Wonder Woman #1

Let me say this: I have zero interest in Wonder Woman. Partially because I think the character's ridiculous, and partially because no one's ever said "this Wonder Woman story is awesome, go read it." Which then begs the question "Well Ed, if you don't care about the character, and have no history reading the comic, why did you read it in the first place?"

Well that's because this reboot is about two things, giving a fresh updated take on the characters, and trying out new titles without having to worry about continuity too much. That, along with initially strong reviews on the issue, I gave it a shot, because this blog is about trying many new titles out, not being closed minded.

And this issue was, not stellar. I know some people love Brian Azzarello, and get excited whenever he writes for a big-name, especially Batman (recent work includes "Flashpoint: Batman Knight of Vengeance" and "Joker") but to me Azzarello is a good, not great writer.


But this comic suffers from a chronic problem. As a new reader to Wonder Woman, I by no means should be confused by what's happening. That's the goal for these comics, to attract new readers and suitably introduce them to characters. But I really don't know what was going on here. First, who's the purple/black-skinned guy with yellow eyes at the beginning/end of the story. Those scenes seem pointless and nothing to do with the Wonder Woman story. I mean, he seems cool I guess, but I come away thinking "why should I care about him, and why is he relevant to Wonder Woman?" Second, how to chopping horses' heads off make them into centaurs. Also, maybe I'm new to this, but why does Wonder Woman seem to be 7 feet tall? I understand she's an Amazon, but sheesh!

The plot also doesn't really intrigue me, simply because of a lack of information until the end, which still doesn't tell us much. Honestly, none it makes sense the first time through, but with what you learn at the end, it all starts to fit together, and answers some of the questions I had earlier. And while I never have anything against re-reading a comic for more clarity, this is an introductory issue that shouldn't confuse anyone on the first go-around.

What I enjoyed: Now that I've read it twice through, I am intrigued by the plot, and where we go from here. While the journey was lackluster, the final destination is pretty cool. Also, strong, strong art from Cliff Chiang I really noticed the facial expressions, and I look forward to seeing more from him in the future. That's the biggest trend through all the New 52, the pencils are mostly fantastic. Kudos to DC, at least these comics all look great.

What I didn't: You have to read it super close to connect all the dots, or most likely have some sort of previous Wonder Woman experience. Like I said, the self-contained story wasn't super enjoyable. And this also suffers from the same gory drawbacks that have annoyed me in other books. Why am I seeing blood and guts in every story?

Conclusion: While I'm not a personal fan of this comic, I'm interested in where it's going, which is a weird paradox. While I will only give it a 7.6/10(C) it's an extremely positive looking one.