Broken Frontier

Wonder Woman survives a change in artist and the fury of Poseidon.

Wonder Woman’s sporting the most peculiar supporting cast in recent memory: a wounded Hermes who wears sports sunglasses, a young woman named Zola who was impregnated by Zeus (making the child Wonder Woman's half-brother), and a fast-talking fellow named Lennox who has some mysterious godly heritage himself. They make for good companions because they are inherently linked to Wonder Woman, plus they always seem to need saving. From what? Well, Brian Azzarello has crafted his take on Wonder Woman into one of horror, and while the first arc played up the suspense angle, this one goes right for the monsters.

Sadly missed on this issue is Cliff Chiang, who did an amazing job on the first four issues. Replacement artist Tony Akins has a similar style, but his pencils lack the appropriate grounded quality for this fantastical tale set in the middle of London. Everyone’s eyes are borderline Disney character-esque, while the supposedly imposing monsters fall flat. The design for the humongous Poseidon made up of several sea creature attributes was incredibly ambitious, but perhaps too ambitious because the image fails to stir up any fear or awe. Speaking of Disney, the design of Hades looks like a gothic version of Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast. There was great creative vision in these designs, but poor execution.