For a myriad of reasons, it’s tough to find a great Wonder Woman comic book storyline run.
You get lots of them with Batman and Superman and Flash and Legion of Superheroes and Justice League and so many other great characters and superhero team-ups. But with Wonder Woman, it’s all shoulder shrugs. There are reasons for this, but I’ll save that discussion for another time.
For me, the character’s greatest run might very well be the one under writer/artist George Perez in the late 1980’s.
And now this, more recent one, under Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang.
But all good things…all good things!
Wonder Woman #35
Written by: Brian Azzarello
Illustrated by: Cliff Chiang
Published by: DC Comics
Three years ago (has it been that long already?), DC Comics re-launched every comic book title they were publishing under the New52 moniker. If I paint it with a large brush, every title kind of shared the same universe where an action in one title should have a repercussion in another. Most, but not all, of the titles had nothing to do with their old history (or storylines), pre New52.
It can be said that the stronger titles, story wise, were the ones that were left to their own devices and not burdened by crossovers. Wonder Woman, written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Cliff Chiang (for almost the entire three year run) was one of those titles.
Here was a new Wonder Woman, with a mythology that firmly intertwined Amazons and the Greek pantheon of Gods, and, of course, their effect on mankind. Despite the sizable threats, “superheroes” other than Wonder Woman, were nowhere to be found.
And that made Wonder Woman great.
Here was a monthly comic book series that had room to breathe, where Wonder Woman could make mistakes, err in judgment, and find herself and her role in the world whilst protecting the baby of a human woman – and not be encumbered by other writers (and editors) “blockbuster” storylines. As readers, we discovered Wonder Woman as she discovered herself: first as a warrior princess, then as a divine protector, the God of War, and finally, an emissary of love.
It’s been a special story that will certainly go down as one of the most long-standing, and best, Wonder Woman storylines ever told. And issue #35, out today, is the final chapter. Next month, a new creative team will take over and Wonder Woman will take a new direction.
Today, however, make the run to you local comic book shop and pick up Wonder Woman #35, the bookend to a special series about a special character that deserved a special story – and finally got her due.
