War Rocket Ajax #114: Justin Pierce Talks ‘The Non-Adventures of Wonderella’

This week, ComicsAlliance's War Rocket Ajax is pleased to welcome Justin Pierce, creator of The Non-Adventures of Wonderella to the show! It's one of our favorite webcomics, and in his interview, Pierce tells us what led him to creating a super-hero parody that's found an audience outside of regular super-hero readers -- and you can listen to the whole show right here!War Rocket Ajax #114: Getting to the Non-Adventure with Justin Pierce

(WARNING: Contains NSFW language)

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At the top of the program this week, Chris and Matt are joined by Ziah Grace, one of the last of the Ajax Hundo Club members. Meanwhile, Chris has returned from Myrtle Beach with stories of the latest X-Con and the pro wrestling that was held in the middle of the convention center, and Matt rejects all technology.

When Justin joins us, he talks a little about he appeals to readers who aren't regular super-hero fans, and how his character reflects he more famous counterpart, Wonder Woman:

I think I pull in a lot of readers who are feminists, because there's something to Wonder Woman. She's a feminist icon, but she's not exactly like people would normally be. I think a lot of the flaws of Wonderella are things that certain minds of people can gravitate to, even if they don't have the context of reading comics since they were a kid. At this point, people know the basics of super-heroes: A lot of them fly, they're usually pretty super-strong, they have weird-ass villains going on, and with just that foundation, there's a lot to work with.

I actually get a lot of favorable comments from people who normally like Wonder Woman. I can't speak for anyone who's actually written Wonder Woman, but I think there's a lot they wish they could do. She's one of the standard-bearers of comics, she's the original, capital-S Super-Heroine, so you can't really mess around with her too much. I think that having something that's a direct parody of her, you can really get away with a lot more, and I think because of that, a lot of people who genuinely enjoy Wonder Woman still enjoy Wonderella, because she can just get away with sh**.

Without a strong supporting cast that's pretty varied, something like Wonderella wouldn't work as well. You really need to show that it's not just like super-heroes are sh**ty in this world, you have to have something to say that she's the weird anomaly and that there are a lot of very competent super-heroines. It's just that she's not really in lockstep with the rest of them.

Plus, find out his views on legacy characters, and how he's occasionally mistaken for a lady at conventions!

Show Notes:

Read The Non-Adventures of Wonderella every Saturday!

Follow Justin on Twitter, as well as Wonderella herself!

Wonderella can't remember Queen Beetle's name.

Learn more about the Night Witches online, or at your local library.

Chris and Matt wrote an article on the next DC character to come out of the closet.

The Let's Be Friends again strip about the more dubious dialogue of X-Men: First Class.

Chris's Rec: X-Men: First Class

Matt's Rec: El-P - Cancer 4 Cure

Comics Reviewed:

Irredeemable #37: "I don't think I'm going to be surprising anyone when I say that Mark Waid can write really well, and he gets it right. Without spoiling anything, it feels like he wrote himself into a corner and then found the perfect way to end it."

Astonishing X-Men #50: "This is not what I was expecting from this issue. There's a swerve. All the promo stuff that we've seen about the proposal, it doesn't go the way you might think. But here's the crazy thing: All the drama, all the heartache and guilt that Northstar feels in this issue, we know what happens in issue 51. We know there's a wedding. I couldn't get into the issue because I knew what was coming. That's the trouble of making something a big event."

Batman Inc. #1: "Chris Burnham brings the pain on this comic. He really does. It's gorgeously brutal." "His new designs for Looker and Halo from the Outsiders in their go-go dresses are phenomenal. Definitely the best those two characters have ever looked."