"Wonder Woman"
A lot has already been written about the drastic change to Diana's character that is revealed in this book. There's a reason why the cover features snakes (the first lies told were by a serpent) shattering the clay image of Diana. I don't feel like I'm spoiling much when I mention that Wonder Woman is no longer born of no father. That origin was all a lie perpetuated to protect her from the truth: that she is the daughter of Zeus.
My favorite part of this new Wonder Woman is how intimately they are involving the Greek pantheon. It's super cool to see Eris just roaming around Paradise Island sewing seeds of discourse. I love the dysfunctional relationships between the divine and all the squabbling that comes with that. I love that, technically, Zola is Diana's aunt. I hope they crack a joke about that at some point since the fact that she's pregnant with Diana's half-sibling might be more incentive to protect her.
This is a story about secrets being unraveled and the consequences of deceit. It's also about how the ideal Amazon is just another woman (well, demigod) after all, and how her life seems to have broken in front of her eyes. Diana has always been different from the other Amazons, but now the things that made her special have shifted and, like Eve from Eden, the fruit of knowledge has driven her from paradise.
I'm also a huge fan of Cliff Chiang's art in this book. Contrasted with Jim Lee's in JL, Diana and the Amazons are drawn as mostly reasonably dressed women. I think the first instance of truly risque levels of dress come from a very naked Zeus, which, dude...I wouldn't sword fight naked. Risky.
Back on point, the Amazons are allowed to have different body types and not all conform to that fashion model aesthetic that many comics hold. There are plenty of conventionally beautiful women in the book, but Diana has curves and there are some beefy strong women on the island too. It's just a welcome change to me to see different body types. I'm also a fan of the divine art design. Between the androgynous Eris, the avian-esque Hermes, and the not-quite-human look to Zeus, Chiang has really nailed how to make the gods look kind of like us, but with subtle differences. It's good art.
Three issues in I think it's time to say this isn't a fluke. Wonder Woman is a legitimately good book. I look forward to it every month and I can't wait to see what this story brings next issue.
(I talk about this issue a little more along with this week's issue of Batman with my brother over on my website Comic POW)
