Finally getting into Wonder Woman

I've wanted to get into Wonder Woman comics for a while, but it's always daunting trying to dive into a series that's been around for decades. I never knew where to start, and asking for help can be a bit of a gamble. But Barnes and Noble made it easy >_>

I stopped at B&N last night after work, having some time to kill and wanting to get Jessica Valenti's new book. Still not in stock, of course. One of the greatest feminist writers of our time releases a new book and B&N can't bother to . . . ugh. I rolled my eyes and decided to check out the graphic novels, though I wasn't sure if I wanted to actually buy one since I just started my new job and I won't see a cent from this company for another two and a half weeks. But when I saw that DC Comics graphic novels were on sale, I couldn't resist. Good time to check out the 'ol Second Wave feminist icon, yes? But there was a grand total of two Wonder Woman volumes in the section. Lots of Batman, lots of Superman, lots of Green Lantern, two Wonder Woman. And one Batgirl book, which I grabbed to take advantage of the "buy 2 get 1" deal. I saw a couple Catwoman volumes scattered in the Batman section too but I was less interested in those. Probably would have settled for one of them had there not been a new Batgirl release - Barbara Gordon has defied the "women in refrigerators" trope and has gotten out of the wheelchair, stronger than ever! Yay!

Wait, what's that? You've never heard of "woman in refrigerators"? Here, watch this video, I'll wait

I love her.

Anyway, it's not that I hate dude superheroes or that I don't want to read any of their comics, but since graphic novels are so expensive I want to prioritize ones about women. It did frustrate me that there was such a small selection, but no one else seemed bothered by it. The checkout girl, unfazed, assured me that this one Batman series had a lot of Catwoman in it. Small consolation. When I brought it up on Facebook my friends were indifferent, not seeing the problem and shrugging it off. "Nothing to see here," one said. Not that the small selection was a shock, but I still think it's a problem. Why is everyone so goddamn complacent?

Again, nerds are willing to acknowledge a gender issue in their media, but with a very casual "yeah, that's how it is" attitude. People aren't willing to challenge it or call for any sort of change.

Look, they finally put pants on her! And straps! I always wondered how she was able to fight in a friggin tube top. The enormous boobs don't seem necessary though.

Anyway, I started reading the first volume of Wonder Woman: Odyssey last night, and it's awesome! I know I still have to finish Battle Royale, which I've been muddling through all summer (I like it, it's just  very long and I'm a slow reader with ADHD), but I want to find time to read these as well because I'm really into them so far! Then again, I should savor them, because I cannot get in the habit of buying these on a regular basis. Yes, I could just buy individual comic books, but since I want to collect these I want to get something durable.

But maybe next time I should go to Comicopia or New England Comics, they'll (hopefully) have a better selection than a bookstore.