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Last week, I read Prophet Vol. 1, which was a good book but one that is impossible to summarize in one sentence so I’m not even going to try. Anyway, sticking with my theme of revitalized throwaway characters this week I read GLORY VOL. 1: THE ONCE AND FUTURE DESTROYER, written by Joe Keatinge and illustrated by Ross Campbell, published by Image.
After years of protecting the Earth and fighting alongside the greatest heroes of the day, Glory disappeared from the public eye. Years later, a young reporter located her only to find out that Glory is building an army to fight a war. So where did Glory go for all those years? Who is the enemy and why does our reporter believe Glory isn’t on the right side?
So why Glory? Why the heck would anyone want to read about a watered down, Rob Liefeld-created Wonder Woman clone? Honestly, I can’t tell you why I picked this up. Maybe it was the buzz coming off of Prophet or maybe it was just a general vibe. I don’t know my reason but I am glad I did. Just as Alan Moore used Supreme to tell Superman stories, this is the best Wonder Woman story on the stands.
Keatinge writes a tight tale with just enough future events to make the reader aware that everything is going to end badly. But there’s enough sense of hope that it will all work out. Beyond a tight story, I think his Wonder Woman Glory is just perfect. She is the second most powerful being in her universe. She was raised, and endlessly trained, to be nothing but an engine of destruction. When she fights it’s with a brutality and destructive power that can’t be matched. Can she change? Probably not but it’s fun watching her try and not succeed.
The art by Ross Campbell is awesome, too. He draws real women and Glory is more female body builder than supermodel in a bikini. She’s a beast of woman full of muscles and plain old mean. When Campbell draws Glory going nuts and destroying enemies left and right, it’s believable. It’s a welcome sight to see (semi) real proportions. It should be noted that Campbell achieves this by using thick black lines. It creates depth and size on the characters that make them leap off the page.
Glory is a great superhero story with a strong female lead. And not just a strong lead, but a believable lead character. It makes sense that Glory is an engine of destruction that has trouble stopping after she gets started. It makes sense when he supporting cast casually comments, “she will kill us too someday.” If you want a book about female superheroes that won’t insult your intelligence or make you hide the book because of all the girlie pictures, then this is the book for you.
- David Lee
