Comic Info
Comic Name: Wonder Woman (Volume 4)
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Brian Azzarello
Artist: Cliff Chiang/Tony Akins/Dan Green/Goran Suzuka/Amilcar Pinna/Rick Burchett
# of Issues: 7
Release Date: 2013
Wonder Woman (4) #14
Reprints Wonder Woman (4) #0, 15-18 (November 2012-May 2013). Wonder Woman must find Zola’s baby which was spirited away by Hermes. Unable to trust any of her fellow gods, Wonder Woman must track down Zeus’s other demigods for help. Unfortunately, Zola’s baby could bring death to gods, and the gods cannot allow it. Orion has come to Earth in search of the child as well and Orion and Wonder Woman could be on a collision course while a god known as the First Born also begins a quest for vengeance.
Written by Brian Azzarello, Wonder Woman Volume 3: Iron follows Wonder Woman Volume 2: Guts. The series features art by Cliff Chiang (with additional art by Tony Akins, Dan Green, Goran Suzuka, Amilcar Pinna, and Rick Burchett) and also collects Wonder Woman (4) #0 which serves as an origin issue.
Wonder Woman was one of the better surprises of the New 52. While I enjoyed some of his plotting, I didn’t love Brian Azzarello’s 100 Bullets or much of the other work he put out. I begrudgingly read Wonder Woman, but the art of Cliff Chiang and a decent story of the gods helped win me over to the title.
Wonder Woman (4) #16
This volume runs a dangerous risk. The quest for Zola’s baby and the events surrounding it feel like they’ve been going on a long, long time. This is dangerous in storytelling (thinking about Twin Peak’s decision to continue the mystery of Laura Palmer too long for viewers’ tastes). I liked the inclusion of Orion and the New Gods here, but I wish the story progressed more.
The book feels a bit jarring as well in that the second half of the collection feels sped up. The claiming of the baby and the trip to the underworld to find it feels repetitive of events in earlier issues. The “everyone’s happy” end moment is a bit cheesy and leaves you wanting more First Born storyline.
The origin story also is fun and helps introduce Wonder Woman’s interaction with the gods and in particular War who becomes a player in this volume. The different style of art by Chiang is a bit of a throwback to early Wonder Woman issues and that is also beneficial.
While it has its faults, I still kind of like Wonder Woman. A combination of myth, a fun lead character, and great art goes a long way in this volume and makes up for some of the writing faults. The character feels independent of the other appearances of Wonder Woman in the New 52, and that is alright. Wonder Woman 3: Iron is followed by Wonder Woman 4: War.
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