Absolute Wonder Woman #2 – Kelly Thompson, Writer; Hayden Sherman, Artist; Jordie Bellaire, Colorist
Ray – 10/10
Ray: The first issue of Absolute Wonder Woman was a masterpiece of visual set pieces and character building with a small cast, as Diana was raised by Circe in isolation in Hell and then arrived on Earth for the first time to confront the massive kaiju Harbinger Prime – a tomato-red squid/pterodactyl monster that became terrifying under Hayden Sherman’s pen. I don’t think I remember Sherman drawing giant monsters before, and they’re incredible at it. But it also left a lot of unanswered questions, and a ton of missing elements from Wonder Woman mythos. And I definitely wasn’t expecting Steve Trevor to be the first of them to resurface. The pilot is an iconic WW character, but he’s also a bit controversial – and he didn’t seem to fit into this new origin for Diana. But there he is, crash-landing in Hell itself and wondering if he’s dead. He’s found by Diana, defended from a Hydra, and brought to the cottage of a very skeptical Circe.
Diana and Steve’s bonding during this period feels a lot more genuine than it usually does, with confusion and awkwardness all around. But it also sets a strong foundation for when they reunite in the present day, with the monster bearing down. Diana manages to not brutalize the beast into submission, but to negotiate it into leaving with a much more powerful and darker lasso at her disposal, and she proceeds to make an enemy of Steve’s officious commanding officer who views himself as her superior. This Diana is no less heroic, but far less courteous to the men who seek to order her around. We get a little more time to get to know these characters – and it’s perfect buildup to when Sherman manages to top themselves with another creature that’s one of the best monsters I’ve ever seen on the page, straight out of “The Mist”. Five Absolute issues have been released so far, and not a single one of them has been anything short of a masterpiece.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
