Absolute Wonder Woman #6 – Kelly Thompson, Writer; Mattia De Iulis, Dustin Nguyen, Artists; Becca Carey, Colorist
Ray – 10/10
Ray: Whenever a guest artist comes on board, it’s always a risk that the series will lose its momentum – especially when the regular artist is as incredibly distinct as Hayden Sherman. But Kelly Thompson has worked with Mattia De Iulis before, and the two put together an incredibly surreal book with photo-realistic art. Smartly, the duo take the story in a very different direction for this two-part story – one steeped in fantasy. Diana’s escapes to the surface world have been discovered, and she finds herself facing Hades. Hades is not an evil God traditionally, but none of the Gods come off particularly well here – all being cruel and capricious when they want to be. As he strips Diana of her magical artifacts for her upcoming trial – of one sort or another – he becomes fascinated by the red lasso she carries, the Nemesis Lasso, and demands to know how it came to be. And that turns out to be quite the story.
The flashback (within a flashback?) finds Diana on an epic quest through some of the darkest chapters of Greek mythology. First she heads to the mountain that holds the imprisoned Prometheus, cutting him free for a short respite before Zeus discovers him and chains him again – but in exchange, she needs a vial of his blood. Then, she goes hunting for the last basilisk, a creature that can kill with a single glance – and finds a unique way to even the playing field. Both of these scenes are drawn in absolutely brilliant epic fantasy style, but Diana’s trial in the underworld is just beginning. As the issue ends, Hades reveals a trump card that sets up a tense showdown for next issue – and may be a key factor in the direction the series takes going forward. It’s an absolutely brilliant issue – but it’s not over yet.
There are two bonus pages, with art by Dustin Nguyen, showing ups clips of Diana’s early childhood in Hell with Circe – be it transforming monsters into something beautiful, or freeing little critters from a hungry demon. Both are the closest thing to the energy of Thompson’s “It’s Jeff!” that we’ve found at DC.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
