The Good
The First Born, as a concept, is one of the more fascinating and character-specific villains to come about in a long, long time. He wouldn’t work in anyone else’s book, and that’s what makes him SO compelling as a character AND as a foil for Wonder Woman. We’re winding down his arc and, while certain things are assured, there’s still plenty up in the air as to who makes the jump to the new creative team. The First Born’s army marches across Themyscira, but they fight and die for every inch of land they march across. That’s one of the great, subtle things that Brian Azzarello has done well: this isn’t some hopeless situation that needs someone to swoop in and rescue. Not immediately, anyway. Things are looking dire, but it’s nice to see the defenders actually “hold the center,” as becomes a regular theme for the story. Azzarello has a lot of pieces to bring together and, for the most part, does a great job bringing them all where they need to be. Moreover, he hasn’t lost a single step on the voices and personalities of each and every character and they are positively LEGION in this issue.
Cliff Chiang’s always had a knack for blending incredibly simple looking visuals with absolute scads of incredible, minute details. It’s a style that lends itself incredibly well to the mythic storytelling of this title, and this issue finally gives him a chance to truly cut loose in some downright Trojan-level battles. The action, the blood, the impact, it’s all here and it’s all great, all leading up to one of my favorite characters he’s interpreted at the end. This end has been a long time coming, and I’m thrilled that Chiang is the one to usher it in. Matthew Wilson’s an incredibly versatile colorist and here his work matches Chiang’s style, making the whole thing look like it was unearthed in the ruins of some ancient civilization, but with far more clarity and crispness.
The Bad
There are a NUMBER of deus-ex machinas in this issue alone and while they don’t “end” the threat, they come out of nowhere and save the moment. Once I could’ve handled, even happily chocked up to following the inspiration of the story, but multiple times someone comes out of nowhere and prevents things from going terribly awry. It’s never against their characters, it just robs the issue of suspense after awhile.
The Verdict
This is a great example of how to build to a finale. The pieces are all on the board, there’s a great, suspenseful cliffhanger, characters have undergone their arcs, but the solution to the central conflict is still very, very up in the air. Regardless of what that solution winds up being, Azarello and Chiang (as well as Wilson) will have solidified a concrete legacy for one of DC’s more popular, oldest characters.
Log in to comment