“Your eyes are… something else.”
Continuing off of the debut installment of Absolute Wonder Woman, readers are once again thrown into the thick of it as we see the battle rage on for Diana and see more pieces of her past fit together piece by piece.
Kelly Thompson’s world building is at its strongest with her focus on Gateway City and Hell being the major focuses thus far. For Thompson, it’s clear she wants to make sure readers are familiar with this take on Diana – she wants the readers to understand how she functions and feels towards loved ones and enemies.
In the previous issue, the main emotional focus was her mother, Circe, the daughter of Helios, and how with every elseworlds comes a Wonder Woman who is struck with the love and worry of a daughter. Now, with issue #2, we’re given a glimpse into how this version of Diana Prince experiences love and much like before, it feels like a love letter to the past.
DC
With the introduction of Absolute Universe’s take on Steve Trevor, we see that this version of Steve is a classical man. He is everything Steve Trevor is, he is a soldier in the Air Force, he is gentle but rebellious, and he has feelings for Diana Prince, however, Steve is another victim of Hell.
Much of Diana and Steve’s backstory is beautifully written by Thompson’s script work as we see the two build a friendship together living on the Wild Isle, all of which is complemented by Thompson’s brilliant pacing and Hayden Sherman’s striking character designs. Even with how simply Steve Trevor is portrayed and designed, he fits right in as Diana begins trying to reason with the US military.
If there were any downsides to Thompson’s writing this issue, it’s that this is a much simpler script than issue #1, which is expected. Thompson still delivers with the action and world building as well as character development. However, as for more cinematic-like writing, that appears less in this installment.
Hayden Sherman and Jordie Bellaire’s artwork is still the title’s highlight. Sherman’s strengths lie in their ability to shift from action to calming is one of the major forces in aiding the title’s world building and perfectly complements Thompson’s scripting.
DC
Their architectural design for Gateway City creates a lived in environment full of dirty streets, posters, and even various detailed store fronts. As for Hell, each time we see it, Sherman continues to create a home that belongs to a mother and daughter with the scenes of Steve Trevor feeling like an awkward guest who doesn’t know how to fit into his new environment.
Ultimately, Absolute Wonder Woman #2 is not as perfect as the first installment, but manages to deliver another engaging and artistic issue as Thompson, Sherman, and Bellaire continue to produce their best. With the teaser for the third issue, readers will once again be waiting eagerly as we see more of Wonder Woman’s place in the Absolute Universe.
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