Review: Wonder Woman Vol. 4- War

Quick Summary

Pros: The story here is exciting and has some great emotions woven through it. The conclusion sets up an interesting premise for the next volume. The family aspect of the series is still great. Nearly every page looks beautiful.

Cons: Small aspects of the conclusion seem out of place.

Overall: This volume proves that the Wonder Woman series still has plenty to offer. It provides satisfactory continuations to previous plot points, introduces new ones, and looks fantastic while doing so. Overall, the narrative here is captivating and exciting, yet it always feels like there is more to be uncovered in the future. Everyone who has been enjoying this series should read this book, and everyone else should consider reading the rest of the series to get to this book.

Story

Wonder Woman Vol. 4: War, by Brian Azzarello, is a great continuation to the ongoing adventures of Wonder Woman. It takes the plotlines introduced in the previous volumes and begins seriously addressing some of the major points, resolving some of them and further developing others. Family also continues to be a central aspect of the series. The family focus allows for some heartwarming and touching moments to unfold, all of which will be rewarding to longtime readers. In the end, War is enjoyable in the present while retaining the promise of future success in subsequent volumes.

(spoilers start here)

War starts by streamlining all of the plotlines that the previous volume laid out. The First Born storyline takes center stage and gives the book the bulk of its excitement, while the Apollo storyline develops further in the background. The renewed focus leads to an epic clash between Wonder Woman’s forces and the forces of the First Born. Each encounter is exciting and tense, factors that are further elaborated by Cliff Chiang’s artwork (discussed below).

These battles aren’t just flash without substance, as they also get pretty emotional. Lennox’s sacrifice was unexpected but was a great way to show how far he was willing to go for his newfound family. Meanwhile, War’s sacrifice was more thoroughly foreshadowed and felt like a momentous development for this series. It showcased War’s love for his niece and also demonstrated how much he believes in her. Both events give the battles taking place across this comic more meaning and will definitely play a part in pushing it into the future.

War also sees the continued development of the misfit family that has slowly been gathering around Wonder Woman. In this book, Hera and Zola seem to truly care for one another, when they previously were ready to kill each other, and Orion betrays his own father in order to help the gang out. In general, this volume does a great job in continuing the family element that has been so important to this series.

The only odd part, in this volume, is Wonder Woman’s decision to do nothing with the First Born after he was defeated in battle. Her reason for not killing him made sense, but her decision not to take him prisoner or at least keep an eye on him somehow seems to have been made solely to advance the plot.

(spoilers end here)

Art

Like the previous few volumes, War benefits immensely from Cliff Chiang skillful approach to art. Character designs are beautiful, the scenery is impressive, and the entire effect of the visuals in this book is positive. However, here specifically, Chiang’s structures assist with the storytelling in a noticeable fashion. The panels in this book flow into one another in a way that feels completely natural and smooths the reading experience. They also help the story build suspense and detail action in ways that are very satisfying. Overall, the artwork in this collection is a huge positive and is something that makes this book even more captivating.

Continuity

Wonder Woman Vol. 4: War continues the story from Wonder Woman Vol. 3: Iron (Review).

The story here continues in Wonder Woman Vol. 5: Flesh (Review).