The book starts with Apollo in Singapore, on a top floor luxury suite, with three young beauties . He is after all "the sun of a king." As a God of Prophesy, he uses the women as his Oracles to see the future. Meanwhile on a Virginia farmstead, a woman, dressed in a cloak of peacock feathers, (the Goddess Hera?), slaughters horses and they regenerate as two evil centaurs. Hermes appears in the farmhouse to warn a petite young blond woman called Zola. That assassins (the centaurs) are out to get her. He saves her from a flying arrow but gets hit and has to give her a key to get the hell out the house. She appears in a room in London. Diana ,our Wonder Woman, who willing helps her because Diana recognizes the key. They end up back at the farmhouse together and Diana battles the two centaurs and manages to get them to retreat. A badly injured Hermes (possibly dying) tells Diana that she needs to take Zola and run. Why? Zola is pregnant with none other than Zeus' seed. Apollo finds out Zeus is possibly up to no good and he is setting up one of his unborn children (Zola's child?) to kill another. Apollo's fiery aura disintegrates his Oracles.
Wow. This book was handled with a light and deft hand. No long winded exposition but enough to know and understand what is going on. The Gods are all different, some plain self indulgent, some brutal, some kind and each has his/her own agenda. Why it's all happening is the mystery. The Gods are all nicely updated. Yeah, no togas but really thoughtful designs but keeping the mythical feel. Diana is the Diana we love. She is in control, she is clearly a warrior, she shows signs of compassion and shrewdness. There is no inner monologue from her that can at times feel so heavy handed by other writers of Wonder Woman . Her actions, her expressions speak for her. She is tall and beautifully drawn and she has that exotic , regal aura. She is an Amazon warrior princess. Zola is diminutive and almost childlike looking. There is a creepy atmosphere captured on the farmstead, yeah...like a horror movie..Azzarello kind knows what he was talking about. The action sequences were top notch and I think one really wants to know what happens next. If I had to critique, it was too short. But we leaving wondering with interest and excitement. What is Zeus up to? How did he even impregnate Zola? Is that Hera and what does she want? Will Hermes live?Why is Diana in London? What is Apollo going to do?
Cliff Chiang's art is almost surreal, dreamy and creepy at the same time. 5 out of 5 stars.
Best Panel. I could have gone with the fighting but I like this simple one. It says who our heroine is.
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