Young DC heroes in prose - thoughts on Wonder Woman: Warbringer and Catwoman: Soulstealer

Just over a year ago, DC and Random House teamed up to produce the DC Icons series, novels telling the tales of young DC characters. The titles don't seem to have any particular connection other than that theme and a rogue's gallery of well known young adult writers providing the stories. With two books of the released three now under my belt, I thought I'd share some thoughts on both.

The Batman book remains on my to-be-read pile! 

Wonder Woman: Warbringer twists the back story of Diana and gives her an adventure in Man's World years before Steve Trevor arrives. Instead, she rescues a young girl named Alia when she washes up on Themyscira's shores. Unfortunately for Diana, she soon learns Alia isn't just a normal girl, but a Warbringer, a living trigger for war in the world.

The plot quickly expands to introduce Alia's friends and her brother Jason, even as forces beyond her control seem to attack Alia and Diana from every corner. Much of the story is spent hopping from Alia and Diana's point of views as they get to know each other, but Diana is far less a fish out of water than in most tellings of her origin. A major twist hits two-thirds through the book to reveal the true villain and the tale rushes to a speedy finish there.

Leigh Bardugo is a fantasist in her regular work and perhaps that explains some of the slog her character interactions often seem to be. The time between leaving Themyscira and reaching the site of the final battle often feels disjointed and with little clear path. Because of this, the middle really weighs the rest of the story down. The conclusion makes up for a lot of those issues, but it just doesn't feel like Bardugo had enough to fill three hundred plus pages in an entertaining way.

The same cannot be said for Sarah J. Maas' Catwoman: Soulstealer. The roughest part of the tale is an extended introduction set a few years before the main action as teenage Selina is taking care of her ailing sister Maggie while earning a living as part of the girl gang of fighters known as the Leopards. This portion ends badly for Selina as she's arrested and about to be locked away for a long time before Talia Al Ghul intercedes and invites her into the League of Assassins. And while this section feels overly long, every page of it is essential in defining Selina and her motivations for the rest of the novel.

Fast forward two years and Selina returns to Gotham as Holly Vanderhees, a wealthy socialite. She's graduated from the League, but has betrayed them in coming to Gotham with a prize she's looking to sell far greater than anyone could imagine. She quickly sets up her work as Catwoman which brings her into conflict with Batwing. With Batman out of the city, Luke Fox is in charge of defending it and one of the best parts of the book is how compelling Maas makes both Selina and Luke as their narratives bounce back and forth.

I expected the cast to be limited mostly to those two figures, but Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn end up playing significant roles, with a bevy of other Gotham regulars making cameos at least. The tale races along with two characters that stay compelling and a plot that's always moving forward.

Maas knows the lore of these characters well and embraces it rather than ignores it. Dozens of Gotham locations used previously appear as do several well known elements related to the characters I've mentioned already and a few more. Maas revels in crafting her own take on these ideas and the result is an epic novel that makes me wish she would write more contemporary heroic fiction.

Both Warbringer and Soulstealer bring new ideas to old characters, but it's only Maas's Catwoman tale that truly excels at it. Both books are available pretty much anywhere books are sold, so check them out if you haven't already and let me know what you think!