The first issue variant cover by Liam Sharp.

I stopped reading the main DC Wonder Woman book after Greg Rucka finished his run, but there is a Wonder Woman book that I am currently reading: Wonder Woman/Conan by Gail Simone and Aaron Lopresti. It is fantastic in all meanings of the word.


The writer/artist team really is the best fit for this book — Simone and Lopresti previously had a pretty good run on the pre-Flashpoint Wonder Woman book and Simone had written three excellent arcs for Dynamite’s Red Sonja book, so she knows both worlds really well.


The actual story starts off with a flashback to Conan’s youth, as his father takes him to an annual meeting with another clan.


Yes, this book is about Conan’s first love, whom he met at age eight. In fact, each issue begins with a flashback to a subsequent meeting that Conan and Yanna had, with their love blooming as they grow older.

But, of course, we have to get to back to the present day (or, at least, the Hyperborean Age). When Conan saves the life of a man who promises him gold, he’s told that the local gladiatorial champion is a woman. And, surprise, guess who it is?



Yep, it’s Wonder Woman, who has mysteriously lost her memories. She doesn’t even remember her name...but Conan believes her to be his first love, Yanna, and becomes determined to save her.

Of course, we, the reader, know that Yanna and Diana aren’t the same person...or are they? They certainly seem to share a familiar piece of backstory:


Could Yanna be the Conan-version of Diana? There’s a deeper mystery as well, involving god-like beings called the Corvidae, who gamble with people’s lives.

Wonder Woman/Conan is, like any good Conan story, soaked in blood and battle. But it’s also about the tenderness of first love.