Wow. Just wow. Wonder Woman #1, along with Swamp Thing and Animal Man, may be one of the best things to come out of the DCnU stable. And I love it. I absolutely love it. I've read it three times already, it's that good. I love it that they've made one of the most iconic characters of the DC universe so badass again, especially after the crap that JMS pulled before this relaunch.
First off, the writing is brilliant. Very clever writing indeed. Reading it the first time, you'll be left bored, uninterested, but somehow unwilling to stop, and then BAM! The cliffhanger/revelation/plot twist hits you and then you finally realize what a brilliant piece of work this is. The artwork is pure Cliff Chiang. I love the pencils and the inks, but the color makes it feel like reading a Fables comic (or maybe that WAS the aim).
Also, Wonder Woman ain't a total slut here, unlike the rest of the women of the "new" DC universe (More on that later). She's still strong, she's still got the class and she's still badass. They've nailed it. Chiang and Azzarello have totally nailed her character. THIS is the Wonder Woman we know from Kingdom Come, this is the Wonder Woman we know from the Dark Knight Strikes Again, this is the Wonder Woman from the Justice League animated series. She's strong, can act a bit like a jerk, but she still wants to help people. She loves helping people, actually, demonstrated by her willingness to help a certain Zola, who finds herself surrounded by amazing, terrific circumstances.
The only problem with the book is the first reading. It will leave you uninterested, UNTIL the last page. But you have to bear with it until you get to the revelation, unfortunately.
And the cliffhanger. Oh what can I say? It's brilliant. Also, it's very obvious. We should have seen it coming, but we don't, actually. And if I even speak a word of it, I risk spoiling it. It's just, absolutely, amazing. You have to read it to find out.
4.5/5
