Wonder Woman has been one of the best of DC’s books since the inception of the New 52, but 2013 is when the series broke free from the pack. It refused to do things so many other mainstream comics do. It didn’t crossover with other books. It never changed course to take part in an event. Wonder Woman’s characterization wasn’t altered to fit the more boisterous version in Justice League. Simply put, writer Brian Azzarello and artists Cliff Chiang, Matthew Wilson, Tony Akins, and Goran Sudzuka were allowed to stick to their guns, and it paid off magnificently. Wonder Woman’s “War” storyline is as epic as the gods it features. After a touching origin tale where we learned about Wonder Woman’s childhood training by Ares, the God of War, she went on a harrowing quest to stop the deadly First Born. She had help from one of the strangest supporting casts in comics: a human Hera, Zola and her baby, Orion of the New Gods, and a dude made of rock. It had bone-crushing fight scenes that were gorgeously rendered, stone cold drama with flashes of warm humor, and one of the most poetic conclusions in recent memory. Heart, humor, and hard knocks aplenty, all under the banner of one of those females they always say can’t sell comic books. There just aren’t any other comics on the stands as entertaining, consistent, and epic as Wonder Woman, and that’s why it’s the clear winner for the best series of 2013.