Becoming Wonder Woman

Occasionally I'll read a comic that -- for one reason or another -- really hits me. By that I mean that the comic gets into my head. I can't stop thinking about it. I read it over and over. Then I read it again. This week, that comic was Wonder Woman #609.

I've actually been looking forward to this issue for a month, ever since the Doctor Psycho reveal at the end. Doctor Psycho is one of those characters that once upon a time I never would have given much thought to. Then Gail Simone got hold of him during the old Villains United story and turned him into an interesting character. She has a tendency to do that.

I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting from this issue. But in my opinion Phil Hester (I don't think there's much Straczynski left) created something really special with this story. He's taken the character of Doctor Psycho to another, fascinating level. And he's done even more with Wonder Woman.

I will admit that sometimes I'm not very good at explaining what I like about a given comic. But this one has it. It has that something special that makes a comic more than just ordinary. That beautiful combination of word and image that can only be accomplished in the medium of comics.

Hopefully after this is all over Phil Hester will stay around. Because as much as I've come to enjoy it (and I'm as surprised about that as anyone) Diana's odyssey has to come to an end sometime. As Edgar says, she must become Wonder Woman.

There are other little treats hidden in Wonder Woman #609 as well. Diana Prince. "The music of a distant parade." Everything just comes together. And it reminds why I like comics. And why I love Wonder Woman.