The New Teen Titans Volume 1
Written by Marv Wolfman & George Perez
Art by George Perez, Romeo Tanghal, and Curt Swan

Robin, the Boy Wonder, now a college dropout is pulled down a critical path that will redefine his life forever. The mysterious Raven calls on him as well as Wonder Girl and Kid Flash to join a new group of teenage superheroes. As is stated in one story, this isn’t the junior Justice League. Filling out the ranks are Changeling (formerly Doom Patrol’s Beast Boy), Cyborg, and Starfire. They take down the Gordanian menace that holds Starfire in bondage and quickly follow that up with their first encounter against Deathstroke the Terminator. Raven’s real purpose is revealed shortly after that, as she explains she needs to prevent the demonic menace Trigon the Terrible from breaching the walls between universes and conquering Earth. He uses the Fearsome Five, a team of B-tier villains to herald his arrival and Raven must find a way to hold together a frequently splintering team.

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Wonder Woman by George Perez Vol. 2 (DC Comics)
Written by George Perez and Len Wein
Art by George Perez and Bruce Patterson, various others
Collects Wonder Woman v2 #15-24, Annual #1

Following the first year and a half arc of the Wonder Woman reboot, Perez settled nicely into his own pocket of the DC Universe. In this volume, Wonder Woman’s fame makes her the target of cybernetic villain Silver Swan, a visit to Greece puts her into direct conflict with the sorceress Circe, and Themyscira opens its gates to the people of Man’s World leading to disastrous consequences. The Maid of Might struggles with the identity the world has assigned her and her own developing feelings for fellow superhero Superman. Her host family, the Kapatelis mother and daughter, Julia and Vanessa are both going through their own personal upheavals. Julia toys with one relationship and ends up with a teacher at Vanessa’s school. Vanessa becomes jealous of Diana when her crush becomes infatuated with Wonder Woman and finally ending up with another girl entirely. She also experiences the sensation of sudden popularity when she and Julia become the first visitors to Man’s World since Steve Trevor.

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Wonder Woman by George Perez Vol.1 (DC Comics)
Written by George Perez, Greg Potter, and Len Wein
Art by George Perez and Bruce Patterson
Collects Wonder Woman (1987) #1 -14

With the release and overwhelmingly positive response to the Wonder Woman film, I thought it would be interesting to go back to a run on the comic book that has always felt definitive to me. When I was first collecting comics, I would eagerly save up $10 and purchase one of the grab bag boxes offered up in the Sears catalog. They were typically split by a company, DC Comics or Marvel, and I have always had a soft spot for DC when it comes to the periodicals. In one of these random assortments, I ended up with three issues from writer-artist George Perez. I can’t say I was a huge fan of Wonder Woman beyond seeing her on Saturday morning cartoon appearances, but Perez’s reimagining of the character had me captivated.

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