WONDER WOMAN: DEAD EARTH #1
Writer/Artist: Daniel Warren Johnson
Colorist: Mike Spicer
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: DC
Rating: 10/10
Daniel Warren Johnson... now that is how you do a fucking badass Wonder Woman comic.
While I love the character of Wonder Woman, it's hard for me to really name to many stories that I've loved. While I like the Greg Rucka and Brian Azzarello runs, I've just never realty found that run/story that made say "WOW I love this book. Well I can now happily say I've found it and it's all thanks to Daniel Warren Johnson. When this book was announced, I almost couldn't believe my eyes, I thought it was fake. DC was going to let DWJ do his own post apocalyptic take on WW??? Well they did and what was created from this unlikely union is one of the most metal and batshit crazy books DC has ever published.
The book is obviously about Diana, but we mainly see this story through the eyes of human survivors. These human scavengers have to traverse this wasteland full of monsters to gather supplies to bring to their local warlord, just so they can get their rations to survive. It's while on when of their supply runs that they land on a capsule that contained Diana. From here the madness ensues. While the deck is stacked against them, with the world full of monsters and madman, they haven't met the likes of this Amazon warrior. Diana can't believe her eyes when she sees what this world has become. One of the coolest parts of this "resurrection" in the cave where she's found, is that it happens to be the Batcave. Just wait to see what became of the Dark Knight
As Diana joins this crew of scavengers, she's quickly betrayed and brought to the warlord. After she turns down his less than "romantic" advances she's thrown into a coliseum like arena where she's forced to fight. What proceeds has to be one of the bloodiest and mind blowing fight scenes I've ever seen Diana in. Daniel Warren Johnson is an absolute madman when it comes to fight scenes. It's like being in a mosh pit at a metal concert. Eventually Diana defeats everyone and the people of the city rally behind her. Being fueled by love and not hate, she decides to do something drastic to save these people from the horrific life/world that they've been living in.
Like I said, DWJ has crafted a Wonder Woman book the likes of which we've never seen before. Yet he already seems to "get" what she is at her core. He shows why she's driven by love and her affinity for humanity. This is by far one of the best Black Label books to be published. It's nice to see that DC can still let a creator take chances and see their own, unique, vision through. Daniel Warren Johnson is a force to be reckoned with and I hope we continue to see his work on more high profile books.