I can’t believe I’m saying this but…I kinda liked this.
I know, I know…I’m as surprised as the next guy. I wasn’t so crazy about the new Action Comics and I haven’t had any time to check out the new bat-books but I actually enjoyed this issue of Wonder Woman…even though I still think the costume is wrong…although not horrible. This seems a bit different than the Jim Lee outfit. Or maybe it’s just that I like Wondy in her bare legs…that could be it.
But I really just think that I enjoyed this issue because of Cliff Chiang’s great artwork. He does a great job here. The storytelling is straightforward, his line work is strong, his style is cartoony but not overly so. Chiang does some solid, solid stuff. I think he’s the big reason (as well as colorist Matthew Wilson) that the book played out so well for me.
The story seems to be a bit different than what’s come before but not so much that it’s a completely foreign Wonder Woman to me. There’s not a ton new here. There’s magical beings and gadjets, some monsters here and there, and some fights. I guess I’m still not getting why this whole re-boot thing was necessary. WW seems to be a known entity in this universe. This isn’t an origin story. So what’s the deal? I guess that’s what subsequent issues are for, huh?
My favorite run of Wonder Woman (and quite honestly the only one I ever actually collected for a long period of time) was the legendary Greg Potter/George Perez run during the post Crisis of Infinite Earths reboot. Potter and Perez took WW in a new direction that was perfect in its re-thinking of the character. Does this WW # 1 match that? Nope, not even close. None of this “New 52” even comes close to the great ‘80’s DC retrofit. But it is an interesting first issue and I may be tempted to look at subsequent issues if Chiang stays on the book. I will agree with fellow AICN reviewer Johnny Destructo (whose review you can read by clicking here) that this book is definitely not for the kiddies. It’s a bit too gruesome for the wee folk. I mean, a horse gets its head cut off and then a monster crawls out of the stump where its neck used to be. Which makes me wonder (pun intended) why DC was saying this book is intended as a jumping on point for new readers. How old are these new readers supposed to be? Does DC think that this re-launch is going to drag in people my age? Hey, um, DC no offense but if thirty-something year olds weren’t reading these books before this “new direction” isn’t going to suck them in now.
So far this is the only “New DC” book that rings as successful for me…albeit a modest success. It didn’t blow me away. It didn’t redefine the character for me. It wasn’t the greatest Wonder Woman story I’ve ever read. But it was good. Maybe it’ll get better. But for right now the new DC 52 hasn’t impressed me that much.
