Post by ryokowerx on Sept 27, 2011 14:59:44 GMT -5
(cross-posted from my Facebook account. I hadn't originally intended on picking up all the new #1s but the 50% off deal at DCBS turned out to be too good to pass up. Feel free to discuss, agree or disagree)
So what the hell is this? I'm going to try to write a review of each of the new #1 issues put out by DC Comics. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, DC Comics (home of Superman, Batman, etc.) is completely restarting most* of the history they have established with their comic books since 1939. (* some continuity remains but all events that remain are considered to have happened within a five year span of time) If you're still confused, think of it as everything being set back to square one and all these superheroes are new things to show up rather than a given part of the world.
Anything I say from this point on is my opinion and reflects only my feelings. Please take your nerd rage elsewhere if you disagree or at least be civil in your disagreement.
NOTE: I have not read Flashpoint #5 which kicks off this new history so I'm going to try to approach these issues as if someone completely new to comics were picking them up for the first time. If you're interested in what I have to say, I'd encourage you to go to your local comic book shop (if you have one) or you can buy them digitally at Comixology (http://www.comixology.com).
PLOT SUMMARY:
In Singapore, a mysterious man at the top of a skyscraper turns three women into his oracles. In Virginia, a naked woman wearing a peacock feather cloak decapitates two horses in a barn and bodies begin to emerge from the severed necks. Inside the farmhouse, a strange man sees what is going on and warns the woman that has him a gunpoint, Zola, that they have to leave. She refuses just as a arrow shot from two centaurs who bust through the front door hits the man. As he is going down, he throws her a key which magically sends her into Princess Diana's apartment in London. They both use the key to get back to Virginia in time to stop the centaur's torture of the man. Wonder Woman kills both centaurs and rushes to aid the man who is the dying god, Hermes. He warns Diana the Zola is pregnant with Zeus's child and that Hera wants her dead. Back in Singapore, the mysterious man gets a final vision from his oracles before he incinerates them.
THE ART:
Cliff Chiang does the art and it is really really good. It's a odd mix between being simple and expressive. It reminds me a good bit of the work on Grecian urns which is appropriate in this case. The mix between this style and some of the horror elements of the story come across as disconcerting in which it's strangeness and contrast is a benefit.
THE STORY:
I'll confess that I never was a Brian Azzarello fan. His work on the DC First Wave pulp heroes was awful and someone needs to clarify to him the difference between pulp and noir. But I digress. Here it works for me. He has taken some of the horrific elements of the original mythology and manifested it into the modern world to pretty creepy effect. The Gods are not to be trusted and humanity is a plaything to them or a battleground to practice their ages old power plays. Basically, Diana has been tossed in with the sharks and will have to tread lightly to avoid the wraith of Hera and the gods aligned with her while protecting Zola from the various assassins that is being sent after her to prevent a demi-god from being born. It's all pretty cool stuff going on here.
VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY:
Wonder Woman is one of the third week's strongest offerings and is still a standard $2.99 book. I like the direction the story is going and, while I'm not crazy about about the art, I think I can get used to the illustration style. I'm especially happy to see the inclusion of the darker edge to mythology and some of the horror elements derived from that. There are all kinds of tales that can mined for story ideas. It's a fertile ground for stories to use and to mine for plot elements. I'll be back for issue #2 for sure.
NEXT WEEK:
Birds of Prey #1, Blue Beetle #1, DC Universe Presents #1, Green Lantern Corps #1, and Nightwing #1
WONDER WOMAN #1
So what the hell is this? I'm going to try to write a review of each of the new #1 issues put out by DC Comics. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, DC Comics (home of Superman, Batman, etc.) is completely restarting most* of the history they have established with their comic books since 1939. (* some continuity remains but all events that remain are considered to have happened within a five year span of time) If you're still confused, think of it as everything being set back to square one and all these superheroes are new things to show up rather than a given part of the world.
Anything I say from this point on is my opinion and reflects only my feelings. Please take your nerd rage elsewhere if you disagree or at least be civil in your disagreement.
NOTE: I have not read Flashpoint #5 which kicks off this new history so I'm going to try to approach these issues as if someone completely new to comics were picking them up for the first time. If you're interested in what I have to say, I'd encourage you to go to your local comic book shop (if you have one) or you can buy them digitally at Comixology (http://www.comixology.com).
WARNING! SPOILERS OFF THE PORT BOW CAP'N!
PLOT SUMMARY:
In Singapore, a mysterious man at the top of a skyscraper turns three women into his oracles. In Virginia, a naked woman wearing a peacock feather cloak decapitates two horses in a barn and bodies begin to emerge from the severed necks. Inside the farmhouse, a strange man sees what is going on and warns the woman that has him a gunpoint, Zola, that they have to leave. She refuses just as a arrow shot from two centaurs who bust through the front door hits the man. As he is going down, he throws her a key which magically sends her into Princess Diana's apartment in London. They both use the key to get back to Virginia in time to stop the centaur's torture of the man. Wonder Woman kills both centaurs and rushes to aid the man who is the dying god, Hermes. He warns Diana the Zola is pregnant with Zeus's child and that Hera wants her dead. Back in Singapore, the mysterious man gets a final vision from his oracles before he incinerates them.
THE ART:
Cliff Chiang does the art and it is really really good. It's a odd mix between being simple and expressive. It reminds me a good bit of the work on Grecian urns which is appropriate in this case. The mix between this style and some of the horror elements of the story come across as disconcerting in which it's strangeness and contrast is a benefit.
THE STORY:
I'll confess that I never was a Brian Azzarello fan. His work on the DC First Wave pulp heroes was awful and someone needs to clarify to him the difference between pulp and noir. But I digress. Here it works for me. He has taken some of the horrific elements of the original mythology and manifested it into the modern world to pretty creepy effect. The Gods are not to be trusted and humanity is a plaything to them or a battleground to practice their ages old power plays. Basically, Diana has been tossed in with the sharks and will have to tread lightly to avoid the wraith of Hera and the gods aligned with her while protecting Zola from the various assassins that is being sent after her to prevent a demi-god from being born. It's all pretty cool stuff going on here.
VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY:
Wonder Woman is one of the third week's strongest offerings and is still a standard $2.99 book. I like the direction the story is going and, while I'm not crazy about about the art, I think I can get used to the illustration style. I'm especially happy to see the inclusion of the darker edge to mythology and some of the horror elements derived from that. There are all kinds of tales that can mined for story ideas. It's a fertile ground for stories to use and to mine for plot elements. I'll be back for issue #2 for sure.
NEXT WEEK:
Birds of Prey #1, Blue Beetle #1, DC Universe Presents #1, Green Lantern Corps #1, and Nightwing #1
