This week are Wonderwoman #800 marks an anniversary for the DC flagship title and the conclusion of writers Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad’s run on the series. Writer Tom King and artist Daniel Sampere are the next team to take on the book, and #800 offered a mighty tease of their plan: a story set decades in the future of the DC Universe, featuring Wonder Woman’s daughter, Lizzie.
Why Lizzie? Well, it’s short for Elizabeth – Elizabeth Marston Prince, that is. Prince, from a long tradition, is Diana’s chosen surname. But which Marston did Diana Prince team up with to give birth to Lizzie? That’s for King and Sampere to know, and for us to find out when their run begins on September 19.
But here in the real world, Elizabeth Marston happens to be the name of one of the polyamorous trios that invented Wonder Woman in the first place.
What else is happening in the pages of our favorite comics? We’ll tell you. Welcome to Monday Funnies, Polygon’s weekly list of the books our comics editor liked last week. It’s part society pages about superhero lives, part reading advice, part “check out this cool art.” There may be some spoilers. There may not be enough context. But there will be great comics. (And if you missed the latest edition, read this.)
Image: Tom King, Daniel Sampere/DC Comics
Academic researcher and comics writer William Moulton Marston is given formal credit for creating Wonder Woman. But historians agree, he was at least inspired by — and probably collaborated with — both of his partners, Elizabeth Marston and Olive Byrne. With William, Elizabeth and Olive named their children after each other, raised them together, and continued to share their household for nearly 50 years after his death, until Olive passed away in 1990.
Which brings us to Lizzie, daughter of Diana. What do we know about her? Not much! King and Sampere’s short story seems to entrap her as the domineering little sister that Batman and Superman’s sons never asked for, not to mention ominous things about the three lassos of fate, an imprisoned king and “the myth that killed America and a new wonder.” We’ll have to wait until September Wonderwoman #1 for more.
Image: Kelly Thompson, Javier Pina, David Lopez/Marvel Comics
It’s fitting that Kelly Thompson, co-creator of Jeff the Land Shark and writer of his groundbreaking Marvel Unlimited series, featured him in her latest issue of Captain Marvel before getting a new creative team and a new number #1 this fall as well. It just remains very charming that his celebrity status also works on the superheroes of the Marvel Universe.
Image: Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo/DC Comics
Writer Tom Taylor and artist Bruno Redondo are no strangers to imposing wild artistic constraints on them Night wing issues. But reading them is like watching a trick shot compilation, “Why would they try to do that?” Oh my god they did it.”
This week are Night wing is “shot” entirely in the first person, making heavy use of reflective surfaces, drawings of hands and, perhaps most shockingly, half a dozen pages set in an extremely detailed subway interior. I hope Redondo recreated that in a 3D reference program, because the idea of him freehanding it makes me pass out. And then he’s going to make this splash page of what it looks like to be in the car when a missile hits him. Just dizzying.