Wonder Woman's legacy wouldn't be complete without the nemesis of The Cheetah, and now the story of Barbara Ann Minerva's journey to villain will be part of a "Year One" Interlude by Greg Rucka and artist Bilquis Every.
With Wonder Woman in the midst of her 75th Anniversary celebration, it’s an equally amazing opportunity to examine the important people who have helped shaped Diana’s career, whether allied in her fight for truth and justice, or against her. The Amazing Amazon has faced down the Ares the God of War, but Wonder Woman has faced no greater adversary than the Cheetah and the most blood thirsty incarnation of the character, Barbara Ann Minerva continues to prove a colorful personality.
Since her first appearance as a Silver Age arch enemy of Wonder Woman’s, Cheetah has been sharpening her claws, testing her feral animal instincts, and always finding herself caught in the crosshairs of her fearless foe. By the time the Modern Era version of the character was introduced, the depth to which Barbara Ann Minerva pursued the power that turned her into a vicious, murderous predator, had given the DC Comics Universe one of its most complex villains yet.
The Cheetah has only grown more fascinating through the years and has taken a very important role in the latest arc unraveling in the pages of Wonder Woman written by Greg Rucka as part of the publishing-wide “Rebirth” rebrand. Playing a centrifugal part in “The Lies” storyline, Barbara Ann Minerva’s origins prior to becoming the Cheetah will be more closely examined as part of the “Year One” storyline in an interlude to appear in the upcoming Wonder Woman #8 and will be illustrated by artist Bilquis Evely (Sugar & Spike).
In a press release issued by DC Comics, Greg Rucka said: "The ‘interlude' issue arose very organically out of the stories we’ve been telling in both ‘Year One’ with Nicola Scott, and ‘The Lies’, with Liam Sharp,” said Rucka. "The opportunity to focus on Cheetah — on the origins of Barbara Ann Minerva — is one of those decisions that I think is going to add even more to what we’re doing. The fact that we’ve got Bilquis Evely drawing this issue just makes this all the sweeter.”
"This story is very thoughtful and human,” said Evely, "and I'm trying to bring this to the pages as well. We visit a lot of different places and archaeological reference points, which means I get to have a lot of fun! I think the readers will never see Barbara Ann in the same way again, after what Greg has been doing here! This is a singular opportunity I couldn’t pass up."
Wonder Woman #8 arrives October 12th and will be distributed on newsstand and specialty stores, including availability for digital download.