The penultimate chapter of writer Brian Azzarello and artist Cliff Chiang’s “Wonder Woman” run brings together all the elements of what makes their story one of the best comic book epics of all time. Those are big words, yet the gods are on the side of this book’s creative team.
Written by Brian Azzarello
Illustrated by Cliff ChiangIs this the end of Olympus and the gods? Wonder Woman is locked in a desperate battle with the First Born with the destiny of immortals at stake!
“Amazons…a reckoning is upon you.” So says the First Born at the start of “Wonder Woman” #34. After the fist-pumping last page of the previous issue, the story goes on overdrive in the newest issue and the First Born could not be more correct in his prognostication. It appears as if almost every character (alive and dead) who has ever appeared in this book are taking their last stand and preparing for a new beginning. Azzarello packs so much story, characters (as well as rich characterization), and emotion into one issue so that it feels like it’s much longer than its twenty pages. Azzarello is going out with a bang befitting a goddess.
Azzarello has always put character first in “Wonder Woman” and introduced a rich supporting cast that are deserving of their own title. Detractors (and yes, there are some) have complained that Wonder Woman is a secondary character in her own book. Yet the cast, whether god or non-deity, has only succeeded in accentuating the qualities that make Wonder Woman such a multilayered and iconic heroine. In a touching scene between her and a god who remains close to her heart, Diana expresses those facets of herself that make her Wonder Woman: a belief in the truth and the need to be an example to others. Because of this, Diana wouldn’t be who she is without the support (and occasional antagonism) of her “family”.
Characters with depth and complexity require a story with equal amounts of those same qualities. Azzarello, since issue one way back in 2011, has disregarded the idea of story arcs in his book. The entire series has been one long and winding story that proves its perfection by how invested we are in the fate of these characters and where the ending of this epic is going to bring them. Wonder Woman has gone through much in these past three years, from finding out her true origin, to becoming more powerful than any Amazon, and now facing off against her own kin. Azzarello, in “Wonder Woman” #34, proves his skill at weaving so many story threads without making a jumbled mess. He is a master conductor composing his complex symphony worthy of these gods and goddesses.
A great writer’s symphony wouldn’t be complete without a great artist. Cliff Chiang has already proved himself one of Diana’s iconic artists and it is on full display in this issue. Besides drawing a beautiful and powerful Wonder Woman, his character designs for the supporting cast have been quirky and thrillingly unconventional. Milan’s simple headband covers up something grotesque. The First Born has an elemental and almost ancient design that expresses the decades upon decades that he has been hidden from the eyes of god and human alike. Chiang throws in a bit of humor in many of his designs, as a great scene involving mechanical elephants can attest to.
Besides great character designs, Chiang is more than adept at rendering rich expressions on his characters’ faces. He is as much of the storyteller here as Azzarello. This issue alone depicts a wide range of emotions on characters whose natures are good, bad, or indifferent. Strife’s face is so expressive that it contains a handful of emotions in a matter of only a few panels. Hera, whose character arc throughout the series has been one of the most amusing, gets a few moments where struggle to do what is right is clearly present in her face. The internal thoughts of a character are clearly on display in Chiang’s stunning faces.
Matthew Wilson’s colors are also an integral part of this book and bring it to vivid life. The hot pink and purple of Olympus conjure a feeling of being inside the guts of a god. The blood clinging to Diana and Strife is of a dark red shade and gives off a claustrophobic air. Wilson’s coloring of scenes depicting the Boom Tube’s comings and goings is simple, yet powerful and inventive. The “BOOM” (which haughtily dismisses an exclamation point) is primary red, while whatever is going on in the background is in black and white. The colors, as you can tell by their descriptions, pop off the page and have a tactile nature that contributes to the overall richness of the book.
The usual slow burn of “Wonder Woman” makes way for a jam-packed wild ride of a penultimate issue in #34. All the elements that have made up the run by Azzarello, Chiang (as well as gorgeous occasional contributions by Tony Akins, et al over its run), and Wilson is distilled in this one issue: heart, action, intrigue, and inspired storytelling. The end of the month will be bittersweet when the final issue of Wonder Woman’s exploits by Azzarello and company finally arrives. This team has brought so much to Diana’s mythos. One can only hope that the new creative team builds upon the foundation that has been so firmly and intricately built. And those elephants need to come back toot sweet.
Final Verdict: 9.0 – “Wonder Woman” #34 incorporates in yet another issue the elements of what makes Azzarello, Chiang, and Wilson one of the best creative teams in comic books. They distill in one issue the essence of why Diana deserves to be a member of DC’s trinity.
