A new look for Wonder Woman

"Diana is far too undervalued by this world. This must change."

So says a character in the landmark issue "Wonder Woman" No. 600 - and this issue goes a long way toward changing that.

Besides the development within that has hit the comic community with the force of a nuclear bomb (see below) it is clear DC made a conscious effort to make this issue special for fans, while reminding everyone what makes Diana Prince iconic, special and deserving of sales numbers and respect accorded the other two members of "DC's Trinity," Batman and Superman.

Virtually everyone who has made a substantial contribution to the Wonder Woman mythos the past two decades is included in No. 600. Gail Simone, who is credited with bringing stability and a modern sensibility to the character after a problematic relaunch a couple years ago, ends her run with a short story that accentuates WW's place in the DC Universe. Fighting alongside the majority of DC's top heroines, it is clear that even they are all in awe of her. Penciled by George Perez - who relaunched and recharged the character two decades ago, and who contributes one splash page of all the heroines charging into battle that is suitable for framing - the tale is a nice collaboration of the two chroniclers who have arguably done the most to shape the character in the modern era.

There is also a short but sweet team-up of Wonder Woman and Power Girl in which Amanda Conner exhibits her unique style as an artist and for humorous, edgy, envelope-pushing storytelling. Writer Louise Simonson explores the dynamic of the Superman/Wonder Woman relationship, while writer Geoff Johns explores what makes Diana tick. Oh, and there's a foreword by Lynda Carter to boot!

So while the last ten pages by J. Michael Straczynski may be getting the bulk of the media attention, this is a book worth every penny of its $4.99 cover price whether you agree with the new direction teased at or not.

All of the aforementioned has been overshadowed by the massive changes Straczynski has made to the character, which is clear in those ten pages. Most evident at first glance is that the classic costume is gone. The red, white and blue swimsuit has been replaced by what Straczynski feels is a more modern, urban look (designed by DC co-publisher Jim Lee - see below).

"What woman only wears one outfit for 70 years?" Straczynski asks in the book. "What woman doesn't accessorize? And more to the point, as many women have lamented over the years . . . how does she fight in that thing?"

Comics Guy disagrees with this on many levels. First, Superman and Batman have maintained roughly the same look as they had in their first appearances 70 years ago. Because their looks have become classics. Because they work. Because they can be identifies all over the world - and the same is true with Wonder Woman's classic outfit.

Second, as Carter and many women have stated through the years, they find the idea of a woman confident enough to do battle in the high-cut bathing suit to be empowering.

As for being realistic in a fight, if every character were held to that standard, we would do away with all characters with capes and cowls - especially those who fight in high heels. In comics, visuals matter, and Wonder Woman's traditional outfit is a great visual.

Besides, powerful male characters like Hercules and the Hulk show arguably more skin, as do powerful female characters like She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel.

The main thing is that WW was always portrayed as an Amazon, but this costume doesn't make her look like a warrior. It makes her look like Black Canary or '90s Superboy or like the countless street vigilantes that populate comics today. The new get-up makes Wonder Woman look more common - and there's nothing wonderful about that.

After a week that saw 17-year-old Josh Hutcherson widely reported to be cast as the next Peter Parker in the Spider-Man film franchise reboot, Sony confirmed at a recent event in Cancun that Andrew Garfield will be the next actor slinging webs onscreen. Though Garfield is far from a household name, what surprises many about the choice is that he's 26, and part of the reason Sony is rebooting the franchise is because they want to get back to a young Peter Parker.

Tobey Maguire was rougly Garfield's age when shooting the first Spider-Man film, which opened with Parker as a high school senior.

So either the return to high-school has been scrapped or Sony is setting itself up for another reboot less than a decade from now.

The new Spider-Man film is scheduled to hit theaters on July 3, 2012, and will be in 3-D.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Alice Eve is in negotiations to portray Emma Frost in next year's "X-Men: First Class." Eve ("She's Out of My League") is blonde, busty, beautiful and British, so the move makes sense.

In another "First Class" casting rumor, Caleb Landry Jones ("No Country For Old Men") is the "top contender" for the role of the sonic-screaming Banshee, according to Latino Review.

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