Diana needs to move on already.
Originally written 1-29-14
Wonder Woman has been betrayed by Hermes, a new family member she had grown to trust when he kidnapped the newborn baby of her friend, Zola. Possessing no knowledge of where he could have went, she's lost on what to do since he was her mode of transportation. Meanwhile, a hulking figure awakens from a block of ice and he violently attacks the people that may have freed him. Who is he and what does we want? -summary
Brian Azzarello's Wonder Woman is the one title of the New 52 that has seen some of the most changes during DC's reboot, and although it began with a very interesting premise and fantastic new ideas; Azzarello's run sometimes barely cracks the ceiling of average. He wants to do plenty but this story spins its wheels so much to the point it's feeling familiar. In all fairness, there is progress despite being sluggish getting there. To say I have been overall disappointed with Wonder Woman up to this point is an understatement. If one was to compare this opening arc to George Perez's post-crisis run in the 80's; it would be a horrible mismatch in Perez's favor. Wonder Woman Volume 3: Iron contains issues 13 - 18 and #0.
First of all this book is very far from a jumping on point since it's part of a larger arc that ran through, Wonder Woman Volume One: Blood and Wonder Woman Volume Two: Guts The story began with Zeus' wife, Hera, hunting after a young girl by the name of Zola whom Zeus had cheated on her with. Hera seeks vengeance by killing the girl and her baby, which led to Wonder Women being dragged into this conflict and becoming the girl's protector. Wonder Woman also made it to Hera's hit list, since she's also one of Zeus' random children. Wonder Woman battled against Hera and some of her children which lead to Zeus' son Apollo usurping the throne, then casting out Hera robbing her of godhood, thus transforming her into a mortal. These events lead to Hermes getting his hands on Zola's child for reasons explained here.
This may be the longest running storyline in DC still at the moment. This story wraps up very little and continues to add new story elements. I'm all for long story arcs that go somewhere, but Azzarello is milking the dysfunctional family theme to death now, and it's losing some of its appeal to the point where I want the Amazon Princess to move on to better things.
Once again Azzarello is more interested in the development of Wonder Woman's world. She gets to meet more of her random sibling's, and one even has a very tragic past after suffering Hera's wrath. The situation involving the Greek God's see more development with Apollo getting adjusted to his new status as a ruler, but is also worried about the prophecy involving one of Zeus' s children rising up to claim the throne. There's a nice background story involving Wonder Woman and Ares; in addition Ares works in complete secrecy with everyone worried about him. Azzarello clearly has use use for him, yet I didn't find myself looking towards him for any type of surprises. I just lost interest in his development.
The plot receives another twist when the hulking man whom was freed from the ice reveals his identity. Although this portion of the story should feel like something major. I never really felt anything from this character either, but I blame the artwork more for not taking advantage of this potential threat. Azzarello also reaches into the New Gods, and introduces Orion to the storyline. He does have a purpose later on and does help push the plot, unfortunately I didn't feel him much at all either. I came into this story with high expectations because I enjoyed the last volume for its ideas, atmosphere, characters, and action; this volume though, I simply coasted through it barely being moved by anything. I'm actually tired of this Greek Mythology setting.
My negative criticism towards Cliff Chiang's artwork hasn't changed in the slightest, and there were times I just grew more irritated with it; this is mainly during the action scenes, in which this is where that brute should have really stood out. He just came off as another strong guy and I just wasn't impressed. The character designs are lacking in detail for my taste, and the goddesses really don't appear to be god-like. Artemis and Strife seem to be of the same bland designs, and I really didn't care for most of those empty backgrounds. Wonder Woman is a child of the god's now, her family are god's, therefore the artwork should reflect that. It's sad when you put Wonder Woman's 70 year long history in perspective, and DC can't even provide her with the best artist. Aquaman has been a nobody for years and he's being treated much better. The Red Lantern's series looks better than this. Chiang should have been tasked with something lower in order such as Suicide Squad or Birds of Prey. I don't care what anyone says, visually this book is not beautiful.
Great ideas appears to be Azzarello's motivation here and one thing is for sure the later issues takes advantage of them. I'll give him credit for developing Wonder Woman into a like-able character by focusing on her positive traits: responsibility, honesty, duty, and her toughness. Despite my lack of enjoyment it's hard not to care what she's going to do next. Unfortunately the plot is way too bumpy and the artwork loses me on many occasions. I've heard some people claim that this title is the best thing DC had going on since the beginning. I highly advise ignoring that type of false praise; if anyone truly believes Wonder Woman is the best running title then either this is all they have been reading, or they're lying for the sake of it. There are plenty of New 52 titles to choose from. If you want a female superhero from DC to try out then give Batgirl a chance. If you want something other than Batman or Green Lantern, then Shazam, Aquaman, and Talon are excellent choices.
Pros: Some good ideas once again
Cons: Artwork does little for me, slow plot progression
