Wonder Woman Vol 3: Iron by Brian Azzarello

Wonder Woman Vol. 3: Iron (The New 52)

This book was graciously given to me by DC Comics through NetGalley for an honest review. I am more than happy to review DC’s books because when it comes to comic books I am clearly a DC fan. I have enjoyed quite a few books by other publishers and I don’t limit myself, DC just seems to have the best writing and art work in my opinion. All of my favorite superheroes are DC characters and I enjoy reading all the different stories and crossover events. Wonder Woman may not be on the top of my list but I have really liked reading her story in the past.

This is actually my first time reading Wonder Woman since the New 52 started, so I might be missing some information. Still this book is pretty good at telling a story and I didn’t feel left out or confused. I was able to enjoy this even though I am just starting out.  This book opens up with an old style story of Wonder Woman as a teenager. She is desperate to be the best Amazon warrior and stumbles across Ares the god of War. He then becomes her trainer determined to make Wonder Woman his greatest achievement. I liked the little history of Wonder Woman interludes. Even in Vol. 3 the writers are still trying to flesh out her character. This to me shows they want to establish Wonder Woman as strongly as other heroes like Superman, and Batman who have long detailed back stories.

This book deals heavily with Greek Mythology in a sense that it is full of different Gods and their Demi God offspring. So I never read much of Wonder Woman until Infinate Crisis struck years ago, but I don’t remember so many gods being involved in those stories. Wonder Woman is trying to return a friend’s baby who was taken by Hermes. This particular child is foretold to bring the end of time. Because of this fact one of the New Gods, Orion, from Apocalypse travels to earth to kill the child and save humanity. When he finds out the child is just a baby he then helps Wonder Woman on her search.

There is a side story going on through all of this, and here is where I might be missing some info. The first Child of Zeus is buried under the ice in the Arctic and found by explorers. He is released from his icy prison and he sets out to find his strength and armor. Could this be the child of Zeus that will end time itself? Not a bad story, but I did have a few issues with this book. The story telling was good, I like Brian Azzarello’s writing, and the art work was pretty good as well. I just wish there was more action. When I read a comic I enjoy the story, and can really appreciate the artwork, but I am also looking for some good action sequences and how well those advance the story. I just wanted more from this story.

I guess the real question here is, was this enough to make me want to read more? Yes, I will try to get a hold of Volumes 1 and 2 and try to fill in gaps I might have, and I want to see what is coming next. This book does seem to wrap up the main story quite well, but there is more that pulls you in to what’s next. This was a decent read and I am glad I requested this. I’d say a solid 3 out of 5 stars.