Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Hell is a place that is reserved for the most evil, the most corrupt or those that have caused such monumental anguish to a fellow human being and it takes a great person to avoid its lure and perhaps aside from Faustus, only a daughter of Zeus might stand any chance of dealing with the realm.

For Wonder Woman, single handed the finest female creation in the D.C. Universe the reason she has to go to Hell is to return Zola, a mortal woman who is the latest in line to be carrying the father of the Gods’ child, back to realm of humanity and away from the lives of those who manipulate the lives of mortals for their own benefit or amusement.

Whilst the New 52 Wonder Woman in her own publication is not as vibrant or commanding as Geoff Johns or Ivan Reis’ version in Justice League, Brian Azzarello’s, Cliff Chiang’s and Tony Akins incarnation of the Amazonian princess is more in tune with the way that mythology would perceive her. Where a problem remains is that in Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis’ work for D.C. Wonder Woman is fully rounded well drawn character whose appetite for life is one of the Justice League’s greatest assets, in her own story she is understandably a warrior, a combatant of the highest order, she is susceptible to events that guide the heavens. Whereas the difference between a mortal woman and a daughter of Zeus would surely expect a little more from Wonder Woman, there are moments in which the reality of trust is awkwardly handled, that she has no way of besting those that cross her because they are simply men.

With the only way to release Zora is by marrying the King of the Underworld, Hades, the six issues that cover the second volume of Guts could have gone so much further in exploring the relationship between death as a construct or idea and the reality of decay. It is that reality that seems to be missing and lets down slightly an otherwise very decent story.

Wonder Woman remains one of the best titles for D.C Comics, especially considering the iconic feminine nature of the hero but it does deserve slightly more that what is occasionally offered.

Wonder Woman Volume 2: Guts, is available to purchase from Worlds Apart Liverpool.

Ian D. Hall