Unfortunately it’s still news when a woman writes a superhero comic, especially Wonder Woman. So that’s how we get the New York Times of all places profiling Gail Simone about her new monthly gig chronicling the adventures of the Amazon princess or queen or whatever it is these days.

Sounds like she has her work cut out for her:

Unlike Ms. Simone’s relatively straightforward rise to the top, Wonder Woman’s recent history has had some bumps. Her comic book was restarted last year by Allan Heinberg, a television writer best known at the time for “The OC” on Fox but who now works on “Grey’s Anatomy” on ABC. But the five-part story line, which began in June 2006, was plagued by delays and only recently concluded in September as a special issue.

Next was Jodi Picoult, a top-selling novelist who contributed a five-part story line that was tied to a separate comic-book mini-series about an attack on the United States by Wonder Woman’s people, the Amazons. The book shipped on time but shed some readers.

Despite the complaints, Ms. Simone believes that fans will better appreciate the spectacle and literary touches of Mr. Heinberg’s and Ms. Picoult’s stories in collected form. (The collected version of Ms. Picoult’s story went on sale two weeks ago.)

Still, Ms. Simone acknowledges the frustrations of the delays and false starts. “It’s really important to get some energy and velocity into the book,” she said. “We plan on being on time.”

Good luck, lady.

General, Comics