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WONDER WOMAN #18

• “The Queen of Roots”

• We’ve seen the history Wonder Woman shares with Ares — but what does the God of War have planned for her future?

Story by Brian Azzarello
Art by Goran Sudzuka, Cliff Chiang, Tony Akins, & Dan Green
Colors by Matthew Wilson
Letters by Jared K. Fletcher
Cover by Cliff Chiang

Price: $2.99
iFanboy Community Pick of the Week Percentage: 0.4%

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  1. Avatar photo Doug Jarvis (@) says:
    March 18, 2013 at 8:40 pm

    Cliff Chiang is my favourite Wonder Woman artist. He doesn’t draw her overtly sexy. Strong, and powerful, but still hot. Love it.

  2. Avatar photo sitara119 says:
    March 19, 2013 at 12:38 am

    Goran who?

  3. Avatar photo WheelHands says:
    March 19, 2013 at 9:13 am

    Is 18 issues long enough to call this a defining run? Even if it’s still in the process of defining?

    If anyone ever asks me where to start on Wonder Woman, Azzarello’s run will be my one and only answer. Of all the times I’ve tried to read a WW monthly over the past 20+ years, this is the only one that’s kept me on board for this long.

    I love this book.

    • Avatar photo KenOchalek says:
      March 19, 2013 at 9:23 am

      Yeah, I think so. Matt Fraction’s and David Aja’s Hawkeye as well as their Immortal Iron Fist (with Ed Brubaker) are both defining runs that are shorter than this.

      Hell, Batman Year One was only four issues, right?

      But I’m not sure duration or even quality of a run is the most important characteristic in describing a run as “defining.”

      I think the thing that makes a run defining is if it influences the way the character is portrayed in the hands of other creators. That’s where I think the jury is still out on Wonder Woman (and Hawkeye for that matter). While the Wonder Woman book itself is fantastic, from what I hear (I don’t read Justice League) we don’t see this characterization of Diana anywhere else in the DCU.

    • Avatar photo WheelHands says:
      March 19, 2013 at 11:24 am

      Excellent points all around. Perhaps “defining” was the wrong term. “Essential”? “Seminal”? “Only good run ever”? I dunno. My point is that I know have a collection to point to if someone should ask, and that’s a wonderful thing.

      You’re right though. None of the other creators (including artists) seem to be taking their cues from Azzarello and Chiang’s characterization. In fact, I’d venture to say that Diana is less interesting and less unique in her other appearances than she was before the reboot. Which is strange and unfortunate. In Justice League for instance, she seems less regal and is drawn using a generic superheroine T&A template, which is something I never could understand.

    • Avatar photo misterckent says:
      March 19, 2013 at 1:57 pm

      There was a Wonder Woman 101 sale on Comixology that was super helpful for me. I picked up all the George Perez stories. They were pretty amazing as well. That might be just as essential. It, too, looped in the Pantheon of Gods. Just very differently.

    • Avatar photo adrianrigter says:
      March 19, 2013 at 5:14 pm

      In the modern age, Perez, Rucka & Simone have all done excellent work with WW, i really just think the New52 has put more eyeballs on her book and some people (not necessarily anyone here) talk like she’s never had a quality writer/run. Rucka’s The Hiketeia. Simone’s The Circle. Perez’s first few trades.

    • Avatar photo WheelHands says:
      March 19, 2013 at 5:16 pm

      @kent: Good call. The Perez run was fantastic.

    • Avatar photo WheelHands says:
      March 19, 2013 at 5:25 pm

      @adrian: Hikiteia was another good story, if all too brief. Simone’s run had me really excited, but seemed to struggle with keeping my interest. Maybe it’s worthy of another shot on my part.

      I was mostly joking when I said that this is the only good run ever. It’s certainly not. And while I agree that the reboot may have put more new eyes on the book, I think the quality of work is what stands out. One of the few great things the reboot provided was a chance to start fresh for some titles that have always struggled, and in my opinion this is one of the few books that capitalized on the concept. This is the WW story I never knew I always wanted to read, and as Ken mentioned above, it’d be nice if some of the other books Diana appears in fell in line with it.

  4. Avatar photo wangman31888 says:
    March 19, 2013 at 10:14 am

    AHH creepy baby eyes!

  5. Avatar photo TomiH says:
    March 20, 2013 at 5:13 pm

    The last page was quite funny. I’m still enjoying this series quite a bit. Top 5 DC books for sure.

  6. flapjaxx says:
    March 20, 2013 at 9:06 pm

    To me, people calling this the best WW run ever are like those who called Hickman’s F4 the best run in the history of that franchise. These recent runs are really, really great and the best thing in recent memory, but I have to think that people just must be unfamiliar with the pre-1990 greatness of Byrne’s FF (to say nothing of Lee and Kirby’s) and, in this case, Perez’s WW. When I was getting into comics, Perez’s WW was spoken of as a seminal classic, the WW equivalent of Batman: Year One in terms of quality and modern influence. I’m not sure why this run is hardly ever mentioned anymore. Maybe DC didn’t reprint it enough?

    I also thought John Byrne’s WW run in the mid-’90s was quite good as well. I didn’t stick with it, and I think the quality did decline. But the first year or so of issues is definitely worth checking out. And in recent memory, in addition to Rucka and Simone, I’d say that Allan Heinberg and Terry Dodson did a great (if brief) series of issues about 5-6 years ago. It was very nice stuff!

    Regardless, Azzarello’s run is head and neck (if not quite shoulders) above everything else post-Perez. I thought it lost its footing a few months ago, but rereading it all again makes it clear that the series is still top-notch. Probably my favorite DC title except for Batman Inc. And when the latter series is finished, Wonder Woman will become my favorite DC title. Never thought I’d see the day!

  7. Avatar photo I-Doll says:
    March 20, 2013 at 10:37 pm

    I’ve loved Wonder Woman, since I was three years old. Watched the 1970s tv show obsessively as a kid. Rucka and Simone brought me into reading WW in comics, with utter delight.

    And while I love Chiang’s designs and art, I can’t stomach Azzarello writing my favorite superhero anymore. He’s destroyed and gotten rid of the Amazons, including her Mom. No Etta Candy either.

    All the time, some male character is giving WW a weapon, teaching her how to fight (apparently the Amazons didn’t do it that well), and after the first few issues, the men get to do more rescuing and plotting than she does. She’s back story to her own story.

    And why did he make Orion such a jerk?

    I’m tempted to literally tear up the most recent issue.

    • Avatar photo adrianrigter says:
      March 21, 2013 at 2:09 am

      The Amazons are not dead, just on hold. Etta Candy (or at least someone with her name) was in Justice League a while back. The god of war seems an appropriate tutor for combat to me. And Orion was always a jerk:)

      All the previous Wonder Woman warm fuzzies will be back with the next writer i’m sure. I’m personally loving this run.

      And don’t tear up the comic, give it to someone else and see what they think of it.

  8. Avatar photo ghostmann says:
    March 20, 2013 at 11:16 pm

    Solid

  9. Avatar photo BradLWoods3 says:
    March 21, 2013 at 3:24 am

    The grand mythology continues! Lots of action in this issue… and lots of artists. But somehow they all come together as a cohesive whole and the tone is consistent and appropriate throughout. I love this series, it continues to be one of the most fun titles in DC’s New 52.

  10. Avatar photo HolidayHaley says:
    March 21, 2013 at 3:08 pm

    Goran Sudžuka’s art really fits this book. I hope we see more of him.

  11. Avatar photo stasisbal says:
    March 21, 2013 at 10:58 pm

    This is the most I’ve seen Wonder Woman suffer from fill-in art and multiple artists in one issue. Typically Akins just tags in for frequent issues and it still looks good. But it looked decent overall and the story is still great.

  12. Avatar photo consafo80 (@consafo80) says:
    March 24, 2013 at 4:22 pm

    Loving this book. And a suprisingly nice ending. Loving the New 52 Orion.

  13. Avatar photo sitara119 says:
    March 24, 2013 at 10:25 pm

    not too crazy for Sudzuka’s work. maybe it could grow on me. i don’t know.
    the story is consistently creative and fresh. this could be Azzarello’s masterpiece.
    i wonder when we’ll see WW’s power bracelets that create swords in JL. it’s a really cool idea that has not been capitalized on in the rest of the DCU.

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