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Wonder Woman (2011)
Wonder Woman, Volume 1: Blood
As a part of the acclaimed DC Comics—The New 52 event of September 2011, the first six issues of the critically acclaimed new Wonder Woman series are collected in hardcover!
Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, has kept a secret from her daughter all her life–and when Wonder Woman learns who her father is, her life will shatter like brittle clay. The only one more shocked than Diana by this revelation? Bloodthirsty Hera–so why is her sinister daughter, Strife, so eager for the truth to be told? Superstar writer Brian Azzarello creates a new direction for one of DC's best-known heroes, with spectacular art by Cliff Chiang and Tony Akins!
Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, has kept a secret from her daughter all her life–and when Wonder Woman learns who her father is, her life will shatter like brittle clay. The only one more shocked than Diana by this revelation? Bloodthirsty Hera–so why is her sinister daughter, Strife, so eager for the truth to be told? Superstar writer Brian Azzarello creates a new direction for one of DC's best-known heroes, with spectacular art by Cliff Chiang and Tony Akins!
160 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 30, 2012
217 people are currently reading
16577 people want to read
About the author
Brian Azzarello
1,295 books1,109 followersBrian Azzarello (born in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American comic book writer. He came to prominence with 100 Bullets, published by DC Comics' mature-audience imprint Vertigo. He and Argentine artist Eduardo Risso, with whom Azzarello first worked on Jonny Double, won the 2001 Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story for 100 Bullets #15–18: "Hang Up on the Hang Low".
Azzarello has written for Batman ("Broken City", art by Risso; "Batman/Deathblow: After the Fire", art by Lee Bermejo, Tim Bradstreet, & Mick Gray) and Superman ("For Tomorrow", art by Jim Lee).
In 2005, Azzarello began a new creator-owned series, the western Loveless, with artist Marcelo Frusin.
As of 2007, Azzarello is married to fellow comic-book writer and illustrator Jill Thompson.
information taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Az...
Azzarello has written for Batman ("Broken City", art by Risso; "Batman/Deathblow: After the Fire", art by Lee Bermejo, Tim Bradstreet, & Mick Gray) and Superman ("For Tomorrow", art by Jim Lee).
In 2005, Azzarello began a new creator-owned series, the western Loveless, with artist Marcelo Frusin.
As of 2007, Azzarello is married to fellow comic-book writer and illustrator Jill Thompson.
information taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Az...
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,152 reviews
October 5, 2020
(B+) 76% | Good
Notes: A rōnin tale of finesse and survival. It's Old World and folklore focused, insulated from America and its superheroes.
Notes: A rōnin tale of finesse and survival. It's Old World and folklore focused, insulated from America and its superheroes.
September 13, 2015
Wonder Woman!!
I'm an unapologetic fan-girl of this character.
Growing up my sisters and I would get thrown out of the house to play. (My mom would have gone nuts with us in the house she said) and we would head outside and pretend to be characters from TV shows we adored. Charlie's Angels, Bionic Woman and always Wonder Woman. My clumsy arse broke my collar-bone one day on a Wonder Woman adventure. But hey, those are the knocks. Wonder Woman was and is bad-ass.
In this book Wonder Woman AKA Diana is forced to come to a mortal woman's aid because the woman got herself knocked up by Zeus himself.
Zeus's wife Hera is on a rant because it seems like Zeus can't keep his weiney to himself.
But then when I saw how Zeus was drawn in this book...
I totally pictured him as this guy.
And yes, I wanted to bang him too.
Anyways...Hera is all pissed off at all the kiddos that Zeus has running around and come to find out...The story Diana's warrior mommy told her about Diana's birth? Big old lie. More she-bang-she-bang with old Zeus.
Zeus's cheating ways get brother's Poseidon and Hades attention and the shit hits the fan.
Don't piss off Wonder Woman.
For a more serious look at this book check out my friend Lono's review. I'm going to start featuring friends in my reviews that don't frigging review bump and do deserve more attention.
I'm an unapologetic fan-girl of this character.
Growing up my sisters and I would get thrown out of the house to play. (My mom would have gone nuts with us in the house she said) and we would head outside and pretend to be characters from TV shows we adored. Charlie's Angels, Bionic Woman and always Wonder Woman. My clumsy arse broke my collar-bone one day on a Wonder Woman adventure. But hey, those are the knocks. Wonder Woman was and is bad-ass.
In this book Wonder Woman AKA Diana is forced to come to a mortal woman's aid because the woman got herself knocked up by Zeus himself.
Zeus's wife Hera is on a rant because it seems like Zeus can't keep his weiney to himself.
But then when I saw how Zeus was drawn in this book...
I totally pictured him as this guy.
And yes, I wanted to bang him too.
Anyways...Hera is all pissed off at all the kiddos that Zeus has running around and come to find out...The story Diana's warrior mommy told her about Diana's birth? Big old lie. More she-bang-she-bang with old Zeus.
Zeus's cheating ways get brother's Poseidon and Hades attention and the shit hits the fan.
Don't piss off Wonder Woman.
For a more serious look at this book check out my friend Lono's review. I'm going to start featuring friends in my reviews that don't frigging review bump and do deserve more attention.
October 2, 2012
It looks like I may be in the minority here. There are things that I did like about this book. The art is better than I expected from the cover, and I like how Diana is generally portrayed. But there are a few things that irritated me.
For one, Diana's origin story has been changed. She's no longer sculpted of clay by her mother. No, Diana is now another of Zeus's bastard children. Her origin story has been consistent for seventy years. If you're going to make such a big change to such a long-standing character (being Zeus's daughter will, for absolutely no reason grounded in mythology, give her new abilities) it needs to be for a better reason than just for the sake of changing it.
And let's talk about that mythology. I love Greek mythology, and while I'm not an expert, I feel pretty sure that I know more about it than Azzarello. Or maybe I just care more. The way the gods are designed is just... baffling is one word. Irritating is another. Let's take Apollo. He shows up at the beginning of the book, but I had no idea it was him. He looks absolutely nothing like himself. I'm not saying that I oppose any attempt to tweak their presentation, but it has to make sense. Apollo has been very specifically and consistently described, and none of those descriptions are "bald, with skin the color of magma". I suspect it was chosen to reflect Apollo's role as a sun god. Problem: Apollo was not originally a sun god. Then there's Hera, god of marriage and fidelity, queen of the gods, the epitome of the matron, wearing nothing but a cape of peacock feathers. No, the Greek gods don't have to hang out in chitons, but their appearance should reflect their personality. And there's one goddess who's called by her office (Strife) and not her name (Eris).
There's also Hera's portrayal as psychotically unhinged. I don't like when writers fall back on this crutch. It's like they never ask themselves who would tell stories about a wronged wife who gets revenge. For the married woman, Hera was who you could pray to so your husband would stay faithful, wouldn't beat you, wouldn't abandon you for another woman, wouldn't move his mistress into the house, because you had no earthly authority to help you if he did. And that's important to remember about Hera: she's vengeful, yes, but in a way that doubled as revenge fantasy for married women and as warning for married men. So her portrayal here as psychotically vengeful and power mad reduce her to a caricature of herself.
I am probably thinking about this way more than Azzarello ever intended, and will probably be one of only a very few who will be as irritated by how the mythology was handled. Also, I don't like the new costume design, but that really is kind of petty. I didn't exactly hate this trade, but I sure didn't like it much.
For one, Diana's origin story has been changed. She's no longer sculpted of clay by her mother. No, Diana is now another of Zeus's bastard children. Her origin story has been consistent for seventy years. If you're going to make such a big change to such a long-standing character (being Zeus's daughter will, for absolutely no reason grounded in mythology, give her new abilities) it needs to be for a better reason than just for the sake of changing it.
And let's talk about that mythology. I love Greek mythology, and while I'm not an expert, I feel pretty sure that I know more about it than Azzarello. Or maybe I just care more. The way the gods are designed is just... baffling is one word. Irritating is another. Let's take Apollo. He shows up at the beginning of the book, but I had no idea it was him. He looks absolutely nothing like himself. I'm not saying that I oppose any attempt to tweak their presentation, but it has to make sense. Apollo has been very specifically and consistently described, and none of those descriptions are "bald, with skin the color of magma". I suspect it was chosen to reflect Apollo's role as a sun god. Problem: Apollo was not originally a sun god. Then there's Hera, god of marriage and fidelity, queen of the gods, the epitome of the matron, wearing nothing but a cape of peacock feathers. No, the Greek gods don't have to hang out in chitons, but their appearance should reflect their personality. And there's one goddess who's called by her office (Strife) and not her name (Eris).
There's also Hera's portrayal as psychotically unhinged. I don't like when writers fall back on this crutch. It's like they never ask themselves who would tell stories about a wronged wife who gets revenge. For the married woman, Hera was who you could pray to so your husband would stay faithful, wouldn't beat you, wouldn't abandon you for another woman, wouldn't move his mistress into the house, because you had no earthly authority to help you if he did. And that's important to remember about Hera: she's vengeful, yes, but in a way that doubled as revenge fantasy for married women and as warning for married men. So her portrayal here as psychotically vengeful and power mad reduce her to a caricature of herself.
I am probably thinking about this way more than Azzarello ever intended, and will probably be one of only a very few who will be as irritated by how the mythology was handled. Also, I don't like the new costume design, but that really is kind of petty. I didn't exactly hate this trade, but I sure didn't like it much.
October 23, 2012
Wha...?
Nooooo. This was definitely not what I was hoping for, especially after reading the very cool pre-reboot Wonder Woman: Odyssey, Volume 1.
I was disappointed after seeing her appearance in Justice League, Vol. 1: Origin, but I've been holding out hope that Azzarello was going to take WW in a different direction. Well, to be fair, he certainly went in a different direction. Her entire backstory is changed. She finds out that she wasn't crafted from clay and brought to life by her mother's prayers. Nope. She was just the result of a one-night stand with Zeus.
And like an episode of Jerry Springer, Hera is furious that Hippolyta is her husband's baby momma. Hilarity ensues, and Wonder Woman finds herself fighting not only for herself, but for some chick named Zola (who is also a big fan of the one-night stand).
Other than the shocking reveal (which happens almost immediately), nothing else in this volume is very interesting. It's mostly a jumbled mess of (uninteresting) fight scenes and character introductions.
And the art.
Oh. My. God.
Saying it was boring would be a compliment. The inside pages aren't as fugly as the cover art, but they certainly didn't inspire me to linger over the pictures.
And what wasn't boring or drab was just flat-out weird.
Hermes looked like a zombie, Poseidon looked like some sort of a fish/toad hybrid, and Hades appeared to have a glowing mound of lava on his head...in the shape of a mushroom. Turns out they were candles. When the fuck have you ever seen Hades with a head full of candles?!
Ok, at the end WW yanks out one of Hades' candles and chucks it a Hera. Somehow it traps her. I'm not even going to pretend that I understood what was going on in the story at that point, but evidently it was important to the plot line for the god of the Underworld to look like a birthday cake.
But still...!
This was awful, and I want Gail Simone back!
Nooooo. This was definitely not what I was hoping for, especially after reading the very cool pre-reboot Wonder Woman: Odyssey, Volume 1.
I was disappointed after seeing her appearance in Justice League, Vol. 1: Origin, but I've been holding out hope that Azzarello was going to take WW in a different direction. Well, to be fair, he certainly went in a different direction. Her entire backstory is changed. She finds out that she wasn't crafted from clay and brought to life by her mother's prayers. Nope. She was just the result of a one-night stand with Zeus.
And like an episode of Jerry Springer, Hera is furious that Hippolyta is her husband's baby momma. Hilarity ensues, and Wonder Woman finds herself fighting not only for herself, but for some chick named Zola (who is also a big fan of the one-night stand).
Other than the shocking reveal (which happens almost immediately), nothing else in this volume is very interesting. It's mostly a jumbled mess of (uninteresting) fight scenes and character introductions.
And the art.
Oh. My. God.
Saying it was boring would be a compliment. The inside pages aren't as fugly as the cover art, but they certainly didn't inspire me to linger over the pictures.
And what wasn't boring or drab was just flat-out weird.
Hermes looked like a zombie, Poseidon looked like some sort of a fish/toad hybrid, and Hades appeared to have a glowing mound of lava on his head...in the shape of a mushroom. Turns out they were candles. When the fuck have you ever seen Hades with a head full of candles?!
Ok, at the end WW yanks out one of Hades' candles and chucks it a Hera. Somehow it traps her. I'm not even going to pretend that I understood what was going on in the story at that point, but evidently it was important to the plot line for the god of the Underworld to look like a birthday cake.
But still...!
This was awful, and I want Gail Simone back!
January 2, 2018
I did not expect to like it that much! I am definitely going to continue reading this series.
June 22, 2015
Reviewed this one earlier on in my Goodreads career and I’m currently rereading the Azzarello run so I felt this book deserved a more thoughtful review.
Azzarello’s run grabbed me pretty quick. I really dug how he brought in the Greek gods and went a totally different direction from the rest of the New 52 stuff DC has put out. Brian avoided what I would consider the low road of having Superman, Batman, or any of the other Justice Leaguers drop by just to sell books. I’m actually surprised how many people bought into this version of Diana. Azzarello not only ignored the rest of the DC universe (for the most part), but messes with Wonder Woman’s origin, pours on the violence, and doesn’t have Diana running around in a thong the entire time. Yet he still manages to tie in a healthy portion of Diana’s canon beginning with a return to Paradise Island and her Amazon heritage. Love the way Brian depicts the Amazons as being similar to the Spartans of Miller’s 300. Not necessarily all that original, just fond of that portrayal.
He also puts a creative spin on interpreting the Greek gods in a modern world. Hera as the jealously bitter wife, eager to punish any tramp that her old man hammers. Hermes and Apollo are pretty cool. Azarello’s eyeless Ares might be the one I like the most. The nonchalant chat between Apollo and Ares in a bar while a bloody massacre take place just outside was a killer moment. The interactions between the gods on the whole are modernized and I love the back and forth between them as they interact with one another. Lennox is another character that shows promise. He claims to be yet another of Zeus’ little bastards and I’m curious to see what he’s all about.
Azzarello’s humor is intact, while somewhat subdued. Moments like Hera describing Themyscira as a “cockless coop improperly named Paradise Island” or her jab at Poseidon and Hades that Zeus has “left his throne without an ass to warm it” and that neither of theirs “measure up” to hers. I’ve always appreciated how well Azzarello writes a wise ass. His trademark violence is also present and accounted for beginning in the very first book. The birth of the centaur assassins is pretty gruesome.
On to Cliff Chiang’s and Tony Akins’ art. While I certainly understand why some would not like Chiang’s simple style, I’m really crushing on it. His minimalist approach is not overly sexualized (like some other past depictions of Diana) and really suited to Azzarello’s stuff. Took me a minute to warm up to Hades’ design. I think Anne referred to him as “Birthday Cake Head” at some point…chuckle…and he’s comes off a little silly at first. But I warmed up to the little guy eventually. Sorta the same thing with Poseidon. Looks a little like a pufferfish mixed with a bulldog. But Chiang made these characters his own and I like the ballsyness of it. Fuck convention. Tony’s stuff is okay too. Not as nice as Cliff’s in my opinion, but similar enough that there isn’t that jarring change between their separate issues that can fuck up a book’s rhythm.
Overall, this book is an outside the box approach to a character that was probably due for an overhaul. While I certainly don’t think this book is for everyone, I would recommend the title to anyone that isn’t opposed to breaking with traditions and is open minded to a new interpretation of an old character. And be aware, Azzarello writes for the long haul, so this is just the beginning of a much longer story and not a collection of bite sized tales. Probably not something for the ADD fan that likes one shots or shorter stories typically. I’m definitely on board for the full ride.
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March 5, 2019
I can't believe I actually enjoyed a Azzarello book.
So this is the New 52 relaunch of Wonder Woman, and for the most part, it's a pretty fun ride.
Right at the start this poor girl, Zola, is being chased around in her underwear by some killers. So while it was scary and exciting I couldn't help but feel we're going to get a lot of Azzarello edgy right off the bat. However, I will say once Wonder Woman does make her appearance, it becomes basically a protect mission of Zola and her baby while also world building the gods here. With this highs takes, protect mom/daughter storyline, and learning about all the gods and their place, while giving Diana a new origin, the volume offers a lot of interesting ideas.
Good: The art is solid, with some awesome new designs on the gods, and I especially like Wonder Woman's style here plus she's drawn with such ferocity yet kindness under it all. I also enjoyed Diana a lot here, as she is a protective person and will fight if must, but when she fights, you better stay the fuck away. I also like the world building and learning about the gods as well as most of the side cast.
Bad: It's a lot of shit being thrown at you. Tons of gods, tons of places, a few twist on old lore, and of course a bit of edgy moments (did Zola HAVE to be in her underwear for the first 1/3rd of the book?) So might be a tad overwhelming to just jump in here.
I have to say I was pleasantly surprise. While not as good as year one Wonder Woman from Greg Rucka, I did have fun with this, and will pick up the next few volumes. Goodjob Azzarello! A 3 out of 5.
So this is the New 52 relaunch of Wonder Woman, and for the most part, it's a pretty fun ride.
Right at the start this poor girl, Zola, is being chased around in her underwear by some killers. So while it was scary and exciting I couldn't help but feel we're going to get a lot of Azzarello edgy right off the bat. However, I will say once Wonder Woman does make her appearance, it becomes basically a protect mission of Zola and her baby while also world building the gods here. With this highs takes, protect mom/daughter storyline, and learning about all the gods and their place, while giving Diana a new origin, the volume offers a lot of interesting ideas.
Good: The art is solid, with some awesome new designs on the gods, and I especially like Wonder Woman's style here plus she's drawn with such ferocity yet kindness under it all. I also enjoyed Diana a lot here, as she is a protective person and will fight if must, but when she fights, you better stay the fuck away. I also like the world building and learning about the gods as well as most of the side cast.
Bad: It's a lot of shit being thrown at you. Tons of gods, tons of places, a few twist on old lore, and of course a bit of edgy moments (did Zola HAVE to be in her underwear for the first 1/3rd of the book?) So might be a tad overwhelming to just jump in here.
I have to say I was pleasantly surprise. While not as good as year one Wonder Woman from Greg Rucka, I did have fun with this, and will pick up the next few volumes. Goodjob Azzarello! A 3 out of 5.
December 12, 2024
My only real knowledge of “Wonder Woman” comes from the George Perez comic books from the 1980s, which is, according to many fans, the zenith era of that DC title. Perez is one of my personal favorite comic book writer/artists of all time, so I feel like I’ve learned a lot about the Amazonian warrior princess just from reading those.
I’ve always had questions about her origin story, though. Not the story of her being raised on Themyscira, falling in love with pilot Steve Trevor, and going off to fight human wars under her super-heroine name Wonder Woman while living a normal life as alter ego Diana Prince. That I don’t have a problem with.
It’s her birth I have trouble with. According to most sources, Diana was born after her mother, Queen Hippolyta, shaped her out of clay. She was then breathed life into her by the goddesses of Mount Olympus. This is one story.
Writer Brian Azzarello was hired on to write for Wonder Woman in 2011, and in that run, Diana’s birth story became radically different. In my opinion, it also became somewhat more believable.
I have always felt that the pantheon of Greek Gods were a bunch of selfish assholes, led by the biggest asshole himself, Zeus. Hera, his wife, was a jealous bitch. (Although, granted, she had every reason to be.) Zeus’s brothers and children were a bunch of snot-nosed little shits always fighting to steal their father’s throne, either by trying to kill him or dethrone him in other shady ways. Not a single one was likable.
By the way, I’m not making this impression up out of whole cloth or based on nothing. I’m basing it on the actual legends of Greek mythology, which I remember from 8th grade English class and, later, in a college Mythology course I took. (I’m not even sure if this stuff is taught in high school anymore, and if it isn’t, it’s an extremely sad commentary on our educational system.)
Zeus was a rapist. Nearly every Greek legend one reads about Zeus makes this quite clear. He raped a lot of human women, giving birth to a lot of illegitimate children. His most famous, of course, was Hercules, who was, by all accounts, also kind of a dick.
Anyway, part of Azzarello’s shocking “twist” on Diana’s origin story is that we discover that Hippolyta has been lying to her daughter and every other Amazon of Themyscira for centuries. Apparently, Zeus (disguising himself as a human) and Hippolyta had a one-night stand, which, nine months later, produced Diana.
Now, I don’t know how this revelation went over with fans of the comic book. I would assume that it may have been shocking to many. I would even imagine a few nasty letters of reprimand and “how dare you mess with the sacredness of Wonder Woman’s origin story blah blah blah…” made its way to DC’s editors.
Personally, I think it makes a hell of a lot more sense than some woman shaping a baby out of clay and then having a bunch of goddesses sprinkle life-giving fairy dust on it. That always struck me as being a bit too Disney.
But lust-hungry Zeus the Walking Phallus popping his mummy-daddy button in Hippolyta’s hoo-ha during a terrific night of Greek God-on-unsuspecting human female sex just sounds right.
Anyway, Volume 1, “Blood” is damn good. Azzarello, in my opinion, knocked this out of the park. And, yes, I’m well aware that making a sexual “home run” joke about a comic book about a cosmic rapist is in poor taste. Sorry.
I’ve always had questions about her origin story, though. Not the story of her being raised on Themyscira, falling in love with pilot Steve Trevor, and going off to fight human wars under her super-heroine name Wonder Woman while living a normal life as alter ego Diana Prince. That I don’t have a problem with.
It’s her birth I have trouble with. According to most sources, Diana was born after her mother, Queen Hippolyta, shaped her out of clay. She was then breathed life into her by the goddesses of Mount Olympus. This is one story.
Writer Brian Azzarello was hired on to write for Wonder Woman in 2011, and in that run, Diana’s birth story became radically different. In my opinion, it also became somewhat more believable.
I have always felt that the pantheon of Greek Gods were a bunch of selfish assholes, led by the biggest asshole himself, Zeus. Hera, his wife, was a jealous bitch. (Although, granted, she had every reason to be.) Zeus’s brothers and children were a bunch of snot-nosed little shits always fighting to steal their father’s throne, either by trying to kill him or dethrone him in other shady ways. Not a single one was likable.
By the way, I’m not making this impression up out of whole cloth or based on nothing. I’m basing it on the actual legends of Greek mythology, which I remember from 8th grade English class and, later, in a college Mythology course I took. (I’m not even sure if this stuff is taught in high school anymore, and if it isn’t, it’s an extremely sad commentary on our educational system.)
Zeus was a rapist. Nearly every Greek legend one reads about Zeus makes this quite clear. He raped a lot of human women, giving birth to a lot of illegitimate children. His most famous, of course, was Hercules, who was, by all accounts, also kind of a dick.
Anyway, part of Azzarello’s shocking “twist” on Diana’s origin story is that we discover that Hippolyta has been lying to her daughter and every other Amazon of Themyscira for centuries. Apparently, Zeus (disguising himself as a human) and Hippolyta had a one-night stand, which, nine months later, produced Diana.
Now, I don’t know how this revelation went over with fans of the comic book. I would assume that it may have been shocking to many. I would even imagine a few nasty letters of reprimand and “how dare you mess with the sacredness of Wonder Woman’s origin story blah blah blah…” made its way to DC’s editors.
Personally, I think it makes a hell of a lot more sense than some woman shaping a baby out of clay and then having a bunch of goddesses sprinkle life-giving fairy dust on it. That always struck me as being a bit too Disney.
But lust-hungry Zeus the Walking Phallus popping his mummy-daddy button in Hippolyta’s hoo-ha during a terrific night of Greek God-on-unsuspecting human female sex just sounds right.
Anyway, Volume 1, “Blood” is damn good. Azzarello, in my opinion, knocked this out of the park. And, yes, I’m well aware that making a sexual “home run” joke about a comic book about a cosmic rapist is in poor taste. Sorry.
October 9, 2012
Diana, Amazonian Princess aka Wonder Woman, finds herself protecting a young woman impregnated by Zeus from his vengeful wife Hera. But Wonder Woman is about to find out her own dubious parentage, a secret her mother Hippolyta has kept from her for years.
I got this based on the strength of Geoff Johns' portrayal of WW in "Justice League: Origin" where she came across as gung-ho, fun, and guile-less in a charmingly quirky way - Brian Azzarello however has taken that characterisation and thrown it out of the window. In place of that, the WW of this book is quiet and surly, often moody and dull. It wouldn't have irked me so much if Azzarello had given WW a decent storyline but unfortunately that too is missing from this book. The story is entirely about family, namely the family of ancient Greek gods, Zeus, Hera, Hermes, etc. and WW's place within it. Cue lots of scenes of familial conflict with WW relegated to the role of high strung teen yelling at her mother - groan.
I suppose if you like all that gods and monsters stuff from millennia ago, you'll enjoy this book, but I thought this was going to be a fresh, new take on the character and having all of this god-crap going on is not new or fresh. "Blood" feels like a poor facsimile of Neil Gaiman's Sandman.
Cliff Chiang's artwork is unimpressive to say the least. It's serviceable but a long way from what you would expect for this comics icon. Even worse follows when Tony Akins draws the final 2 chapters and makes everyone look like they stepped into a second rate manga cartoon. It's a bit counterproductive of DC to give one of their all-time most famous characters sub-par illustrators who don't illuminate the character or her adventures in an attractive way.
I really wanted to like this book but I think Azzarello has taken the wrong tack with the character and should've taken notes from Johns' vision of Wonder Woman. Azzarello's WW is neither fun or interesting and, based on this first book, doesn't make me want to read more of her. "Blood" is uninspired and dull making what should have been one of the highlights of this reboot, one of the disappointments.
I got this based on the strength of Geoff Johns' portrayal of WW in "Justice League: Origin" where she came across as gung-ho, fun, and guile-less in a charmingly quirky way - Brian Azzarello however has taken that characterisation and thrown it out of the window. In place of that, the WW of this book is quiet and surly, often moody and dull. It wouldn't have irked me so much if Azzarello had given WW a decent storyline but unfortunately that too is missing from this book. The story is entirely about family, namely the family of ancient Greek gods, Zeus, Hera, Hermes, etc. and WW's place within it. Cue lots of scenes of familial conflict with WW relegated to the role of high strung teen yelling at her mother - groan.
I suppose if you like all that gods and monsters stuff from millennia ago, you'll enjoy this book, but I thought this was going to be a fresh, new take on the character and having all of this god-crap going on is not new or fresh. "Blood" feels like a poor facsimile of Neil Gaiman's Sandman.
Cliff Chiang's artwork is unimpressive to say the least. It's serviceable but a long way from what you would expect for this comics icon. Even worse follows when Tony Akins draws the final 2 chapters and makes everyone look like they stepped into a second rate manga cartoon. It's a bit counterproductive of DC to give one of their all-time most famous characters sub-par illustrators who don't illuminate the character or her adventures in an attractive way.
I really wanted to like this book but I think Azzarello has taken the wrong tack with the character and should've taken notes from Johns' vision of Wonder Woman. Azzarello's WW is neither fun or interesting and, based on this first book, doesn't make me want to read more of her. "Blood" is uninspired and dull making what should have been one of the highlights of this reboot, one of the disappointments.
August 23, 2012
The premise of Vertigo was to be, in founding editor Karen Berger's words, "different, smarter, and edgier" than the rest of DC. Oh, and, no superheroes: superheroes are greasy kid stuff. We're so much beyond that now. We're so much cleverer than the people who thought up patriotic heroes in brightly colored costumes. They probably hadn't even read Marcuse. Having an imprint founded on this editorial philosophy was a mistake, and here's the proof.
Put a writer raised on this attitude on a superhero book, and you have a disaster like this waiting to happen.
Now, with the Wonder Woman title itself, historically the largest problem is that every new writer that comes along the pipe tries to "fix" the title with a Bold New Direction, and as such the character had no firm supporting cast, consistent body of lore, or well developed rogue's gallery. Few of the writers have been able to step up to the plate and embrace a character who is simultaneously an Amazon warrior and a magical princess; this is a complicated and interesting character, but definitely challenging to write, a whole lot harder than a generic Vengeful Woman and Last Daughter of Themiscyra.
The first thing you need to know about this story is how painfully slow it is. While this is the first "graphic novel" of the Wonder Woman series by Brian Azzarello, it doesn't even contain the first half of Azzarello's story arc. You will have to wait until the second trade to find out how some of the plot is resolved. Being a pretentious, Vertigo-schooled writer, Azzarello has to tell the tale Twin Peaks style and turns it into an extended Grandpa Simpson story. The comic book itself is at issue 12 and shows no signs of finishing this plot.
But DC editorial have sharpened their knives for Wonder Woman and her world. Fortunately, the story isn't really about her. It isn't like she does much: she's essentially a spectator to a cast of gods, and in so far as it concerns her, it's about her reactions to learning that her whole life is a lie. One of the few things that actually happens in the book is that her whole corner of the DC universe is destroyed. The Amazons are transmogrified into snakes and her mother is turned to stone.
The tone of the book is dark, dull, solemn, and slow. Its plot is purely negative, pretentious, and archly condescending towards William Moulton Marston, the fellow who created Wonder Woman and Paradise Island. If you have any affection for Wonder Woman in her previous incarnations, you will probably find this take painful to read, like watching someone pull the wings off a butterfly. It's an attempt to deliberately uglify Paradise. It's an act of vandalism against a national and feminist icon.
Put a writer raised on this attitude on a superhero book, and you have a disaster like this waiting to happen.
Now, with the Wonder Woman title itself, historically the largest problem is that every new writer that comes along the pipe tries to "fix" the title with a Bold New Direction, and as such the character had no firm supporting cast, consistent body of lore, or well developed rogue's gallery. Few of the writers have been able to step up to the plate and embrace a character who is simultaneously an Amazon warrior and a magical princess; this is a complicated and interesting character, but definitely challenging to write, a whole lot harder than a generic Vengeful Woman and Last Daughter of Themiscyra.
The first thing you need to know about this story is how painfully slow it is. While this is the first "graphic novel" of the Wonder Woman series by Brian Azzarello, it doesn't even contain the first half of Azzarello's story arc. You will have to wait until the second trade to find out how some of the plot is resolved. Being a pretentious, Vertigo-schooled writer, Azzarello has to tell the tale Twin Peaks style and turns it into an extended Grandpa Simpson story. The comic book itself is at issue 12 and shows no signs of finishing this plot.
But DC editorial have sharpened their knives for Wonder Woman and her world. Fortunately, the story isn't really about her. It isn't like she does much: she's essentially a spectator to a cast of gods, and in so far as it concerns her, it's about her reactions to learning that her whole life is a lie. One of the few things that actually happens in the book is that her whole corner of the DC universe is destroyed. The Amazons are transmogrified into snakes and her mother is turned to stone.
The tone of the book is dark, dull, solemn, and slow. Its plot is purely negative, pretentious, and archly condescending towards William Moulton Marston, the fellow who created Wonder Woman and Paradise Island. If you have any affection for Wonder Woman in her previous incarnations, you will probably find this take painful to read, like watching someone pull the wings off a butterfly. It's an attempt to deliberately uglify Paradise. It's an act of vandalism against a national and feminist icon.
October 2, 2017
Brian Azzarello does not know who Wonder Woman is? DC got the movie spot on. This book was a horrible mess from beginning to end. The art was dark, WW was killing left and right. WW is pure and there was no purity here. Just because she is a god, do they have to now set it all around gods. Batman is the underworld, he's Hades and his story should be dark. WW is the light and should not be dark. She steps into the dark to bring the light. Why can't DC find their way? This was so disappointing and just really? IS Geoff Johns the only writer at DC who understands the comics and how to write them? It feels that way, but Geoff can't write them all.
Maybe they should just leave WW to women writers. I know men can write them, but there hasn't been someone in a while who can do it justice. I am simply so disappointed in this. I will not continue on in this mess. I will try other storylines.
Maybe they should just leave WW to women writers. I know men can write them, but there hasn't been someone in a while who can do it justice. I am simply so disappointed in this. I will not continue on in this mess. I will try other storylines.
January 14, 2014
Well this was certainly something else.
I have to be honest, I don’t know Greek mythology all that well and I only have a passing understanding of Wonder Woman’s origin. Of course, I did read Wonder Woman comics as a kid, when and where I could find them, but she was never one of the characters I focused heavily on.
I got this for my wife as a gift and she recommended that I read it as well. It’s pretty good. The origin story has been retconned, which won’t be to everybody’s liking. Despair not, however, because if the history of comics is anything to go by, it may well be changed back and forth dozens of times yet. I suppose the idea is to just enjoy each version while you can.
The updated look confused me at times. Hermes, for example, doesn’t look anything like he did previously. I also have to agree with another reviewer: why is Hera running around naked all the time? I’m assuming gods don’t necessarily feel the need for clothing, but why are the other gods dressed then? Anyway, I’m nitpicking now.
I enjoyed this collection enough to rate it highly, although it’s certainly incomplete. You’d think the guys at DC would fill up the collected editions with complete story arcs, but you’d be wrong. The idea is obviously to force readers to buy the next edition. I would have done so anyway, if I enjoyed the series... and no amount of cliffhanging would persuade me to buy the next edition if I thought the series was crappy. So, it’s pointless. DC, are you paying attention here?
In conclusion: it’s a refreshing, if different, take on the Amazon Princess. My wife and I both enjoyed it, although I realize that’s hardly representative of the comic reading community. Check it out for yourself, and decide. I'm especially curious to know what hardcore Wonder Woman fans make of the New 52 Wonder Woman.
4 stars
February 7, 2017
Brian Azzarello's run on Wonder Woman is consistently entertaining. This series is top 2 in my list of DC's New 52 titles, with Snyder's Batman on the top spot and Geoff Johns' Aquaman run as my third. This first volume introduces Diana and her roots, both as a goddess and an amazon warrior without compromising its story quality and not falling into the "another origin story" trap.
Hell yeah Wonder Woman!
It feels like Azzarello is really cooking a genuine modern Greek mythology story, seamlessly adding the Amazonian lore into the vat with Wonder Woman as the focus, the main ingredient in arguably one of the author's chef d'oeuvre.
You know how Wonder Woman Blood reads? With gods as characters, expect ridiculously crazy things. Betrayal. Deceit. God games. I am amazed how original the story is, yet reading it feels so familiar. Maybe because we have been accustomed to reading to such Greek-themed stories in high school.
Wonder Woman volume one is fast-paced. It is a reader-friendly piece for those who want to start reading about the Amazon Princess.
Hell yeah Wonder Woman!
It feels like Azzarello is really cooking a genuine modern Greek mythology story, seamlessly adding the Amazonian lore into the vat with Wonder Woman as the focus, the main ingredient in arguably one of the author's chef d'oeuvre.
You know how Wonder Woman Blood reads? With gods as characters, expect ridiculously crazy things. Betrayal. Deceit. God games. I am amazed how original the story is, yet reading it feels so familiar. Maybe because we have been accustomed to reading to such Greek-themed stories in high school.
Wonder Woman volume one is fast-paced. It is a reader-friendly piece for those who want to start reading about the Amazon Princess.
February 17, 2022
Not a detailed origin story per se, but one that contains enough context to show who this version of Wonder Woman is and what she stands for. The plot is solid with a lot of room for expansion as the series continues. Whilst the story is decent, some of the fights are a little boring, carried only by the captivating art. Enjoyable without being overly impressive, there's tons of potential for later instalments.
February 7, 2017
I've read this volume a couple of years ago already, but I never got a chance to read the whole WW run by Azzarello before. Now I do, so I wanted to start from the beginning. It's a pretty cool book, even if it is completely disrespectful to Diana's origin. It has this Vertigo vibe going, feels a bit like Hellblazer even, with bizarre characters and a pretty dark supernatural story. It's not Wonder Woman-y enough, I guess, but at least Azzarello's take feels fresh and fun. And thank god it's not another damn origin story, or a political snoozefest a la Rucka.
Cliff Chiang's artwork is excellent, and Matt Wilson's colours are perfect as always. The last two issues were drawn by Tony Atkins, and they look pretty bad, especially in contrast with Chiang's beautiful work.
Anyway, fun read! Moving on to the next one.
Cliff Chiang's artwork is excellent, and Matt Wilson's colours are perfect as always. The last two issues were drawn by Tony Atkins, and they look pretty bad, especially in contrast with Chiang's beautiful work.
Anyway, fun read! Moving on to the next one.
July 11, 2016
Reeaaallyyy good ! Juste un peu trop de gore pour mon goût, mais sinon c'est vraiment top, plein de mythologie, j'adore, et j'avais peur pour les dessins mais au final j'aime beaucoup ! Moins détaillé que le style que j'aime bien pour les comics, mais ça va très bien avec l'histoire et avec Wonder Woman. Un premier volume vraiment très intéressant, j'ai hâte de lire la suite et je suis bien contente, malgré mes hésitations, d'avoir essayé cette version de Wonder Woman !
December 31, 2021
Whoa!
Not sure what I expected but this surpassed those expectations with interest.
I’m sure comic book fans back in 2011, when DC rolled out its New 52 lines, were a little surprised to see Brian Azzarello tasked with penning Wonder Woman, he of the noir crime background. I’ve enjoyed his work on Batman but other than that only knew of him by reputation.
Azzarello dealing out Amazons and Greek mythology?
YES!
He takes a page from Neil Gaiman, Kevin Hearne and Rick Riordan and writes this entry in WW lore as a smooth urban fantasy with Diana and her sisters getting into some family drama with Zeus, Hera and the whole family.
Azzarello and artists Cliff Chiang and Tony Akins make this a fun comic that’s easy on the eyes. If you think about it, Greek mythology, any pantheon really, is a bloody mess, so the crime theme was a good match.
Very fun and I’m on to the next chapter.
Not sure what I expected but this surpassed those expectations with interest.
I’m sure comic book fans back in 2011, when DC rolled out its New 52 lines, were a little surprised to see Brian Azzarello tasked with penning Wonder Woman, he of the noir crime background. I’ve enjoyed his work on Batman but other than that only knew of him by reputation.
Azzarello dealing out Amazons and Greek mythology?
YES!
He takes a page from Neil Gaiman, Kevin Hearne and Rick Riordan and writes this entry in WW lore as a smooth urban fantasy with Diana and her sisters getting into some family drama with Zeus, Hera and the whole family.
Azzarello and artists Cliff Chiang and Tony Akins make this a fun comic that’s easy on the eyes. If you think about it, Greek mythology, any pantheon really, is a bloody mess, so the crime theme was a good match.
Very fun and I’m on to the next chapter.
October 22, 2014
Azzarello is obviously making an effort to structure the storytelling in the fashion of Greek theatre, and slipping in subtle cues, like reading from the Three Oracles. The story itself seems to be the classic Greek jealousy, bad behaviour and lack of forgiveness - which sets an appropriate tone for Diana to have to struggle to right many many wrongs.
And what a Wonder Woman she is - strong, fearless and...smirky? That's a new one on me, and a welcome bit of smart attitude (that's completely lacking in Geoff Johns' inclusion of her in Justice League - a horrible rendition).
Alongside WW, there are complex relationships with Amazons and gods, which makes for a hearty setting whose depths the creators should be able to mine for ages if they're careful.
It's too bad that Azzarello's script is so disjointed that it's a spelunker's dream to decipher the stories he's telling in overlapping and cryptic tales. If I had the energy and interest I'd probably try to re-read this to make more sense of it. I'm sure I caught the basic gist.
OTOH, I have to say I appreciate the skill in Azzarello's exposition - he isn't hammering us over the head with introducing people or plot points, enough so that I'm actually (mostly) enjoying the discovery from page to page and scene to scene.
This was a fascinating and mostly fun tale - striking personalities among the cast, some genuine conflict, a new-ish take one Greek gods and their role among modern humans, and a decently broad landscape on which to work out a lifetime of stories for a hero worth rooting for.
Bang-up job on the art - Chiang's work is vivid, kinetic and striking. The follow-on artist wasn't great but I'll live.
I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I may have actually found another New52 book that I'd recommend to friends. Considering how many books I've actively disliked, this is a genuine surprise to me (and probably going to give some of my Goodreads friends a stroke).
2014-10: I re-read this in anticipation of the next episode of our podcast and I think I liked this even more the second time. Yes I'm at least passingly familiar with the characters and dramatic tensions now; yes I still think the dialogue is a little arch. But holy gods is this wildly off the beaten (to death) path of DC house style for comics. No specific center of gravity for this book - everyone has their own motives and interests, all of whom are playing it close to the vest and all of whom are interesting. This book gets better, but I'm genuinely impressed with where it started.
And what a Wonder Woman she is - strong, fearless and...smirky? That's a new one on me, and a welcome bit of smart attitude (that's completely lacking in Geoff Johns' inclusion of her in Justice League - a horrible rendition).
Alongside WW, there are complex relationships with Amazons and gods, which makes for a hearty setting whose depths the creators should be able to mine for ages if they're careful.
It's too bad that Azzarello's script is so disjointed that it's a spelunker's dream to decipher the stories he's telling in overlapping and cryptic tales. If I had the energy and interest I'd probably try to re-read this to make more sense of it. I'm sure I caught the basic gist.
OTOH, I have to say I appreciate the skill in Azzarello's exposition - he isn't hammering us over the head with introducing people or plot points, enough so that I'm actually (mostly) enjoying the discovery from page to page and scene to scene.
This was a fascinating and mostly fun tale - striking personalities among the cast, some genuine conflict, a new-ish take one Greek gods and their role among modern humans, and a decently broad landscape on which to work out a lifetime of stories for a hero worth rooting for.
Bang-up job on the art - Chiang's work is vivid, kinetic and striking. The follow-on artist wasn't great but I'll live.
I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I may have actually found another New52 book that I'd recommend to friends. Considering how many books I've actively disliked, this is a genuine surprise to me (and probably going to give some of my Goodreads friends a stroke).
2014-10: I re-read this in anticipation of the next episode of our podcast and I think I liked this even more the second time. Yes I'm at least passingly familiar with the characters and dramatic tensions now; yes I still think the dialogue is a little arch. But holy gods is this wildly off the beaten (to death) path of DC house style for comics. No specific center of gravity for this book - everyone has their own motives and interests, all of whom are playing it close to the vest and all of whom are interesting. This book gets better, but I'm genuinely impressed with where it started.
June 1, 2018
Wonder Woman, New 53 Series Ratings:
Wonder Woman, Volume 1: Blood: Blood: ★★
Wonder Woman, Volume 2: Guts: Lost Interest in Series
—
Can't decide if comics are for me or not.
___
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Wonder Woman, Volume 1: Blood: Blood: ★★
Wonder Woman, Volume 2: Guts: Lost Interest in Series
—
Can't decide if comics are for me or not.
___
│Blog│Instagram│Twitter│Tumblr│
January 15, 2021
With the upcoming release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in which we will see two of the world’s finest preparing to duke it out, there is also the appearance of an Amazonian princess literally jumping into the action. Whilst we await for Wonder Woman’s cinematic debut as well as Gal Gadot reprising the iconic role in next year’s solo blockbuster which apparently will use the character's origins in The New 52, what better preparation than to read the first volume of Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang’s acclaimed run.
When the warrior princess Diana – raised as a daughter by the Queen of the Amazons – is encountered by a young woman who is bearing the unborn child of Zeus, she is set on a journey where the gods of Olympus are their own dark games, while she discovers her true origin than what legend says.
Considering how much I know about Wonder Woman through only other media such as the cheesy 70s romps with Lynda Carter and the excellent Bruce Timm-produced animated adventures of Justice League, based on this initial volume (the first Wonder Woman comic I’ve read), Azzarello deconstructs what we know about the character who was originally birthed from clay, which is a piece of high fantasy I can never come in terms with. Simply titled as Blood, it nicely fits into what this book is about which is Wonder Woman finding out about her birthright as she truly was raised by her biological mother, not before something tragic happens to her homeland.
Known for his mature crime fiction such as 100 Bullets and a number of Batman comics, it is a departure for Brian Azzarello stepping into superhero fiction which takes a big step into Greek fantasy. Despite its modern setting where the world is aware of Wonder Woman and what she stands for, Azzarello really plays up the Greek angle with W.W. interacting with a numerous gods such as Hera and Poseidon. All of this may sound like Percy Jackson and I would like to see more super-heroics, Azzarello doesn’t hesitate from showing bloody action with Amazons not running away from a fight, not least from our eponymous lead.
With a distinct art-style that is different from the mainstream sensibilities of Jim Lee and George Pérez, Cliff Chiang presents a more loose form of cartooning with a great emphasis on inking whilst colourist Matthew Wilson filling in all the details. With a cast that is primarily female, Chiang doesn’t sexualise any of them even when it comes to sequences featuring sex and violence. With the last two issues illustrated by Tony Akins who has a similar style to Chiang’s, some of his character designs do seem a bit off but knows how to draw a mighty fine monster.
Despite the lack of superhero action, volume one of Azzarello and Chiang’s Greek fantasy adventure is a compelling start for any new readers who want to read any Wonder Woman comics.
When the warrior princess Diana – raised as a daughter by the Queen of the Amazons – is encountered by a young woman who is bearing the unborn child of Zeus, she is set on a journey where the gods of Olympus are their own dark games, while she discovers her true origin than what legend says.
Considering how much I know about Wonder Woman through only other media such as the cheesy 70s romps with Lynda Carter and the excellent Bruce Timm-produced animated adventures of Justice League, based on this initial volume (the first Wonder Woman comic I’ve read), Azzarello deconstructs what we know about the character who was originally birthed from clay, which is a piece of high fantasy I can never come in terms with. Simply titled as Blood, it nicely fits into what this book is about which is Wonder Woman finding out about her birthright as she truly was raised by her biological mother, not before something tragic happens to her homeland.
Known for his mature crime fiction such as 100 Bullets and a number of Batman comics, it is a departure for Brian Azzarello stepping into superhero fiction which takes a big step into Greek fantasy. Despite its modern setting where the world is aware of Wonder Woman and what she stands for, Azzarello really plays up the Greek angle with W.W. interacting with a numerous gods such as Hera and Poseidon. All of this may sound like Percy Jackson and I would like to see more super-heroics, Azzarello doesn’t hesitate from showing bloody action with Amazons not running away from a fight, not least from our eponymous lead.
With a distinct art-style that is different from the mainstream sensibilities of Jim Lee and George Pérez, Cliff Chiang presents a more loose form of cartooning with a great emphasis on inking whilst colourist Matthew Wilson filling in all the details. With a cast that is primarily female, Chiang doesn’t sexualise any of them even when it comes to sequences featuring sex and violence. With the last two issues illustrated by Tony Akins who has a similar style to Chiang’s, some of his character designs do seem a bit off but knows how to draw a mighty fine monster.
Despite the lack of superhero action, volume one of Azzarello and Chiang’s Greek fantasy adventure is a compelling start for any new readers who want to read any Wonder Woman comics.
August 9, 2015
2.5 stars, rounded up
I'm having a hard time rating this because there were cool moments and I like the attitude of this New 52 Wonder Woman but I'm not a huge fan of the change in her origin or some of the artistic choices.
First, the good. Other than how amazingly badass she was in Kingdom Come, I've never been a big fan of Wonder Woman. She's always just seemed like the same straight as an arrow, girl scout type as Superman and that's just never seemed all that interesting to me. So kudos to Azzarello for making this Wonder Woman actually compelling as a character. She's clever, a badass warrior and a woman who doesn't take shit from anyone. There were some moments that I actually found myself cheering out loud for her. She's FINALLY an interesting character!
Unfortunately, I just didn't care at all for the story. I felt like the story was the just treading the same Greek hero ground that I've heard a million times. I mean, at least the clay origin story was something a little different. And then it's like they had to make up for it by making the appearance of the Greek gods as bizarre as possible. I don't need them to be exactly as the the same as in the myths but some of those choices made absolutely no sense. Especially Hades. Seriously? Candles on his fucking head?
Tell me that isn't just a WTF image.
I'm still gonna keep reading because I keep hearing this is an awesome series, but I can't say that Azzarello has really pulled me in yet. Hopefully he somehow makes up for some of the stranger choices made in this first volume.
Not a huge fan of this yet but on the plus side, at least Wonder Woman doesn't sound like she's had a fucking lobotomy so it's better than Justice League, Vol. 1: Origin.
I'm having a hard time rating this because there were cool moments and I like the attitude of this New 52 Wonder Woman but I'm not a huge fan of the change in her origin or some of the artistic choices.
First, the good. Other than how amazingly badass she was in Kingdom Come, I've never been a big fan of Wonder Woman. She's always just seemed like the same straight as an arrow, girl scout type as Superman and that's just never seemed all that interesting to me. So kudos to Azzarello for making this Wonder Woman actually compelling as a character. She's clever, a badass warrior and a woman who doesn't take shit from anyone. There were some moments that I actually found myself cheering out loud for her. She's FINALLY an interesting character!
Unfortunately, I just didn't care at all for the story. I felt like the story was the just treading the same Greek hero ground that I've heard a million times. I mean, at least the clay origin story was something a little different. And then it's like they had to make up for it by making the appearance of the Greek gods as bizarre as possible. I don't need them to be exactly as the the same as in the myths but some of those choices made absolutely no sense. Especially Hades. Seriously? Candles on his fucking head?
Tell me that isn't just a WTF image.
I'm still gonna keep reading because I keep hearing this is an awesome series, but I can't say that Azzarello has really pulled me in yet. Hopefully he somehow makes up for some of the stranger choices made in this first volume.
Not a huge fan of this yet but on the plus side, at least Wonder Woman doesn't sound like she's had a fucking lobotomy so it's better than Justice League, Vol. 1: Origin.
Read
February 4, 2024having read every wonder woman graphic novel i can get my hands on, i can say that this one falls short in comparison. i think i would’ve enjoyed it more if it had been a little less jumbled and all over the place.
December 10, 2021
This one was so good!
Diana meets this girl Zola who is pregnant with Zeus himself (crazy thing) but she has to protect her at all costs and she meets with Hermes and also Strife, has an argument with Hippolyta and finds the secret of her birth but the most shocking thing is her finding who she really is and well Hera vs Hippolyta and a thing that changes her forever and then rendering the judgement of Poseidon and Hades and whatever happens with Zola thereafter and some new allies for her while deep plots develop with Apollo and Ares.
This was a fantastic volume and what a start with the two of them and its intriguing the way its done plus this new character acting as an insight into Diana's life is awesome and I like the fast paced nature of the story and a simple premise here. Plus the art is so good and is so easy on the eyes and I also love the way Chiang draws women and they look so hot when he draws them. Amazing start to a great series for sure!
Diana meets this girl Zola who is pregnant with Zeus himself (crazy thing) but she has to protect her at all costs and she meets with Hermes and also Strife, has an argument with Hippolyta and finds the secret of her birth but the most shocking thing is her finding who she really is and well Hera vs Hippolyta and a thing that changes her forever and then rendering the judgement of Poseidon and Hades and whatever happens with Zola thereafter and some new allies for her while deep plots develop with Apollo and Ares.
This was a fantastic volume and what a start with the two of them and its intriguing the way its done plus this new character acting as an insight into Diana's life is awesome and I like the fast paced nature of the story and a simple premise here. Plus the art is so good and is so easy on the eyes and I also love the way Chiang draws women and they look so hot when he draws them. Amazing start to a great series for sure!
October 10, 2014
When it comes to traditional superhero comic books, such as Batman, Superman, Spiderman, and others, I am as big of a n00b as you can get. I only recognize the biggest of names and usually if there has been a mainstream movie made of them in the past 20 years (note how all the names I mentioned above follow that criteria).
But I want to change that. Some of these superheroes have some interesting stories, and I'd like to broaden my reading tastes. So I've begun seeking out some graphic novels of the superheroes, with an emphasis on the female ones. And I've hunted down a lot of the DC New 52 line because apparently, they have restarted (sorta) the timeline for n00bs such as myself.
Wonder Woman is probably one of the better known female superheroes, which is why I snapped up her New 52 line. But I wonder if that might have been a mistake. I wouldn't go so far as to say this was a terrible graphic novel, but it isn't one that was easy for a n00b.
There seems to be a lot of history about Wonder Woman that isn't really explained. Also, we have a lot of Greek deities thrown in, and it doesn't seem like this alternate universe is all that surprised. I guess I should be used to that - I mean, we've got Spiderman swinging around in New York and Superman in Metropolis (Yes, I know one is Marvel and the other DC), so why shouldn't Greek deities be mainstream?
But probably the worst was the rambling, nonsensical dialogue. It's like these people just like to hear themselves string words together, not even bothering to follow a thought or a conversation. The scene that stands out to me is when Wonder Woman goes from arguing with Strife to arguing with Hippolyta - I just found it impossible to follow the thread, the flow of conversation, why these characters said these things other than to talk.
There are characters that drop off, never to be heard from again (Strife and Apollo). There are lines of dialogue from characters not in a scene plastered over action pages. There are plotlines that seem to have no purpose - such as Diana listening to a rock band at a bar. People's powers aren't adequately explained. And the ending feels a bit odd - obviously, this is an ongoing series, so I don't expect full closure, but I still couldn't help a bit of confusion.
The artwork is a mixed bag. There is something about Chiang's work that is very dramatic and catchy - even if it isn't the most pleasant to look at. It is somewhat distracting to have Wonder Woman's or Hera's proportions change dramatically between panels. Akins seems to go for a more "classic" approach, while also doing a good job of blending Chiang's style (there is nothing more irritating than to read a graphic novel and see a jarring change of artists mid-trade paperback). But sometimes the characters look pretty darned goofy and cartoony.
Even though there were several things I didn't like (or was dubious about), I do think I liked Wonder Woman. She felt like a competent character, more than capable of protecting herself and those in her care. I know some didn't like the change to Wonder Woman's backstory, but I don't mind. Once I got the idea that Greek deities were going to showcase prominently, I had no trouble with it in fact. And I think this graphic novel did do a fairly good job setting up conflict for the rest of the series.
I don't regret reading this, but I probably wouldn't recommend to fellow Wonder Woman first-timers. I don't know if I'll continue reading this series; I'll probably wait to check out what others say first.
But I want to change that. Some of these superheroes have some interesting stories, and I'd like to broaden my reading tastes. So I've begun seeking out some graphic novels of the superheroes, with an emphasis on the female ones. And I've hunted down a lot of the DC New 52 line because apparently, they have restarted (sorta) the timeline for n00bs such as myself.
Wonder Woman is probably one of the better known female superheroes, which is why I snapped up her New 52 line. But I wonder if that might have been a mistake. I wouldn't go so far as to say this was a terrible graphic novel, but it isn't one that was easy for a n00b.
There seems to be a lot of history about Wonder Woman that isn't really explained. Also, we have a lot of Greek deities thrown in, and it doesn't seem like this alternate universe is all that surprised. I guess I should be used to that - I mean, we've got Spiderman swinging around in New York and Superman in Metropolis (Yes, I know one is Marvel and the other DC), so why shouldn't Greek deities be mainstream?
But probably the worst was the rambling, nonsensical dialogue. It's like these people just like to hear themselves string words together, not even bothering to follow a thought or a conversation. The scene that stands out to me is when Wonder Woman goes from arguing with Strife to arguing with Hippolyta - I just found it impossible to follow the thread, the flow of conversation, why these characters said these things other than to talk.
There are characters that drop off, never to be heard from again (Strife and Apollo). There are lines of dialogue from characters not in a scene plastered over action pages. There are plotlines that seem to have no purpose - such as Diana listening to a rock band at a bar. People's powers aren't adequately explained. And the ending feels a bit odd - obviously, this is an ongoing series, so I don't expect full closure, but I still couldn't help a bit of confusion.
The artwork is a mixed bag. There is something about Chiang's work that is very dramatic and catchy - even if it isn't the most pleasant to look at. It is somewhat distracting to have Wonder Woman's or Hera's proportions change dramatically between panels. Akins seems to go for a more "classic" approach, while also doing a good job of blending Chiang's style (there is nothing more irritating than to read a graphic novel and see a jarring change of artists mid-trade paperback). But sometimes the characters look pretty darned goofy and cartoony.
Even though there were several things I didn't like (or was dubious about), I do think I liked Wonder Woman. She felt like a competent character, more than capable of protecting herself and those in her care. I know some didn't like the change to Wonder Woman's backstory, but I don't mind. Once I got the idea that Greek deities were going to showcase prominently, I had no trouble with it in fact. And I think this graphic novel did do a fairly good job setting up conflict for the rest of the series.
I don't regret reading this, but I probably wouldn't recommend to fellow Wonder Woman first-timers. I don't know if I'll continue reading this series; I'll probably wait to check out what others say first.
October 29, 2016
Update!! Full Review: http://www.bookishrealmreviews.com/20...
Okay so I may be alone in thinking this but I loveedddd this especially because it included mythology and if you know me than you know I'm a sucker for mythology. Loved the artwork and the plot and I can't wait to check out more of these from the library.
Okay so I may be alone in thinking this but I loveedddd this especially because it included mythology and if you know me than you know I'm a sucker for mythology. Loved the artwork and the plot and I can't wait to check out more of these from the library.
June 14, 2016
Primer cómic que leo de Wonder Woman y GODS, me ha encantado.
¡Dioses vengativos! ¡Amazonas! ¡Líos familiares! ¡¡¡¡¡¡Quiero más!!!!!!
¡Dioses vengativos! ¡Amazonas! ¡Líos familiares! ¡¡¡¡¡¡Quiero más!!!!!!
June 2, 2017
notes from re-read on jun 2017: still awesome! I hope I can finish the whole rune this time around.
this was my first Wonder Woman comic! I've always loved her character and this title does not disappoint! a lot of greek mythology happens which is always a plus. I can't wait to read volume two!
full review here: https://catshelf.wordpress.com/2015/1...
this was my first Wonder Woman comic! I've always loved her character and this title does not disappoint! a lot of greek mythology happens which is always a plus. I can't wait to read volume two!
full review here: https://catshelf.wordpress.com/2015/1...
October 26, 2022
I had a good time reading this fast-paced, fun Wonder Woman reboot. Azzarello does a good job streamlining WW's mythological continuity and decades of narrative development, but I can't help but think that the doesn't always do the story justice.
January 24, 2016
Fuck me, what a throwback to the old days of comics when the cover has NOTHING to do with the story.
Where's the solid wall of arrows blocking out the sun that Wonder Woman has to plow through?
Where's the gladiator-style combat?
How is it we have like 3 gods in the room at the same time and then they all just sort of leave without fucking shit up?
Why are the most badass characters in this centaurs? Nobody likes centaurs. All the jerk of a horse with none of the horse lips to cover in peanut butter like Mr. Ed.
Oh, and by the way, I totally get what people are talking about with unrealistic, high-bar expectations to live up to for women. Because Wonder Woman's hair is fucking amazing in this book. Like, unbelievable. I didn't even notice if there were gratuitous butt shots because I couldn't stop looking at her hair. If Wonder Woman was real, I would invent a shampoo company just to have her endorse it, because we would make billions. We'd say the secret ingredient was men's tears or something. Whatever. A portion of every bottle sold goes to benefit barren women who made babies out of clay that DIDN'T come to life. Which is MOST women who tried the clay baby thing. Which is like three people.
What I'm saying is, we make a mint and end up not needing to donate a whole lot.
The best part of this, Wonder Woman blows on a torch and turns it into a goddamn flamethrower that goes 50 feet or something. That was my favorite part of the book. I guess I'm 5.
Where's the solid wall of arrows blocking out the sun that Wonder Woman has to plow through?
Where's the gladiator-style combat?
How is it we have like 3 gods in the room at the same time and then they all just sort of leave without fucking shit up?
Why are the most badass characters in this centaurs? Nobody likes centaurs. All the jerk of a horse with none of the horse lips to cover in peanut butter like Mr. Ed.
Oh, and by the way, I totally get what people are talking about with unrealistic, high-bar expectations to live up to for women. Because Wonder Woman's hair is fucking amazing in this book. Like, unbelievable. I didn't even notice if there were gratuitous butt shots because I couldn't stop looking at her hair. If Wonder Woman was real, I would invent a shampoo company just to have her endorse it, because we would make billions. We'd say the secret ingredient was men's tears or something. Whatever. A portion of every bottle sold goes to benefit barren women who made babies out of clay that DIDN'T come to life. Which is MOST women who tried the clay baby thing. Which is like three people.
What I'm saying is, we make a mint and end up not needing to donate a whole lot.
The best part of this, Wonder Woman blows on a torch and turns it into a goddamn flamethrower that goes 50 feet or something. That was my favorite part of the book. I guess I'm 5.
October 19, 2017
I'm torn how to rate this. Given that I fell head over heels in love with the recent movie (I saw it in cinemas 3 times in as many weeks), I was expecting to adore this first volume and had been eyeing it up for months. But sadly in the end I just... didn't. Something didn't click, and I don't know if it was the storyline, or the fact they changed her origin story, or whether it was just that it felt a bit all over the place and didn't quite flow as I'd hoped.
Idk. Maybe like a 2.5/5
Idk. Maybe like a 2.5/5
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