Mike Deodato's Wonder Woman: long legs, tiny waist, gravity-defying breasts, and of course a thong. Must be the '90s.

I don't even know what to say about this choice of camera angle. How about,"Frank Cho would be proud?"

Artemis: scowling, twisting, and contorting while wearing very little clothing and kicking copious amounts of butt.

One of several Bolland action covers featuring Wonder Woman battling various aliens and other assorted creatures.

Diana looks nothing short of majestic here.

Here's a side-by-side of Bolland's preliminary sketch for #90 and the final version of the cover.

Everything you've ever heard about '90s comics is true. The obscenely large muscles, the balloon breasts, and the massive guns. The excessive amount of pouches on everybody's clothing. The gratuitous, leering obsession with the female form. Everything, and I mean everything, wasIt's all true, which is partly why I drifted from comics for a while during the decade.Don't get me wrong, I loved and still love me some classic '90s, andart. Those guys were superb. Plus you had'sand's, and also writers likeseemingly churning out seven books a month, all of them solidly crafted and well written. But the decade is often remembered for the excesses listed above.When I recently read the collected edition Wonder Woman by Mike Deodato I assumed I was in for more of the cliched '90s comic book tropes, including an abundance of brokeback poses and lots of violence and mayhem. Andcertainly delivers. Boy, does he ever. Make no mistake, he's a talented comic book artist, with a real flair for dynamic and kinetic panel designs and gloriously over the top fight scenes. And, who writes all of the issues in the collection, matches's energy with crisp dialogue and a propulsive forward momentum throughout. There's a b-movie feel to the run, withtelling fast-paced, action-packed stories, andproviding the cult movie exploitation-style gonzo art.The trade collects, and, plus. That's fifteen issues of prime early '90s era Wonder Woman and all that entails, including a new and absurdly revealing costume and increasingly objectified depictions of the female form over the course of the run. I'll discuss some story elements here, but this won't be a straight review of the plots. Instead I'll focus on's art. After all, it's his name in the title of the collected edition and it's his art that's most associated with this era of the character.As was de rigueur in those days, women are usually drawn posing in ridiculously contorted positions, both in action and in static scenes, for maximum extreme objectification. I lost count of how many times Diana and her Amazonian sister Artemis -- who wrestles the mantle of Wonder Woman from Diana during the run -- stood with rear ends extended impossibly high in the air behind them, backs arched dramatically, while at the same time pushing their chests forward with gusto.'s art onreminds me at times of'sandfrom earlier in the '90s. No stranger to dramatic exaggeration or highly stylized sexuality in his art,still looks tame when compared to the waydeploys both. Of course, if you bring's '90sinto the conversation,'s style suddenly looks as innocent as's. So it's all about degrees of "Extreme!!!!" when it comes to '90s "Extreme!!!!" artists, I suppose. I also get a strongfeel at times fromhere, with characters dramatically leaping across the page, nearly flying right out of panels and into your lap.Before reading the issues, the only thing I knew about the run was that *this* was the infamous era when Diana wore an insanely tiny thong. Seriously, she must have been awfully uncomfortable fighting in that thing.Her costume has often been derided as "skimpy" but rarely did it look quite so revealing untilarrived. Not only does she start off sporting the teeny tiny thong, but after losing her title as Wonder Woman inDiana dons one of the most '90s outfits imaginable. It consists of hot pants and a cropped leather jacket that's always open to expose her gravity-defying breasts, which are barely contained within a BDSM-style bra. It's risible attire for the preeminent female superhero, but dammit if Diana doesn't pull it off. Certainly,makes her look great, but it's all so unseemly in its overt sexualization that you can't help but cringe.also draws her as lithe and strong, with a confident gait and a smoldering intensity. In those regards, he does justice to her iconic status. It's just that he does so while also outfitting her in a thong, and then in the so-'90s-it-hurts bondage bra.One of the top items on the '90s checklist: Gratuitously torn clothing revealing even more female flesh. Click here for image With Artemis though,really outdoes himself. She too charges into battle in the most microscopic thong imaginable. Seriously, it's hardly even there. It makes Diana's look like boxer briefs. Artemis' legs are ludicrously long, while her absurdly large breasts are usually spilling out of her tops. They're also always standing at attention, whether she's sitting, running, or flipping upside down. Her waist is impossibly small. Her measurements must be the stuff of legend. Basically, she's drawn in a way that will satisfy every adolescent boy's fantasy. Yet, in a lot of ways, the art fits withcharacterization. Artemis is hilarious throughout precisely because she's a tough Amazonian supermodel-warrior with no sense of humor who's constantly flummoxed or downright annoyed by all of the idiot humans around her. Consequentlyrenders her in permanent withering scowl mode. She's a hoot and her interactions with the kind and calm Diana are a highlight of the book.Still, at timesalso lets the prurient art style run amok. There's no better example than when Artemis is brutally beaten by the White Magician. Artemis' Wonder Woman costume is ripped to shreds and she's tossed around like a well-endowed rag doll. And of course she maintains her alluring sensuality even when being pummeled. It reminds you of the "Death of Superman" showdown with Doomsday, except here it's filtered through a pure fanboy drool-worthy style. Eventually, her thong is just a string of fabric, held together by a few worn threads, and her bustier is torn to pieces, exposing huge portions of her breasts. In fact,strategically places the rips where nipples should appear—but if he was going to draw them in, DC editorial must've nixed the idea. Nevertheless, it's gratuitously executed, obviously meant to titillate. You can imagine the slobbering '90s male readers stammering,Ugh.Whilestory arcs are engaging and often well written -- although a Boston mafia war plot is a bizarre fit for Wonder Woman -- it's theart that sells the book and is ultimately what led me to try it out. I've heard so much about this era over the years -- some of it positive, much of it negative -- that I finally had to judge it for myself.My opinions on the art are more complicated. The adolescent comic book fanboy that still resides somewhere in the darkest nether-regions of my soul would blush at's art, but still enjoy it. The adult comic book reader I've become finds the overly sexualized style both problematic and tiresome, but also still appreciates's talent for drawing exciting superhero action adventure. Besides the elements of '90s excess, the art is compelling and energetic.In many ways the era this collection comes out of seems to be a curio of sorts -- a time whenwas far less progressive in their visual representations of their Amazonian Princess, and instead dressed her in what amounts to butt-floss and posed her like a soft-core porn actress. It's strange stuff, for sure. It's still worth a look though, both for historical perspective and for some entertaining art. Just keep in mind it's also filled with cheesecake.That's probably because innew Wonder Woman film gives such an exceptionally inspiring performance. She perfectly embodies the strength, compassion and love inherent in Diana. I'm a big fan of that version of Wonder Woman -- the one most associated these days with, and, to name a few creators. Still, it's worth remembering a time when the character was presented more as a pouting supermodel in barely-there clothing than as a true champion of the oppressed in more warrior-appropriate body armor. If only to gauge the representational progress made over the years. Diana has come a long way, clearly.As a postscript I'd like to give special mention to's gorgeous covers from this era, many of which are included in this run. His Diana is still sexy like's version, butdials down the objectification aspect. Instead, his Diana is never anything less than beautiful, empowered, and fierce. It's worth noting that he designed the roundly disliked black hot pants and leather jacket outfit, but even he didn't like it. It seems he was following directions from editorial. So, ifis reading this, please know that I would buy the hell out of of acovers collected edition. A quick online search reveals that he did covers for issues 0, 63–92, and 94–100. The slim collection could be fleshed out with cover sketches and maybe even commentary fromand/or editorial. I realize this isn't likely to be published, but I can dream, can't I? I'll conclude this piece with a few examples of the stunningcovers included in thecollected edition.