Wonder Woman #3

Writer: Brian Azzarello
Artist: Cliff Chiang

The biggest problem creators seem to have with Wonder Woman is the struggle to combine a strong presentation of her, her origins, and her ongoing heroic career. For instance: Gail Simone started out her run by revisiting Diana's origins, presenting a previously-unknown faction of Amazons who'd declared vengeance on the prepackaged savior, but quickly degenerated into generic tales that did nothing to explain why Wonder Woman should be relevant to readers. Joe Straczynski's much-hyped "Odyssey" cleverly revisited her training period, but eventually muddled it by forgetting when to advance the story. Greg Rucka got to make her controversial, and several creators after him ran with that idea, but none of them stuck around long enough for it to matter.

Azzarello has gone back to the idea of character by making Diana stick out from the rest of the Amazons, making her stand up for herself, and actually having her reject Paradise Island by her own choice. By making her a self-professed exile, he may have finally figured out what it takes to make Wonder Woman stand for something, by representing herself first and foremost. Chiang's art reflects a Greek influence more than the traditional comic book style, taking the edge off the traditional quasi-sexual look Wonder Woman normally sports.

In short, another winner of the "New 52."