The comics community is still soaring over the news. James Gunn’s absolutely huge Gods & Monsters revelation has sent shockwaves throughout the fandom, and it’s having a direct impact on the secondary market. From long-awaited, live-action debuts to a new spin on the DC’s holy trinity, the world is taking notes on what Gunn and his co-chair, Peter Safran, have in store for the DCU’s new era.
Among all the movies, shows, and cartoons on the agenda for the first leg of Chapter One, the biggest question mark is hovering over Paradise Lost. Gunn simply described it as Game of Thrones meets Themyscira. We know it will be an HBO Max streaming series, and that should have you smiling. After all, HBO has the reputation of making some of the best series in all of streaming and television. The fact that Gunn directly compared it to GOT implies that it will be brutal, bloody, and dramatic in Westeros fashion with warring factions jockeying for control of Themyscira. What’s not to love?
Simply having the Themyscira setting ties it to Wonder Woman, but it sounds like this could set up her arrival by the series’ end.
That means that the majority of the show would not feature DC’s most famous Amazonian. What, then, could the show be about? Better yet, what comics could the series be based on?
The prevailing theory is that Paradise Lost will chronicle Themyscira’s rich history that has hardly been touched upon on the screen. One thing about Gunn that should please comic book fans is that he is a longtime comic fan. He’s commented about reading Grant Morrison’s Batman run multiple times, which gives him instant nerd credibility. That leads theorists to believe that Paradise Lost will definitely be based on a comic storyline, and fans are pointing toward Wonder Woman Historia as the prime candidate. That should immediately have you thinking key issues.
WONDER WOMAN HISTORIA: THE AMAZONS #1
Written by famed comic creator Kelly Sue DeConnick, the first issue, published under DC’s mature Black Label imprint, will undoubtedly be a top collecting priority. The series itself chronicles the Amazons’ origin story with the queen of the Olympians herself, Hera, at the center of the all-female warrior nation. However, it’s the legendary Hippolyta who enters the fray to upend Hera’s plans, and we know that she will go on to become Wonder Woman’s mother. Here, we get to see her as a warrior, and she may very well be the star of the show.
This wouldn’t be a first issue without some first appearances, and there are some worth noting who could make their live-action debuts in Paradise Lost. For one, we have the Tribe of Artemis, but more specifically, this is the first time readers met two key members, Thero and Lyke.
Since this issue was only released at the end of 2021, the prices are still low. In fact, there are no recorded graded sales to report, though raw copies for the standard cover are selling for around $35 on eBay.
WONDER WOMAN #1 (1987)
Although nothing is certain at this point, the best guess would be that Hippolyta will serve as the protagonist. She first appeared alongside Wonder Woman in 1948’s holy grail, All-Star Comics #8. For those of us who can’t afford to hardly look at copy of that megakey, there’s George Perez’s seminal Wonder Woman, vol. 2, #1.
In this relaunch issue, Wonder Woman and the Amazons’ history was retold, thus reintroducing both Hippolyta and Ares in the process. The issue also featured the first appearances of more characters who could be featured on the screen, namely Phillipus and Aella.
This one has been surging in popularity thanks to the announcement. The graded 9.8, which has a 12-month FMV of $228, last sold for $225 on Feb. 3.
