Big Ross’ Comc of the Week: August 28

OK, so this is two weeks late. My apologies. But let’s talk about two of the best comics I’ve read in a good long while. Wildly different in terms of story, tone, and style, but both emblematic of what a great comic is and can be.

Daredevil Vol. 3 #30

Mark Waid took over writing duties on Daredevil at the start of volume 3, and it’s consistently been one of the best on-going titles that Marvel publishes. Issue #27 wrapped up the major story-arc that Waid started building way back in issue #1. In lesser hands the issues after #27 could be simple filler until the next major arc takes off, but while they have represented less episodic and more “one and done” stories they have been anything but. Issue #30 is a perfect example and a nearly perfect comic book. One look at the cover and you might wonder how it’s going to work. How can Waid possibly balance a street-level hero like DD with a cosmic powerhouse like Silver Surfer. But it works, and it works brilliantly. Chris Samnee continues to absolutely nail it with the art, and the combination of Waid & Samnee is magical fun. Daredevil #30 is what comic books should be.

Wonder Woman #23

I have never read Wonder Woman before. I’ve never been interested in her as a character. A friend highly recommended her, and former CC2K alum Joey Esposito continually praises Wonder Woman as the best comic of DC’s New 52 initiative on the IGN Assemble weekly podcast. So I started buying issues and reading it. Brian Azzarello has completely changed my viewpoint of this character. Wonder Woman feels completely cut off from the rest of the DCU, and that is ok. The story Azzarello is telling doesn’t need them. This story is classic Greek mythology combined with the political intrigue of Game of Thrones and just a dash of Maury Povich. It doesn’t just work, it excels (and it’s at its very best when Cliff Chiang handles the art. Wonder Woman is fantastic serialized storytelling, moving forward like a juggernaut, recounting the epic tale of Diana, daughter of Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons and the god-king Zeus. #23 is by no means the finale of that tale, but it is a major waypoint, a culmination of threads Azzarello has been working together into a beautiful tapestry. There is no good point to jump onto Wonder Woman than to simply begin at the beginning. But I assure you the journey will be worth it. Fiction, in comic book form or otherwise, doesn’t get much better than this.