Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman, Vol. 1

This anthology of Wonder Woman stories is worthy of its sensational title. Each story features a different writer and artist, and though some of the plots struggle to rise above supervillain-of-the-week fisticuffs, there’s not a bum artist in the mix. From Ethan Van Sciver’s (Green Lantern, The Flash: Rebirth) superheroics to the cartoonish fantasy of Hernandez (Love and Rockets), the all-star creative team approaches Wonder Woman from nearly every angle. The standout story is “Brace Yourself,” by Jason Bischoff and David A. Williams, a tale of Princess Diana’s youth and how she earned the honor of being Paradise Island’s ambassador—and the title of Wonder Woman. The best of the superhero fisticuffs is “Ghosts and Gods,” by Neil Kleid (Jewish in America) and Dean Haspiel (The Fox), guest-starring Deadman, who never overshadows Wonder Woman. Instead, the presence of a helpful, undead ghost illuminates ideas about faith, gods, and what it means to live in a world where such things are real. It can be difficult to find a modern, appropriately epic Wonder Woman comic book­­, but this volume has half a dozen. (Apr.)