TITLE: Wonder Woman #1
AUTHOR: Brian Azzarello
PENCILLER: Cliff Chiang
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASED: September 21, 2011

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

It’s tough to go wrong with Brian Azzarello. He’s had his share of misses, but you’re usually pretty safe with him. His take on Wonder Woman is no exception. Azzarello has called his version of the title a horror book, and this book certainly has horror tendencies.

In this issue we meet a woman from Virginia named Zola, a seemingly average woman being pursued by assassins. After she gains possession of a mystic key, she’s transported into Wonder Woman’s bedroom. The Amazon Princess promises to protect the woman, and escorts her back to her home. After Diana disposes of her attackers, we see that Hermes (the messenger of the gods in Greek mythology), who tried to warn Zola of the attack, has been mortally wounded. But he has one final message. Apparently, Zeus (the “father of the gods”) has big plans for Zola.

I’m not as into Wonder Woman as I am some of the other DC heroes. People always say Superman is tough to get behind because of how powerful and out-of-this-world he is, but I’ve always had that problem with Wonder Woman because her supporting cast is filled with gods and all that. In any event, you’ll certainly get behind her here. Azzarello doesn’t spend any time with exposition, he just tosses you right in with the basics: This is Wonder Woman, this is who she’s protecting. By keeping things fairly simple, Azzarello gives new readers a nice jumping on point.

Azzarello isn’t lying about the horror thing. In this issue we see a character decapitate a horse with a scythe. Moments later a humanoid figure actually crawls out of the horse’s decapitated body! Ewwwwww. Tack that on to our villains ghastly treatment of his female companions, and we get a book that’s unlike most Wonder Woman books we’ve seen before.

There was a bit of a debate going as to whether or not Wondie would be wearing her slightly controversial black pants for this issue. The character had them on the books original cover, but things have since been changed. As you can see, Diana has her spanks back, along with a top that’s a big more conservative. There was some talk back when the pants suit was added about how it was a bit more practical from a battle standpoint, how it kept her “parts” from falling out. Frankly, I think this is just as good. I’m all for keeping Wondie from looking like an Amazon hooker, but let’s not force her into a Hillary Clinton pantsuit either.

Brian Azzarello has gone on record saying that a change like this is something the character desperately needs. Based on his writing in this issue, combined with Cliff Chiang’s beautiful art, I’m inclined to believe him.

***

TITLE: Red Hood and The Outlaws #1
AUTHOR: Scott Lobdell
PENCILLER: Kenneth Rocafort
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASED: September 21, 2011

This issue pretty much confirms what’s been pretty obvious all along: Starfire is a ho.

Modern comic book artists LOVE to sex this character up, and given what she wears that’s not exactly an illogical step to make. But in this issue they take it a bit too far for my taste. In this book we learn that Kori has not only slept with Dick Grayson, she’s also recently slept with Jason Todd, who for all intents and purposes is Dick’s adopted brother. Then in the middle of this issue, she literally turns to Roy Harper and asks: “Do you want to have sex with me?” DUDE!!! The angle they’re going with here is that she has some sort of issue with her long term memory. Plus, Tamaraneans apparently don’t see sex as having anything to do with love. But still…DUDE!!!!

We kick the issue off with The Red Hood (Jason Todd) breaking Arsenal (Roy Harper) out of a Middle Eastern prison (he wound up there during a mission). He does this by dressing up in a fat suit and hiding a quiver in a fake Bible. Later, our three “heroes” are relaxing on a remote island when a mysterious being called Essence appears to Jason, asking him to help out a centuries old group called All Caste from some kind of menace called The Untitled. Jason heads to the Himalayas and finds some trouble. The teaser for the next issue reads: “To Be Explained.”

I really like the team of Jason and Roy. Their common ground as underachieving sidekicks makes for a nice combination. Heck, I’d be tempted to look at a team book with just the two of them. Still, the inclusion of Starfire certainly makes for an interesting wild card, slutty tendencies notwithstanding.

From a continuity standpoint, it appears that Starfire’s history with the New Teen Titans has remained at least partially intact. Roy mentions Cyborg and Beast Boy specifically, but gets no response. Also, Roy has both his organic arms, which hopefully means that the abomination known as Justice League: Cry For Justice has been erased from continuity.

Red Hood and The Outlaws wasn’t quite as good as I wanted it to be, but there’s definitely potential here. I might not come back to it next month, but I’ll certainly be keeping an eye on it.

***

TITLE: DC Universe Presents #1
AUTHOR: Paul Jenkins
PENCILLER: Bernard Chang
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASED: September 21, 2011

Now THIS is some good stuff. Paul Jenkins and Bernard Chang take advantage of all the attention Deadman has been getting since Brightest Day, to create a book with a lot of heart to it.

This issue gives us Deadman’s origin story, and then dives into his current dilemma. When he died, Boston Brand was given a second chance by the deity Rama Kushna. As a ghost, he can inhabit the bodies of humans, and is tasked with helping them through whatever issues they’re facing. But as of late, the lives Deadman has been sharing have become increasingly mundane, with problems that aren’t quite as simple. He finds himself at a loss for what to do. Thus, he does something drastic to get Rama Kushna’s attention, and get some control over an existence that has largely been out of his control.

This story definitely seems like it’s going to have some meat to it. I really enjoyed how Jenkins and Chang were able to get right to the core of this character. He was a bad person, he knows he was a bad person, and now he’s seeking enlightenment in his own way. I now know everything I need to know about Deadman, but Jenkins and Chang also started a solid story. That’s a pretty nice way to start a first issue.

Deadman’s been a pretty emotional guy lately. He was brought back to life, he fell in love, he died again, and now he’s about to come into conflict with the being that gave him a chance at redemption. All of this is fodder for great storytelling. I’m actually a bit sad that this first story arc is only five parts. The right creative team could probably do a whole series based on this character. This book is definitely one to watch.

Front page image from geekforcefive.com. Page from Wonder Woman #1 from mtv.com. Page from Red Hood and The Outlaws #1 from insidepulse.com.