Thereâs been a weird quirk about Brian Azzarelloâs writing assignments for DC Comics: the less the super the hero, the more powerful his writingâs been. Best known for his decade-long crime masterpiece 100 Bullets at the publisherâs Vertigo imprint, Azzarelloâs also tried his hand at in its caped crimefighter universe, too. While his grittier sensibility meshed has well with Batman, his run at Superman felt like a square peg trying to fly through a round hole.
So, when Azzarello was announced as the writer for the New 52 reboot of Wonder Woman, some wondered how heâd approach the most recognizable female superhero around. Whatâs happened is that the Cleveland nativeâs brought everything down to earth, including the Olympian deities whence Wonder Womanâs roots spring. The Greco-Roman pantheonâs always been one full of the foibles and failings of humans but Azzarello makes their betrayals, devotions, heartbreaks and power games feel more relatable than ever. The updated soap opera of immortals gets blended with a subtext of horror and submission swirling through everything, too.
As for the lead character, Azzarelloâs transformed Princess Diana of Themyscira into an Amazonian equivalent of a twentysomething young adult striking out on her own. Thereâs finding out your parents arenât who you thought they were, leaving home and losing yourself to a new world. Despite the drama in Dianaâs own life, an innocent womanâwho happens to have been impregnated by Zeusâwho still needs defending. This preview of next weekâs Wonder Woman #5 show more of the mythological sphere colliding with the human world. But the predators may not necessarily be who you think. Click on the pages below to preview the first five pages of the next issue of one of the best superhero comics being made to day. Itâll be out this Wednesday in comics shops and digital comics storefronts everywhere. Click each page for a larger version.
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