Wonder Woman #178 (October 1968)

When it comes to long-running comics, things are bound to happen that will shake up the status quo of a series. These status quo changes can happen for a numerous amount of reasons. Sometimes the creatives want to shake things up a bit. Sometimes, it's done to try and get a series' sales up. After all, comic book companies are first and foremost businesses. If a series isn't making money, it's going to get cancelled.

Wonder Woman's book was having that problem back in the late 1960s. Despite the fact that her book was one of the very few superhero titles to remain publishing after the end of the Golden Age, and is considered part of DC's "Trinity" alongside Superman and Batman, her book's sales were suffering. They had gotten so bad that DC was seriously considering axing the book. Under then-new editor Dennis O'Neil and then-new writer Mike Sekowsky, it was decided that Wonder Woman needed a shake-up, and perhaps a bit of a updating for the swinging 1960s. So, how did it start? Let's find out in Wonder Woman #178!

The cover is a Mike Sekowsky, Dick Giordano, and Gaspar Saladino piece. It's pretty cool. It depicts Wonder Woman in mod fashion standing with a can of paint in her hand. She used it to paint an X over a pair of images of herself in her Wonder Woman costume and her uniform she wears as Diana Prince. It really helps send the message that we're going to be seeing something a bit different here in this issue. 

"Wonder Woman's Rival"
Writer: Dennis O'Neil
Penciler: Mike Sekowsky
Inker: Dick Giordano
Colorist: Unknown
Letterer: Unknown
Editor: Jack Miller
Executive Editor: Carmine Infantino

The story begins with the police paying a visit to Wondy's long-time beau, Col. Steve Trevor. 

"Just the facts, Steve."

The police want to know where he was last night, in particular, between 10 PM and 1 AM. Trevor explains that he was a place called "That Tangerine Trolley" with a girl. He doesn't remember her name. he wants to know what this is all about. Well, it turns out that a man named Alex Block was murdered. Before he died, he and Trevor had a fight. The police consider him the prime suspect. 

Trevor is arrested and put on trial. A prosecutor asks him to recall the events of the night of Block's death. You know what that means.

Exactly. We look back on that fateful night. Col. Trevor and Wonder Woman was throwing a farewell party for Block's business partner Roger Seely. 

"TAKE IT AWF!"

Block had himself a few too many at the party.

In his drunken stupor, Block mocks Wonder Woman's superpowers and tries to get her to have a drink with him. Yeah, make fun of the woman who could tie your spine into a knot by looking at you, buddy. Real smart.

Steve gives Block a well-deserved KO in the form of a Mighty Punch.

The two then leave, as they have to drop Roger off at the airport. After doing so, Steve apologizes for his behavior at the party, but calls Block a rat. Wonder Woman isn't bothered. The two share a kiss, then Wondy goes off to save the world. Meanwhile, he heads off to the "Tangerine Trolley". It's a hippie club (remember, this was the 1960s). 

Steve meets a pretty blonde there, but she doesn't give her name. He does notice that she has a rather funky-looking ring on her finger.

"I got it in a cereal box."

The blonde explains that the ring is a gift. But before she can tell him who it's from, she suddenly feels uncomfortable and leaves. Steve then went home. The prosecutor says that nobody remembers seeing Steve or this girl at said club. He then calls Wonder Woman herself to the stand. The prosecutor plays up the idea of Steve Trevor being Wondy's resident "Distressed Dude". He's needed her help in the past, but she's hardly ever needed his. 

The prosecutor points out that he may not be able to protect her from supervillains, but he can take down a regular drunk jackwagon like Block. Diana admits Steve called him a rat. Steve is hurt by this, but Diana says she had to tell the truth. Which...yeah. She had to on the stand or get charged with perjury. Anybody who has watched an episode of Law and Order understands this. 

Evidently, there was so much proof that Steve was guilty that he gets convicted. This utterly breaks Diana's heart and convinces her that perhaps Alex Block was right about her. That she is a freak. She vows to prove Steve's innocence. As Diana Prince, not as Wonder Woman. 

The next day, she visits Steve in prison. Even though he's only been there for a day, he's already doing the "bitter loner" act, pointing out it's Wonder Woman's fault he's in here. His only hope is the girl he met at the Tangerine Trolley. Diana vows to find her. Better hurry, Diana. If he's like this after one day in prison, he'll likely rip someone's spine out if he spends another day there.

Diana decides to get a hippie makeover so she can fit in at the Trolley. 

"Groovy."

Diana's lookin' groovy!

Being a head-turner worth of Aphrodite in her own right, quite a lot of the men (and presumably some women) are entranced by the Amazon. She asks around about the girl with the cat ring, but nobody claims to have seen her. One man seems rather bent on getting Diana out of the club. This naturally gets Diana's alarm bells going. Thankfully, a new friend comes by to help her out.

"I had nothing better to do, ma'am."

Meet Buck and his scooter. He takes Diana to a cemetery. A bunch of hippies hang out here. He heard that Diana is looking for Cat Ring Girl. A couple months earlier, someone offered Buck a bunch of money to make her...disappear. And it turned out the cops were after her as well. 

My thoughts exactly. Diana asks who hired him, but says it's too dangerous to say. He can tell her where the girl is, though. He tells her she needed a bit of cash, so she pawned her cat's head ring. Any further discussion is tabled by a biker gang called the Stompers riding up and raising some Cain. They make off with some of the girls from the hippie party. Diana is able to stop them, but then finds Buck dead.

Diana would discover later that he was only slightly dead.

Awww, dang it! Not Buck! I liked Buck and his scooter! They should have become regular members of Wonder Woman's supporting cast. God knows that Amazon needs more friends besides Steve and Etta Candy! James Gunn, I want Buck and his scooter in the next Wonder Woman movie! It's not a complete loss. Diana knows the mysterious blonde pawned the ring, so she can just look into any pawn shops in the area. Buck also said "the fuzz" was after her as well. As such, she could ask the police. After all, they probably wanted to ask her about Steve Trevor. As she returns to her apartment for the night, Diana gets some good news.

Roger Seely had heard about Steve's predicament, and he's on his way to visit. The next morning, the Amazing Amazon goes to visit all the pawn shops in the city. After a while, she's able to find the name of the girl that pawned the cat's head ring. She heads home to find Seely waiting for her.

"Just hangin' out, enjoying a smoke..."

She goes to find the girl, asking him to call the warden of the prison so Steve can be updated to what is going on. Seely seemingly agrees to do so, but actually fakes making the call. Once that's done, he and Diana visit the girl.

"Also, this is an ugly ring."

We learn the girl's surname is Carvan. Diana informs her Buck is dead. Carvan implies she's some sort of agent, as she reveals that Buck had told her to stay undercover. Diana wants to know why she didn't come forward to testify at Steve's trial some months back. Carvan reveals she didn't know about the trial, as she's been cooling her heels in her home, engaging in her love of painting. Wait, she didn't watch any TV or read any newspapers during that time?!

Diana takes her to the DA's office to sign a statement. On the way there, Seely pulls out a gun. Seely then explains what his was all about. You see, Seele is a paranoid sort, for good reason. It turns out that he was embezzling funds from his company. He was the man behind Buck's death, for some reason. He also was responsible for Alex Block's death, as Block was the one who discovered his activities. He used an actor to take his place on the flight...because reasons. 

He makes Diana drive the car off the cliff. He jumps out of the car, while Diana becomes Wonder Woman and saves the car and Carvan. The Amazing Amazon spots Seele flying away, but is able to capture him. With Seele caught and Carvan's testimony, Steve Trevor is freed. The story ends with the two cuddling on the couch. Steve compliments Diana Prince for her efforts (He's not aware that Diana Prince and Wonder Woman are one and the same...despite Wondy not concealing her identity in any way), and this gets Wondy worried. She fears Steve will fall for another woman. Yeah, your guess is as good as mine. She's going to have to make a change...

Yeah, this comic to me is a bit...weak. The most intriguing thing about the comic is the mystery of Steve's frame-up, but I can't help but feel that was handled badly as well. I'm guessing part of the problem was the length. This was trying to do quite a bit in one issue. The ending is also rather, well, kind of dumb. Why doesn't Diana just tell Steve that she's Wonder Woman? I mean, I can't imagine that would hurt things between them that much. But then again, I'm surprised he hasn't figured it out at this point myself. 

One positive I can give the comic is Mike Sekowsky's art. It's very well done. One detail I did think was clever was the panels. When the story was at the Tangerine Trolley, the panels were not square-shaped. My scanner made them square when I scanned a couple of them, that's why they look a bit...odd. I also liked that Sekowsky gave Wonder Woman a new hairstyle when she's acting as a civilian. That's a cool detail, and it's something I think all other Wonder Woman artists should have done afterwards.  

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2008 trade paperback Wonder Woman: Diana Prince Vol. 1. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves, and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash you hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!