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Sep 21, 2011 DC Universe By Jeremy Nisen

For those who appreciate a book that’s immediately accessible, yet rewards a close read, Wonder Woman #1 is the best-in-class of DC’s New 52 relaunch initiative to date.

Masterfully and mercifully, we’re not subject to any sort of origin story or past continuity of Diana, though the tale delves deeply into Wonder Woman’s Greek-inspired mythos. The machinations of the Greek pantheon are visited upon a young woman named Zola; a woman in a peacock cloak (eyes of Arges ring a bell, mythology fans?) enacts a bloody sorcery on stabled horses, transforming them into vicious centaurs who then attack Zola for an unknown reason. A mysterious protector—blue skinned, wearing a WWI-style army helmet, intervenes, takes an arrow, and hands Zola a key (the handle of which resembles a caduceus—you with me so far?), and she’s transported to Diana’s bedroom.

Zola’s meeting with Wonder Woman represents a fine introduction to the character; the manner in which Chiang makes it clear how monstrously tall Wonder Woman is compared to Zola, and the easy sort of majesty in which she prepares for war—not to mention the kindness she shows a total stranger that interrupted her sleep—tell you a lot of what you need to know about Diana.

I almost want to compare this to the better episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: tension, action, compassion, and diabolical hints of what’s to come.

The art is everything you’d expect from Cliff Chiang—which is to say “gorgeous,” along with creepy, haunting, and dynamically heroic. My only real criticism of this book is that some of the coloring seems to muddy the pencils and inks; an atmospheric choice at the expense of some of the art’s “pop” in the opening scenes (granted, it’s a night scene).

I’m impressed with the seeds that have been planted, and how the story has excitement and payoff from the get-go, even as it promises more. It very much pays tribute to the source material, the Greek myth source material more than Wonder Woman’s DC continuity. Someone’s always sticking something where he shouldn’t, and the pantheon is always shifting in one way or another. That spirit is captured and repurposed here in a canvas that shows tension and heroism. Well done.

(Check out our interview with Wonder Woman artist Cliff Chiang.) (www.dccomics.com)

Author rating: 8/10