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This issue sees the start of John Byrne’s controversial run on the book, becoming a one-man creative team. In interviews given at the time he said his aim was to restore Diana as a “powerhouse” of the DC Universe, which is no doubt why he pits the Amazon Princess against major villain Darkseid in his very first issue. However many fans felt he mishandled both the title and her character, believing Diana was being relegated to a guest star in her own book, while a never ending series of Jack Kirby characters made regular appearances. Some even felt that Byrne had little respect for Diana as a female character and some even accused him of being misogynistic towards her. Indeed, during his run Byrne was responsible for torturing, maiming and killing Diana, replacing her, all be it temporarily, with her mother Hippolyta.
As part of the “bold new era” alluded to on the cover, Byrne made some minor costume revisions as most new writers tend to do when embarking on their stint writing a new character. He reduced the number of stars in Diana’s briefs to just two large ones (perhaps down-playing the star spangled “American” connotations, as would also be done as part of both the DC Rebirth “soft re-boot” which in turn mirrored the changes made to the movie version of the costume. In addition he significantly enlarged the size of her bracelets (to make them vambraces), her belt and tiara.
He also effectively discarded Diana’s regular cast of supporting characters, moving her to a new city and introducing his own set of supporting characters.
Also of note is the fact that the book is printed on glossy paper for the first time in its history, although this “quality” feel would only last for a few months before the title reverted to traditional paper stock.
