Wonder Woman : Gods and Goddesses - A Novel

By John Byrne

Book Overview

The world has turned against Diana Prince-and her heroic alter ego, Wonder Woman. Spurred to religious frenzy by a zealous televangelist, citizens of the world are attacking both Diana and the pagan gods to whom she ascribes her very existence. Amid all this disorder, a gentle priest journeys with Wonder Woman to Olympus to discover the reality of religion. But cataclysmic turmoil is evident even in the realm of the gods and goddesses: Themyscira, Diana's birthplace and the home of the Amazons, lies in ruins after a tumultuous battle. Back home, tempers flare and ideologies clash. Will Wonder Woman prove her innocence and appease the angry populace, or will she be forced to depart forever from the world of mortals? Wonder Woman: Gods and Goddesses casts grave doubts on accepted truths and pits Diana Prince against her greatest challenge yet. About the Author John Byrne is one of the most celebrated and influential creators in modern comic books. Among his many achievements, he brought Superman into the 1990s after helping to make The X-Men the most popular comic in history. He just completed a three-year run as the writer and artist of DC Comics' Wonder Woman. He has written two other novels.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0761517138
• ISBN13: 9780761517139
• Release Date: August 1998
• Publisher: Prima Lifestyles
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 0.5" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

Notable rendition of th Amazing Amazon

John Byrne's Wonder Woman tends to inspire great passions, either pro or con. So did the creative team before Byrne. And those that tended to love the early series of stories tended to hate beyond reason almost everything Byrne did with the character once he took over. For me (and contrary to earlier reviewers here), the earlier run was weak, inconsistent, too slick, and featured too much skin. This present compilation of Byrne's first story arc shows why I greatly prefered his tenure on the comic book. His Wonder Woman was strong, decisive, and had human sized breasts. He showed a willingness to really shake things up... which again I liked but some people felt uncomfortable with. My feeling is that for general, or casual readers who just want to read a good Wonder Woman story, that this should fit the bill. Characters are well developed and there is an epic feeling to the story. Partisans aside, most should enjoy this.

An overlooked gem!

I only found this book by accident. After reading Wonder Woman: Gods and Goddesses I was shocked. This book is wonderful! I was not a great Wonder Woman fan, but this book changed that. Mr. Byrne's story is very engaging. We learn a lot about the heroine, and about the world as it may be if such a heroine were to exist. The story elements dealing with society's fears and insecurities translate very well to our world. I was always a fan of Mr. Byrne's comics work, but I have learned to love his novel as well. This book ranks with the best books of this genre.

Action, Adventure and Amazons

Anyone familiar with Byrne's work (mostly super-hero comic books and horror novels) knows what to expect: lots of action illustrating deeper philosopical questions. Here, Byrne tackles whether or not there is a God -- all in a super-hero context. Unconventional? Sure, well that's Byrne. Boring? Nope. And the ending will surprise you...