Heretical Jargon

Written by: Brian Azzarello

“Pull out the stopper! Let’s have a whopper! But get me to the church on time! “ Wonder Woman struts her stuff in a lovely blood red dress, looking her best for the king of death.  But as any good story should do, a monkey wrench wriggles its way into the works, and Hades asks Diana to prove her love to him.  No noose is good noose I’m afraid!

The only sad part about this book is the very little page time Wondy has – only seven pages!  The other side of the story is good though; Hades has invited as many “friends” as he can, but the invitees either don’t want to attend, or can’t.  War is propositioned by Strife to attend as her date, but he cares very little for these “meaningless” nuptials, and Aphrodite couldn’t go even if she wanted to…apparently Hell has no room for love in it.   Which is proven by Hades’ proclamation of his inability to love anyone or anything.  Meanwhile, the Wonder Woman rescue squad, led by Hephaestus, (who’s married to Aphrodite?  Lucky oger!) finds their way to the halls of love, constructed out of the souls of the damned.

And I’m pooped!

This issue is weighty with very little opportunity to rest; a plethora of demons and monsters, along with the conglomeration of demi-gods and regular gods, clutter this book up excellently.  This is a mythological tale at it’s best!  Mosters going at it with a false/misguided sense of religious devotion to a loveless being, and mortals trying to slay the beast!  All the while the story’s protagonist attempts at subtly appealing to the villains human side.  It seems ludicrous that Wonder Woman would think she could appeal to a creature without a heart, but then again, it’s equally as ludicrous for Hades to even consider the fact that Wonder Woman could indeed TRULY love him.  But I guess that’s where the story’s core lies and what will hopefully be revealed by next issue.  In other words….is Wonder Woman good at faking it enough to fool even her OWN lasso of truth?

Azzarello continues to remind me why he’s one of my favorites comic book writers.  There’s so much meat to his stories that keeps you locked in and unable to walk away.  I did feel, however, that, at least twice, the book was trying too hard to get to a punch line rather than continuing to keep the story flowing smoothly.  However these are minor set backs that don’t take away from the bigger picture.

This is, no doubt, not your grandparent’s Wonder Woman.  While she still remains as honorable and classy as Wonder Woman should be, Azzarello has created a rebooted Amazonian princess that defies all boundaries and dares to be innovative and different.  Granted, this was a risky move, but it’s one that’ll stand the test of time.  Unlike Thor, Azzarello integrates all of the classic Greek  characters into the DC universe without bastardizing the mythology. And in issue #9, we see just how well Wonder Woman works in stories with the Gods of old.

And how creepy is Hades with his boyish face sitting upon his father’s lap, who’s positioned and shackled down to make a throne. Chronos certainly had no idea what he was getting himself into when birthing Hades.  Much thanks goes out Tony Akins and Matt Wilson for visualizing such a beautiful display of filth and terror.  Persephone was never a character I viewed as being worn down, both mentally and physically, due to her time with hades.  However, her conversation with Wonder Woman leaves goose bumps running up and down my spine…oh those eyes, how creepy!!!

This title however, as it is currently, isn’t for everyone. Brian Azzarello has always been a writer who brings in a 50/50 percentage vote…you either like him, or you hate him.  I’ve always enjoyed his stories, and his work on Wonder Woman right now is worth it’s weight in blood!

10 out of 10 stars