Though Wonder Woman managed to save Zola’s baby from War and Hermes, she’s not out of trouble yet. The gods of Olympus are ready to make their play and the First Born remains a threat lurking in the shadows. If one was to ever compare “Wonder Woman” to Game of Thrones, now would be the time.
Written by Brian Azzarello
Illustrated by Cliff Chiang and Goran SudzukaWonder Woman was certain there was one person in her life she could trust—but she thought wrong!
“Wonder Woman” continues to combine all the best qualities of a great fantasy novel with the soap opera sensibilities of capricious Greek gods and goddesses. Azzarello’s complex chess game has managed to remain interesting for over twenty issues at this point, no small feat for DC’s prize Amazonian. However, the same problems that have been present since it’s inception, primarily its largely underused supporting cast and a meandering pace, continue to hinder this otherwise outstanding book.
After last issue’s character-centric plot, issue #20 is a classic super hero brawl through and through. As such, there’s not a lot of depth. The absence of Orion is another blow, as his volatile chemistry with Wonder Woman is quickly becoming one of the best parts of the series. That’s not to say this issue completely lacks emotional resonance. The rematch between Wonder Woman and Artemis is a delight, and the confrontation between War and the Olympian gods is fantastic sign of how far the character has come.
One character that has struggled to gain ground is Lennox. This brutish, track-suited lug has remained in the background for a dozen issues or so. After last issue, it looked as if Azzarello was preparing to cut the character out. However, a blindsiding revelation regarding the First Born’s companion, Cassandra, may make Lennox’s role in the series a tad more prominent in issues to come.
It’s been a long time (issue #16, to be exact) since we’ve gotten an issue penciled solely by original series artist Cliff Chiang. While he’s managed to chip in a few pages here in there, artists like Goran Sudzuka have risen to the occasion. In fact, Sudzuka’s pages actually go as far as to surpass the quality of Chiang’s work, which looks scratchier and less defined than usual. Sudzuka, on the other hand, draws a dynamic and detailed battle in the skies over London, while also tending to smaller details like body language and positioning. His character’s convey a wide range of emotion, a vital assist to Azzarello’s story telling. As always, Matthew Wilson’s colors are the glue that binds the issue together, as his distinctive pallet has come to define Diana’s world of gods and goddesses.
The lines are finally drawn. On one side we have Apollo and the Olympian gods, on the other the First Born and his cyborg companion Casandra. In the middle, Diana leads her rag tag army, with the safety of her world and a small baby, possessing a dubious destiny, hanging in the balances. Though this individual issue As all the twisting plot threads begin to come together, it looks as if Azzarello is building towards a brilliant climax. If he can match the quality of the brilliant “season finale” of issue #12, then fans have quite the treat to look forward to.
Final Verdict: 7.3 – Buy. A so-so issue on its own merit, but a necessary piece of Azzarello’s ever-building mythology
