Catching Up on the New 52 - Wonder Woman #1

WONDER WOMAN #1

Written by Brian Azzerello

Art by Cliff Chiang

Published by DC Comics

Wonder Woman #1

This is basically a total reboot of the Wonder Woman character, or more specifically her supporting cast and the mythology surrounding her. Azzarello and Chiang (the creative team behind the incredibly well received Dr. Thirteen: Architecture and Morality story) are taking full advantage of the opportunity provided by the new 52 to chart an entirely new direction for the series that springs only from the most essential elements of the Wonder Woman mythos; rather than an a la carte approach that makes me wonder what still counts from the old guard. By unapologetically doing their own thing without referencing anything other than what is directly needed for this story, they make it a lot easier to just buy into the new premise from the jump gate - an approach I wish a lot of the other new 52 titles had taken.

Most importantly, this is not a straight ahead Super-Hero comic anymore, but a modern urban mythological fantasy/drama with super hero trappings, and one that links Diana much more to the Greek pantheon than to the rest of the DCU. There is a real focus on the Greek gods as the supporting characters and the pillars of this world, taking very classic characterizations of the Gods and updating them to the modern setting. Zeus has gone missing after impregnating yet another earthly maiden, Hera is on the warpath to kill the mother and unborn child, and so in a fit of desperation Hermes has recruited Diana to protect the mother. In the background, Apollo is plotting and there is a really clever take on his oracles. The basic thrust is that getting close to the Gods is bad news, and even worse if you happen to be family, because then you're stuck with them. That's clearly going to be a, if not the, major theme of the series going forward. When you're picking epicly screwed up families to play with, you can do a LOT worse than the Greek gods.

The art is absolutely stunning, and Cliff Chiang is one of my favorites. His soft line work creates a Diana that is both incredibly powerful and also feminine (which is a trap that a lot of WW artists have a problem with). The coloring is also incredible. The dialogue gets really clunky with a lot of bad puns by Apollo, and Zola (the woman carrying Zeus' baby) is a really shrill and unlikable character, which is unfortunate as she clearly seems designed to be the 'average perspective' character for the reader, and as a key component of the plot device she ain't going anywhere soon. She's much more a type than a person so far, and that is significantly less endearing with her than with the gods since they all have hundreds of thousands of years of accumulated cultural history behind them. That's one of the really wonderful and powerful things about writing characters from mythology, and the heroes of the DCU who have been around for 60 to 70 years now - the reader is bringing in a context informed by years of stories that helps lend depth to moments and decisions. This can be used as a crutch, but when used skillfully it adds a resonance and texture to small moments and the stories about these characters that other mediums lack. I don't mean easter eggs or continuity cookies like Geoff Johns seems to be throwing out left and right these days - I'm talking about small, nuanced nods to the past that function as increased payoff for long time readers, and work as imperceptible details to new readers that help make these worlds real and help suspend disbelief. That doesn't track to entirely new characters, and in a story built so much on re purposing classic ideas Zola's cliche dialogue sticks out a lot more.

We get bonus points for a gruesome scene where Hera creates a centaur by cutting the head off a horse, allowing the human arms and head to grow out of it's bloody neck stump - pretty hardcore, but also pretty cool. I'm also stoked at such a prominent role for Hermes, my personal favorite of all the Greek gods in a design that is oddly reminiscent of Zauriel, another old favorite.

All told this is the beginning of a solid fantasy drama focused on family intrigue and relationships, and is the best Wonder Woman has been in a long, long time.