by Josh Flanagan Starting in July with Superman #701 and Wonder Woman #601, J. Michael Straczynski will handle writing duties for 2 of DC's biggest characters. It's certainly a change from the current teams, who have earned critical appeal, but not necessarily spectacular sales.
I think people know what they're getting with JMS, and for some people, that's something they like, and the chances are that it will definitely lead to juiced sales numbers, especially on Wonder Woman. Further, Straczynski's approach is one that often involves sweping gradiose ideas about morality, and that does fit with these 2 characters. On the other hand, he's also had a hand in really shaking things up, as he did with Spider-Man, and that's something Wonder Woman could no doubt use. The possible downside is the question of whether he'll actually finish what he started, with a long track record of abandoning projects, for whatever reason.
I can't say this move excites me at all, but it makes sense from a business standpoint, and I'll be very interested to see what happens.
UPDATE - Over at the DC Blog, J. Michael Straczynski has released a statement about both Superman and Wonder Woman. It's on an interesting read that you should check out in its entirety, but here's an excerpt:
On Superman:
...we plan to bring Superman back to his roots, to really explore who he is…how he sees us, and how we see him, in a much more personal way than we’ve seen in a while. This is part of a larger effort that will have national ramifications, but I can’t say much more about it than that for now. Keep an eye on this website for more information when the time is right…but for now, let’s just say that Superman may be a lot closer in proximity to you, the reader, than you ever guessed.
On Wonder Woman:
This is a strong, mythic, powerful character who for some time now has been kind of drowning under the weight of her own mythos, so I’m looking forward to paring away some of the layers of debris and undergrowth that have piled up around her in order to get to the core of the character. Coming from the world of TV and film, the first rule you learn is to service the main character more than anything else, so I’ll be writing with an eye firmly fixed on that rule… As part of that process, we’re going to be looking more closely at how Wonder Woman appears, and functions, and her role in the DCU…and what we have planned will, we hope, come across as dynamic and powerful as she deserves to be.
