Absolute Wonder Woman 2026 Annual #1 – Kelly Thompson, Writer; Mattia De Iulis, Artist
Ray – 10/10
Ray: From the beginning of this brilliant series, Wonder Woman has been tearing her way through the worst monsters of Greek mythology and defending humanity. But there’s been one story that hasn’t left her mind. In the first arc, to defeat the Tetracide, Diana gained the powers of Medusa and embraced the Gorgon’s darkest power. But this gave her more empathy for the cursed Gorgon, and ever since then, she’s been praying to Athena for the chance to lift her curse. Flashbacks show Diana and Athena had a long relationship in the days Diana was raised in Hell, with the Goddess paying frequent visits to train Diana in chess and strategy. But now, Athena is getting annoyed with the constant beseeching – and denies responsibility for Medusa’s curse in the first place. In the end, Diana requests the chance to enter the Gorgons’ realm and try to lift the curse herself – with the help of a trade that will temporarily cost her all her powers.
The descent into the underworld is one of the most brilliantly claustrophobic scenes in the whole series so far, and it was an excellent choice to bring back Mattia De Iulis to illustrate this unique story. They’re the artist that has done the best at capturing the classic mythological vibe of the world Diana inhabits, compared to the gonzo modern urban fantasy that Hayden Sherman so excels at. The scenes as Diana infiltrates the cavern, and first encounters Medusa’s violent sisters, are chilling, but the scenes where she encounters Medusa and reveals that boon she asked for are some of the best of the entire series. This is an issue that definitely has compassion for Medusa and views her punishment as unjust, but it also doesn’t offer any particularly easy answers. It just takes you along for the ride as this version of Wonder Woman continues to make the world a better place, one story at a time.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
