Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: Blood (The New 52)

I've never been much of a Wonder Woman reader or DC enthusiast. For the longest time, I considered Wonder Woman a character only recognizable by her association with the Justice League and really nothing more. I’ve only been reading praise for DC new 52 relaunch of  Wonder Woman under writer Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets, Loveless, Joker, Hellblazer, and many more) which peaked my attention, and the end result is the best Wonder Woman story I've read.

What I gather this is a soft reboot, meaning it's still has all the same character but they’ve tweaked wonder woman mythology. Which is good because one of the reason I never got into Wonder Woman was due to her laughable origin story. Seriously. go Wikipedia it for yourself if you want to know more. Azzarello replaces it with something much more interesting and fitting for the character.

The plot basically revolves a young woman named Zola whose pregnant with Zeus's unborn child. Hera pretty pissed about this so she decided that Zola and the child need to be killed. Lucky Wonder Woman happens to be around to provide protection. While this is happening a prophy regarding Zeus’s offspring is relieved. Like any good father he decided to leave Olympus. Now the king is gone the other gods are making plays for power among themselves for the position of ruler of Olympus. Azzarello has clearly taking inspiration from Greek epics like The Odyssey. There is a little bit of everything adventure, mysticism, suspense, love, desires, humor, revelations, and a whole heap of things being setup for the future. What I like is how clear and balanced the storytelling is. The first story arc is compulsively addictive, the political war of the Gods is always in the background. The action never feels unwanted or to over the top. Which makes it all the more page-turning.

Combine that with the wonderful artwork of Cliff Chiang. The bold thick lines and distinct color palette are just excellent.Chiang's designs for the Gods are creative, intriguing and fascinating to behold (wait till you see Poseidon) .

Wonder Woman herself is drawn more like full-fledged Amazon warrior then a supermodel princess. She's lean and mean and beautiful in-between.This all comes down to both the writer and artist being on the same page. Under Azzarello's pen and Chiang art the new Wonder Woman is a winner.

If like me you’ve never read Wonder Woman before, check out Azzarello's new and exciting take on the character. You'll be pleasantly surprised by the twisty twirly story that will have you salivating for more.