It’s why you get this weird “not-a-character” vibe from Diana, as they’re not trying to play their hand on what the love bullet (sigh) did – so they can’t play her current motivations or feelings out in the open.

That is probably why this issue felt like the first to me that it really was an ensemble cast – with all the other multitudes reactions to events being given the focus instead of Diana’s. It’s partly because, as I said, they can’t show her actual thought process. And it’s partly to help with the build – by showing, repeatly, different people who are very invested in the ongoing process, it builds tension.

Sadly, as this type of reveal can’t really happen at the end of an issue without killing all tension (or dropping an even bigger bomb) they have to hold it off till next month. In the mean time, instead of feeling a months tension, we get a few moments frustration and then focus on the next piece.

Frankly, I think it’s still very good, if not immediately satisfying – but Azzarello is trying a piece of storytelling that only really works in things with shorter timeframes (weekly TV, for instance) or once the whole thing is collected. And, of course, if the pay off isn’t good – then this just becomes a wasted comic.

PS. Yes, Atkins can’t draw a woman’s face to save his life. It’s like he draws the shape then just plonks the features on randomly. I imagine that’s part of why they did the reverse shots of Aphrodite.

1) It was an overall cowardly decision to only “partially” reboot the DC universe. Rolling back some of the stories doesn’t make it any more accessible to new readers than simply starting at the beginning. But for existing readers, its confusing trying to figure out what has happened and what has not. (Example, Teen Titans are just now forming, but in Red Hood and the Outlaws Speedy / RedArrow asks Starfire is she remembers any of the 80s TT gang by name.) Either start fresh or make the best of what has already happened.

2) Editorial obviously played favorites with which story lines were maintained and which were not. Batman (Grant Morrisson), Flash (Jeff Johns) and Green Lantern (Jeff Johns) only had minor changes. JLA, Teen Titans, Wonder Woman, Superman all had drastic changes to their coontinuity. Donna Troy and Wally West are redundant, but its not redundant at all that Batman in five yearsof official continuity (now) has had 4 Robins (Dick, Jason, Tim, Damien.) While I love GM and consider most everything he writes to be genius, fair is fair.

3) The overall tone on many titles / characters has dramatically changed….Wonder Woman’s naivete, Green Arrow is a corporate hipster, John Constantine seems to get played non-stop by Xanadu and Zatanna (who also comes off somewhat weak lipped), Starfire is a mindless sex robot fantasy, Batman likes to indulge in a bit of rooftop bootbumping,

And this is all from the stuff that I have read which was hardly the Lions Share of DC Comics.

I’ve always thought Morgan Le Fey was one of the great misunderstood women of stories and probably history. In short, I want more of her. :)