DC New 52 Review: Wonder Woman #4

Wonder Woman #4
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Cliff Chang
Cover Price: $2.99

In a nutshell:
The Goddess Hera is really pissed off that Wonder Woman is the illegitimate child of her husband and she decides to pay Paradise Island a visit.

Synopsis:
Hera is a jealous Goddess. She is very deeply hurt that her husband seems to have no interest in her but is out shagging everyone else. She also feels betrayed by Queen Hippolyta whom she has favored. From the three previous issues I expected her to be vicious. What has surprised me and adds layers to the character, is that she genuinely seems to feel love for Hippolyta whose betrayal might hurt her as much as her husband's cheating, and regret for the vengeance she knows her anger demands. Anyone who has been in her situation can relate to her. The quality that makes her pathetic is that she continues to pine for Zeus, who is obviously unworthy of her love, instead of demanding more for herself and moving on. But then, Gods can be as human as anyone and while there are those of us who make very intentional decisions so that we are not tragedies of our circumstance, there are many that see a sense of romance in their own tragedy of love and even though of us who get beyond it have to suffer through it before hand. Meanwhile Wonder Woman is getting to know her half sister Strife and gets some perspective of her family and her relationship with her mother. But just as in life, sometimes we don't say the things we should to the people we love until it's too late...

The Good:
Here's an example of a story that isn't trying to meet our expectations of what the 21st Century would be, but adapts it's myth in an authentic manner for the time. The Greek Gods aren't so regal, they're more of a reflection of ourselves which seems appropriate and relevant. There is a depression to them which represents the depression of the times we live in which is filled with disappointment and uncertain expectations. And of course it is in a world such as this that heroism can truly have meaning. Unlike the last incarnation of Wonder Woman, this version seems accessible, more human and down to earth in her emotions, and yet even more heroic in her dealing with them.

The Bad:
Towards the end of the book Wonder Woman returns to Paradise Island and it is clear what has happened to her mother, but it's not clear what happened to the other Amazons and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to know or if it's purposefully left vague and that's never a good feeling to have when you're reading a comic. But the real bad here is that this book deserves to be pushed by DC's marketing department the same way Action Comics and Justice League is. Wonder Woman is an icon. This, while perhaps not the story I thought I wanted for Wonder Woman, is a story that finally makes the character interesting. DC has emphasized it's reinvention of Superman in this relaunch. Here we have a reinvention of Wonder Woman, another of it's icons, that mirrors it in relevance and DC hasn't given it nearly the push it deserves.

Is it worth it?
My only frustration is that I have to wait a month for the next chapter!

Like this review? Please hit the Facebook "like" and talk about it on The New 52 Reviews Facebook Page.

DC New 52 Review: Wonder Woman #1-3

Wonder Woman #1-3
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Cliff Chang Cover Price: $2.99

In a nutshell:
A darker Wonder Woman tale that plays with her origin

Synopsis:
I wouldn't call this a horror story, but the story takes fantastic elements and interprets them in a horror setting. The Greek Gods in this story aren't as bright and shiny, they're very creepy and their presence is our world is quite startling. Paradise Island feels a bit like the island on Lost. Everything is a bit darker and Wonder Woman seems to be the most human of the characters we have met so far. In this story we discover a shocking twist about her origin, or at least it's shocking to Wonder Woman. It's hard to be shocked by twists like this in comics anymore and while Wonder Woman is one of the three big icons at DC, her iconic status is more associated with recognition rather than an intimate knowledge of her backstory. We know that Superman came from Krypton. We know that Batman's parents were murdered. But even as a comic fan I rarely think about the fact that Wonder Woman came from clay and it never seemed that important. Apparently Zues, king of the gods, likes to cheat on his wife and he has a number of illegitimate offspring. This pisses off Zues's wife Hera (I can't really picture Wonder Woman saying "Great Hera" after this story) and Hera is very jealous so she tries to kill these offspring when she can. Apparently Zeus is too busy being a slut to get involved in all of this. Zeus's latest conquest was a human young woman and Hera sends her minions to kill this girl whom Wonder Woman ends up protecting and bringing to her mother on Paradise Island. In the course of this Wonder Woman learns some shocking things about herself.

Why did I pick it up?
Wonder Woman is a character I loved as a kid but have had a very hard time connecting to as a comic book collector. Part of that is that it has taken this popular idea that feminism means being a better man than a man and a lot of the feminine qualities about her character have been swept away. Those characteristics, I felt, were a huge part of her appeal and, in my opinion, undervalued qualities in what is increasingly becoming a coldly competitive society. It's for that reason I feel that Wonder Woman could be the perfect hero to contrast that problem and show a reflection of something that's missing in us that we don't even know is missing. So whenever I know there is a new jumping on point for the character I give it a try.


The Good:
The story is well written in that it understands that we already know who Wonder Woman is, it's not just telling an origin story, but it has the character discover something about herself that allows the writer to say, here's your character, here's where she came from, here's how it's important to what she's dealing with right now. Although I was immediately put off but Cliff Chang's art as it marinaded it really started to grow on me and I think it's perfect for this story and I'll definitely keep my eye out for him from this point on. While this isn't necessarily the Wonder Woman I have been waiting for, I really enjoy it when creative teams of quality take these iconic characters and drop them into a different kind of story than we're used to seeing them in. I like that Paradise Island feels big and mysterious. I like that it's not just glistening in the sun. This gives it more depth and makes it more interesting to tell stories. Brian Azarello knows how to make something feel important even if we didn't go into it feeling that way in the first place, which is no surprise if you look at the work that he made his name on. Not everyone is an Azarello fan but you have to admit, the guy's name is based off his storytelling, not just playing with franchise characters that already get a lot of attention. I also really like that Wonder Woman's mother, Queen Hippolyta looks like her classic appearance again and not an older version of Wonder Woman. That might be that might be purely aesthetic but it's the little touches like this that makes me feel the roots of a character haven't been forgotten.

The Bad:
My daughters both love Wonder Woman and this comic isn't appropriate for them. I understand that it's tough to brand a character like Wonder Woman because girls don't support the comic industry enough to hold up a title like this and kids barely have a presence in mainline comics anymore, which is really the biggest shift in comics (that my generation took them with us). So you have this issue where some of the people buying the book want to see the sex appeal of the character. Some want this ultimate fighter warrior so that she can look badass next to Superman. And I really think that Wonder Woman hasn't established an identity in mainstream comics yet. I like this take on her so far. She seems more human than I've seen in a while. But when the creative team next shifts it's hard not to consider it as a possible jumping off point because at this point Wonder Woman is still just an icon. DC has to really figure out how to brand this character because I don't see that they've figured it out yet.

Is it worth it?
I'm enjoying this comic and I would enjoy it if this creative team stayed on it for a while.