce Timm, who had read the script, and he said it was really very good, so it's a sad thing that that didn't work out as hoped.

Man, some of the artists coming up on Wonder Woman stories (and where will those stories appear? That's the question, ha ha ha) include names like ETHAN VAN SCIVER, GEORGE PEREZ, and some others I can't name yet. These people actually came to ME to ask to work with me on Diana stories. Can you believe that? Instead of me begging them and stalking them and blackmailing them?

Hee hee, this is the best job in comics.


About these board...I LOVE LOVE LOVE the 'appreciation' threads for the different writers. I like ALL those guys, and some I simply adore.

I'm less fond of the idea of pitting writers against each other, particularly Greg Rucka and I. First, EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO THEIR OPINION. I do not take it personally if someone likes another writer's work better. There is never a reason to attack anyone for that, so please, let's all follow Diana's example and have civil, fun discussions, okay?

Second, I am in contact with Greg on a regular basis, because he did such an important run and many of his threads have been left hanging. He has been very forthcoming and helpful about things he had intended to do, and I have made it VERY VERY CLEAR that as far as I'm concerned, the door is always open for him to have input on those threads and resolving them properly.

Whether that means him doing a WW mini, or just keeping me informed so I can include those beats, or even us doing an arc together, ALL those doors are open. I believe what Greg did was awesome and important, and I know how frustrating it can be to have the rug pulled out from under you when you're building to something.

Greg and I write very differently (I was a fan of his before I even knew he'd written comics), obviously, and we're both stubborn as all heck, but we are in complete and absolute agreement about the respect that should be shown to Diana and the readers. So don't be surprised if some long-unanswered questions do make their way into the book at some point after the big OLYMPIAN story.


Lastly, I know it stinks to get hints of stuff coming down the road, without actual concrete explanations. But what I said at SDCC is true. Some things are coming that Wonder Woman has always deserved, but has never received. I am working constantly with a bunch of talented people to make Wonder Woman the powerhouse trinity character she was always meant to be, and Dan DiDio and DC have been completely pushing in the same direction. Dan wants Wonder Woman to be WONDER WOMAN, and to be a force in comics (and elsewhere) that she hasn't been since the Golden Age.

We're gonna do our best. Some of this stuff coming up is just wildly exciting. I feel like I got in at just the critical moment when WW is going to explode. I know it all sounds like hype.

It isn't.


It's pretty damn awesome.

Love to all, and thank you so much for your support!

Gail