I have to be honest, this is my first issue of Wonder Woman since Gail Simone was writing the title in the previous DCU. At that time, I hated the issue. I have heard many great things about Azzarello's direction in the New 52, so I was interested in giving the title another try. I am glad I did because I was pleasantly surprised.
This is one of the situations where I really wish DC would adopt the summary page that Marvel uses for almost all of their titles. I had no clue who most of these characters were apart from First Born (who I had read about in the Villains Month solicitations for September), Wonder Woman of course, and Orion. Despite not being able to understand who most of the characters were, I had a great time reading this issue.
Cliff Chiang is one of the artists that I normally would not enjoy, but something about this style just grows on me quickly. I love it. It looks really simple, but then look at Diana's face on that cover, that shows a great ability to emote so the art appears simpler than it really is. Great stuff.
One of the new elements of the Wonder Woman universe that I absolutely love that was added in the New 52 are the New Gods. It makes sense that Wonder Woman being mythology-based to really tie her to the New Gods. It was a brilliant move.
The one criticism I could level at the issue is the spoilery cover. The moment when First Born holds open a Boom Tube with his bare hands is an awesome moment and it stinks they gave it away on the cover. Other than that minor quibble, I loved this issue and I am looking forward to reading more.
