(COMIC) 4-SENTENCE REVIEWS! #2

4-Sentence Reviews come about when I've gotten lazy or something unavoidable comes up and I'm not able to cover all the regularly scheduled issues for the past week. These reviews cover normally-reviewed issues of the comics I read each week, but condense the information down to four sentences. Enjoy!

Wonder Woman #9

STORY: Brian Azzarello

ART: Tony Akins and Dan Green

Diana is engaged to Hades and she's actually pretty alright with the whole situation, at least, that's what Brian Azzarello would like us to believe. Now that Zola is out of Hell, the other gods - Hermes, Apollo, and Hephaestus - have to figure out a way to rescue the Amazonian princess, even if it means going straight back into the Underworld! Azzarello and Tony Akins have a good, minimalistic rhythm that only gives out crucial information, and only when you need it. While some might criticize the book as 'slow moving' or 'too simple', Wonder Woman is actually doing a fantastic job reinventing a character who became stale back in the 1970s.

GRADE: B+

Superman #9

STORY: Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens

ART: Jesus Marino

Ol' Supes has been thrown around quite a bit in his eponymous title, and it's just getting worse in Superman #9, which sees the Man of Steel up against Anguish, a villainess who can touch but not be touched - basically, she's immaterial when she wants to be. Meanwhile, an obsessed blogger named Victor Barnes is out to reveal Superman's identity through deduction and circumstance. Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens are doing a great job setting up narratives that have the potential to carry on for years to come. Overall, Superman hasn't been an essential read in the 'New 52' thus far, but it's looking to become one with these more intricate plots and build-ups for bigger things in the future.

GRADE: B

(REVIEW) Wonder Woman #6

Written by Brian Azzarello

Artwork by Tony Akins and Dan Green

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Brian Azzarello has been delivering fantastic work in Wonder Woman month after month. This 'New 52' reinterpretation of Diana as a demi-god has been a huge boon for storytelling ideas. Azzarello's unconventional take on the gods of Greek myth have been extremely interesting, and coupled with Tony Akins' incredible artwork, this book has been great. This month's meeting of gods is quite impressive, not only from a visual standpoint, but a narrative one as well. Poseidon's massive presence mirrors his domain and wrath, while Hades' eyes are obscured and he prefers to be called 'Hell'.

Diana presents an offer to both Poseidon and Hades; share Kingship on Mount Olympus with Hera as their shared Queen. While both scoff at the idea of sharing a queen, they both also very much want to rule Olympus. When Hera arrives to defend herself from all parties involved, Diana steals a candle from Hades' wax-helmet-thing in an attempt to trap Hera. It's here that Azzarello reveals that Diana's 'plan' to keep Hera on Olympus was merely a cover for the real goal. While Poseidon finds the deceit somewhat humorous, the vengeful Hades is not amused and kidnaps Zola.

While a plot twist like this might be hard to pull off, Azzarello's narrative is smooth, easy to understand and compelling. In Wonder Woman, it comes down to the minor details that really sell the story; Hermes explains how the concept of imagination is nothing more than beings attempting to understand that which they do not; Lennox's off-handed "God a'mighty" causing all three present gods to respond, "Yes?"

GRADE:

A