Why DC Needs Ben Caldwell's Manga Wonder Woman

For me Wonder Woman's finest hour came when George Perez was writing her stories. Perez's books were captivating and he had a way of making Wonder Woman seem fresh and exciting. Unfortunately, after Perez left the book, DC seemed to regulate the Amazon Princess to a second tier character. In my mind, she was only a relevant and/or exciting character when she was involved with the Trinity (Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman). Her stand alone books seemed boring, meaningless and without relevancy to anything of substance going on in the DCU.

Then came Bruce Timm and the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited cartoon series. Timm's stories made Wonder Woman once again a fantastic character full of heroics and humanism. He walked the line very well with Diane making her one of my favorite characters on the show. She wasn't just relevant within the Trinity, she was relevant in her own right.  Diane was powerful, smart, compassionate, beautiful, humorous, intimidating and kind.

Recently, cartoonist Ben Caldwell's fresh, new take on Wonder Woman has circulated in and around the Internet.  Caldwell bring us a young and hip and continuity free, Wonder Woman packaged in a digest size format. His Wonder Woman is very cartoony (think Skottie Young) with a skew toward the generally female friendly Manga style.

DC needs to take a good hard look (or another good hard look) at Caldwell's take on the Amazon Princess.  In my opinion, this new look and story(s) will bring in new young readers and bring back those of us that have always enjoyed Wonder Woman but have lost faith in her stories over the years.

 I have posted some of Caldwell's Wonder Woman art that has been floating around the Internet for your enjoyment.  Please take a look and let me know if you agree with me that his take could re-energize this once fantastic character.

Spiderman Back in Quack #1 - Skottie Young Cover

Hidden deep in the Marvel Fall solicitations is a comic that should have been at the top of the list - Spiderman Back in Quack #1 .  I mean just for the Skottie Young cover art alone it is worth the buy.  Plus, who doesn't like Howard the Duck?  Marvel's Solicit Reads,

"Presenting two of Marvel's finest: Spider-Man and ... Cynical Duck (TM)? Yes, Howard the Duck's brain has been thoroughly scrubbed, his hard-edged humor carefully dulled down for maximum demographic acceptance. It's up to Peter Parker to set the duck straight -- but does the world prefer Howard this way? Guest-starring the villainy of SOOPhI, the utter cluelessness of Mayor J. Jonah Jameson, and the unnerving eroticism of "Swizzle," SOOPhI's whip-wielding corporate spokeswoman. So wrong it's ... well, no, it's still wrong, courtesy of Stuart Moore (NAMOR) and Mark Brooks (YOUNG AVENGERS). Plus: a tiny-size Man-Thing backup feature by Stuart Moore & Joe Suitor (MARVEL BREAKOUT)!  40 PGS./One-Shot/Rated A ...$3.99"Show all

Skottie Young: Heroes Con X-Baby Badges

For those of you that may not know, Skottie Young's brother, Landon had a heart transplant on Sunday and according to Skottie,

everything is working great now.  He's healing nicely and on his way to joining us again in the real world!  So, thanks for all the kind words, thoughts and support. has some serious health issues and he has been added to the donor list for a heart transplant.  

Obviously because of his Brother's health, Skottie Young was unable to attend this years Heroes Con.  Despite all that was going on in his life he was still able honor the request of Shetlon, the owner and show runner of Heroes Con and do the badges for this years con.

Here are the wonderful X-Baby badges that were distributed at Heroes Con.  Please remember to keep Skottie's brother, Landon in your thoughts and prayers.  Gfest wishes Landon long days and pleasant nights.