Collecting Wonder Woman #101-114 written and illustrated by John Byrne.

In Wonder Woman #101, Wonder Woman makes a new life for herself in Gateway City. She also meets police officer Mike Schorr, who is investigating thieves with hi-tech weaponry. In Wonder Woman #102, Wonder Woman and Mike find themselves in the clutches of Darkseid, who wants to know where the gods have gone. In Wonder Woman #103, Wonder Woman and Mike are transported to Themyscira and find it under attack by the forces of Apokolips. The story concludes in Wonder Woman #104, as the Amazons mourn their dead and Wonder Woman has to make a decision whether she assumes the crown and rule in place of the missing Hippolyta.

John Byrne is one of my favourite writers/artists, but I have to say that I find his version of Wonder Woman to be rather scrawny. I am much more used to Wonder Woman being more muscular that she was here. I do like her massive hairdo though. I don't particular care for Darkseid as a character either. I feel the same about the likes of Thanos, so maybe I just have something against the all-powerful godlike characters. It sucks that John Byrne saw fit to kill off most of the Amazons in his first Wonder Woman issue, but we do get an excuse to see Wonder Woman cut loose. It's always cool to see that happen, but I just wish it wasn't at the expense of the Amazons.

In Wonder Woman #105, Diana visits the Gateway City Museum of Cultural Antiquities for a job interview. Her knowledge comes in handy when the curator's daughter accidentally activates an ancient Greek statue imbued with magical properties. In Wonder Woman #106, ancient sorceress Morgaine le Fay targets Wonder Woman, seeking to unlock the secret of immortality. Morgaine sends Etrigan the Demon to capture Wonder Woman in Wonder Woman #107. Naturally, Diana isn't going to come along quietly. The story concludes in Wonder Woman #108 as Wonder Woman and Morgaine le Fay finally meet face-to-face on the mystical plane. The prize of their battle could mean immortality for Morgaine or death for Wonder Woman.

This story arc is probably most notable for being the first appearance of Cassie Sandsmark, the future Wonder Girl. Of course, she's just a regular girl for the moment, but I suppose it's only a matter of time until she gains actual super-powers. I much prefer Morgaine le Fay as a villain to Darkseid. Morgaine is gathering together all of the DC Universe's immortals so she can become immortal herself. Presently she has to go through a painful ritual to keep her youth, but the ritual's effects are starting to last for shorter and shorter times. Wonder Woman will complete her collection of immortals.

In Wonder Woman #109, a dinner date with friends is interrupted when the Flash appears and starts causing trouble. However, this Flash isn't Wally West, it is Barry Allen. Wasn't he supposed to be dead? Wonder Woman faces another supposed dead man in Wonder Woman #110, this time it's the Green Lantern villain Sinestro. Wonder Woman faces her toughest fight so far in Wonder Woman #111 as she takes on Doomsday, the monster that killed Superman! The story concludes in Wonder Woman #112 as Wonder Woman discovers the identity of the person bringing all the dead people back to life.

It turns out that the person bringing the dead folks back to life is a scientist that has invented a way to bring the dead back to life using virtual copies of them from video recordings. Or something. It didn't really make any sense to me. Any way, these people coming back from the dead aren't the real people, they're virtual copies. Early on in the story arc we see Wonder Woman training Cassie Sandsmark in the use of the Winged Sandles of Hermes to make her fly. Diana doesn't mess around in getting herself a new sidekick, does she? There is also a mysterious new hero called Champion working behind the scenes. We don't get to know much about him yet, but he seems to have his own plans for Wonder Woman.

Cassie Sandsmark, the new self-styled Wonder Girl, sets out to make her mark on the world in Wonder Woman #113, but her first time out may not be as easy as she thought thanks to the monster known as Decay. Wonder Woman's old friends Julia and Vanessa Kapatelis return in Wonder Woman #114, as Doctor Psycho invades their minds to strike at Wonder Woman.

It turns out that this Decay isn't the original from the George Perez Wonder Woman issues, she's another one of those virtual copies from the previous story arc. I always thought decay was a neat villain, so i was happy to see her brought back for another go, even she wasn't the real thing. It was nice to see Julia and Vanessa Kapatelis again. I'm glad John Byrne didn't forget about them.

An enjoyable collection of Wonder Woman stories. I didn't particularly care for the Darkseid story, but the other story arcs made up for it. I'm glad I didn't waste my money when I got this collection in a Comixology sale. I have a second volume of John Byrne's Wonder Woman issues, so I will look forward to reading that collection soon.

My rating: 3.5 stars.