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Fifteen years after first writing the character, Portland resident Greg Rucka returned to DC Comics to write the ongoing "Wonder Woman" series. Rucka, who said the character has never been more relevant, attempted to return the warrior princess to her roots in the series' first trade collection "The Lies," which is now available in comic stores.

(c/o DC)

Toadying pustule Richard Spencer can claim a handful of notable achievements: first, coining the term "alt-right" in 2010 as a whitewashed label for a brigand brigade of racist, half-crazed ideologues not fit for civil life; second, leading a meeting, as president of the National Policy Institute, in which attendees lauded Donald Trump's ascendancy to the presidency with a literal Nazi salute; and finally -- here's the majestic part to make up for all that depressing nonsense -- owning one of the most punchable faces known to both science and God.

So when an anonymous assailant took up creation's open invitation to pop Spencer in his stupid mouth, it was cathartic and celebrated by most decent folk -- seeing as how good people aren't racist and all. But some well-meaning and conscientious types objected, arguing that it's not good for public discourse to simply mash even the most repugnant voices into silence.

Is it OK to punch a Nazi? Once free speech and civil debate are taken into account, the question might be complicated, but if you ask writer and Portland resident Greg Rucka -- the past and current scribe on DC's ongoing "Wonder Woman" comic -- the legendary warrior princess wouldn't waste much of her time debating the matter.

"Diana's response would be, 'Are you absurd?'" Rucka said. "If you are committing to that philosophy, you are committing to a philosophy that says it is permissible to exterminate an entire people. That definitely deserves to be punched in the face. That cannot be allowed. That is anathema to humanity. That shouldn't even be a question."

"Wonder Woman: Rebirth"

The writer -- who said his job in relation to Spencer's intoxicatingly sockable visage is to script Wonder Woman punching a convincing analog ("Maybe he's wearing power armor," Rucka said, "but he certainly wouldn't have the name.") -- is in a unique position in Diana's 75th year, charged with simplifying and grounding the character in DC's "Rebirth" (specifically with the now-available first trade "The Lies") while also guiding someone who, as Rucka says, has never been more relevant.

"It's shocking to her that one human could look at another and say because of your ethnicity, because of your sexual orientation -- literally because of who you love and how you choose to love -- somebody else thinks it's fair or right to take from you -- never mind freedoms -- but your life," Rucka said. "You're damn right she's going to stand against that and she always will.

"The only good thing that I can think about the current political climate, not just nationally but internationally with this rising tide of hatred and isolationism, is that she stands -- as she always has -- in opposition to it."

"Wonder Woman" #1, page 1

Who is Wonder Woman?

Rucka's first turn at the character came in 2002 with his graphic novel, "Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia." While he followed the tight, compelling story that placed Diana squarely between Batman and a suspected criminal with a three-year run on the main "Wonder Woman" series, Rucka said his initial planning and mental preparation took the better part of three years, simply because Wonder Woman's voice was difficult to wield initially.

"Throughout her history, she's been far more of a moving target in depictions than, say, a Batman or a Superman," Rucka said. "It's very easy to go back into Batman and Superman canon and find stories that definitive for their eras and from those stories rise the voices. Whether or not you personally like the story, the take on the character is so iconic that their voice is very clear in your head.

"For over 30 years now, Batman talks like Frank Miller's writing him. You get the 'Dark Knight Returns,' and there was a very definite Batman voice. That's a far cry from the Batman you were getting 10, 20 years before he wrote that. Modern Batman -- everybody knows how he should sound. Everybody knows when he's talking too much because Batman doesn't talk so much.

"Diana, conversely, has this 75-year history of work, but because of the nature of the character and the stories that have been told with her, she has been very mutable. One of the reasons that she is so mutable -- and I really believe this -- is that unlike almost any other comic book character created...the character was always evident before the politics.

"Diana was created as a message character. Her own identity as a fictional person follows on that. It doesn't lead."

Diana's message, as Rucka explained, is that our society is fundamentally flawed, that "[t]here's a better way to live" and it starts with treating everyone with love and respect. It's a timeless directive, one that applied as easily to husband and wife creators William Moulton Marston and Elizabeth Holloway Marston in 1941 as it applies today in a world filled with men of Spencer's ilk.

But while Wonder Woman's message resounds, Rucka said the character had become adrift over the decades, and as he returned to write for DC, one of his principal goals was to make sure the essence of Wonder Woman -- the fundamental qualities about her and her relationships with other key characters -- was as solid as the values and ethics she represents.

"She's got a 75-year history as of this moment," Rucka said. "She's going to be around in some form or another long after I'm gone. My job right now is to tell the best stories I can about her, to serve the character as best as I can. That's the honor I've been given, and that's the job I've been given. To me, that means tell the stories that show those things about this character that make her so remarkable.

"I really do think she is absolutely one of a kind."

"Wonder Woman" #9

'The Lies' and returning to DC

Before DC's line-wide Rebirth relaunch, Rucka had spent the better part of a decade away from the company. Two things, he said, gave him and his wife, writer Jen Van Meter, reason to pause as they considered a return: the idea that a second run on "Wonder Woman" would be difficult given the inherent institutional memory in comic readership and that his first exit from DC was personally difficult. ("It's not me going, 'This person did this thing and this thing,'" he said, explaining his departure. "I had been there too long. I needed to go.") Ultimately, though, it was his interest and devotion to the Wonder Woman character -- along with DC's promise of support and creative liberty -- that brought him back to Diana.

It was as if he was a successful baseball manager, Rucka said, and the Steinbrenner family came calling. "They turn around, and they say, 'You're a Yankees fan. Here's the clubhouse,'" Rucka said. "It wasn't actually the easiest decision, but let me tell you, neither was it the hardest sell in the world."

Signing on to "Wonder Woman" in the Rebirth-era meant committing to a book that ships twice a month, a schedule Rucka called "grueling" and "a constantly difficult thing to ask of an artist." To give artists on the title a sense of ownership along with a lighter workload, Rucka decided to tell two parallel and alternating stories at the beginning of his run: "The Lies," with artist Liam Sharp, and "Year One," with artist Nicola Scott. "The Lies," the first collected trade, thus collects odd-numbered issues, while presumably the next trade will include the even editions of the series.

"Wonder Woman" #3, page 3

The goal of "The Lies," Rucka said, was to address a lot of the inconsistencies in Wonder Woman's core story that had built up over the last 20 or 30 years, while also bringing the character in-line with the larger Rebirth meta story. He said he also wanted to reconnect the princess with the ancillary characters -- best friend Etta Candy, chief antagonist Cheetah and male lead Steve Trevor -- who have traditionally been important to the Wonder Woman narrative.

"Diana has a supporting cast that she's had for 75-odd years, and they'd vanished," Rucka said. "They existed in the DC Universe, but they were no longer really tied to her. You were not seeing Etta Candy and Wonder Woman in the same book. Etta was still there. She wasn't talking to Diana. Steve Trevor was still there, but he wasn't talking to Diana either. Her most iconic villain, arguably Cheetah, had been through so many iterations and interpretations that she was more of a Flash villain, I think, than anything else -- if she bothered to show up.

"It really mattered to me to reestablish the primacy of Barbara Minerva and Etta Candy and Steve Trevor in her life and why they matter to her, why these people are important and why they deserve to be there -- what each one of them brings."

"Wonder Woman" #11, pages 4-5

Rucka said that while "The Lies" and "Year One" are complimentary, the series' first trade can be read independently, with readers getting a "straight-up Wonder Woman story where you understand what's motivating her."

"I think [artist] Liam Sharp is a remarkable collaborator. I think his art on it is stunning," Rucka said. "I think he gets better and better and better as the series progresses. I think that Laura Martin's colors are stunning on top of Liam's art. Hopefully, people pick it up. They'll just love it because that's the goal.

"I love this character so much, and Liam loves her, and Laura loves her and Jodi [Wynne] who letters the book loves her, and everybody who edits the book and all of us -- the thing we want is for everybody to see it.

"If you can come away from 'The Lies' going 'She's kind of awesome,' we've done our job."

"Wonder Woman Vol. 1: The Lies" is available now in local comic stores. The trade paperback, which collects "Wonder Woman: Rebirth" along with issues #1, #3, #5, #7, #9 and #11 of the ongoing series, goes on sale Tuesday, Feb. 28 in bookstores nationwide.