ICYMI! Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary Special: “Dear Diana”

“Dear Diana” is a story by comics legends Mark Waid Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. We get a story set during the Silver Age era of comics, showcasing her relationships with others in the League. There’s not a lot of action, but that’s because that’s not what this vignette is about. Waid and JLGL give us a day in the life, and it makes the story that much stronger for it, because instead of trying to take these eight pages and make them a straight-up slug fest, they give you a story about what makes Wonder Woman so special—the human inside of the magical gift from the gods. Made from clay, living in a world out of time, raised by women who worshipped the Greek gods, and sent to man’s world to spread a message of love, peace, and equality. 

When you think about the main tenets of who Wonder Woman is as a character, she lives by a code that should be one everyone should live by, and this team does just that here. Whether it’s assuring Green Lantern and his sense of aimlessness, dealing with Hawkwoman naivety regarding human behavior, answering Superman’s questions, or coaching the Flash’s unease with telling his brand new bride that he’s also the Flash, and all of the terrors that come along with being involved with the life. 

Waid was the perfect choice for scribing this era for Diana, and you’ll see that from his JLA: Year One, or the six-issue Brave & the Bold from around the same time with artist Barry Kitson, because of his love of the source material. Waid is one of those creators who has a real love for the source material, and can weave a tale with Silver and Bronze Age sensibilities with a modern edge, which is what he gives us here. Add to the fact that he’s teamed with Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, and it’s a dream team. JLGC isn’t a prolific comic artist as far as published stories go, but his work is what you’ll associate with the DC brand as far as merchandising goes. It was his designs and art that DC created their Style Guide back in the early ’80s, and his art style just resonates all of those feelings from reading books from that era. Altogether a great little vignette for Diana on her 80th.