“FROM HENCE FORTH THE WORD ‘AMAZON’ IS BANNED. SO I DECREE.”
Ever since Absolute Wonder Woman was revealed to the public, I have felt strongly about this book. The creative duo comprised two creators I’ve followed for the last few years. My earliest Kelly Thompson book was 2016’s Hawkeye with Leonardo Romero, an artist who later followed Thompson to DC for Birds of Prey. As for Hayden Sherman, I was an avid fan of their series Wasted Space with writer Michael Morcei and followed their work from then on.
Hearing that the two were attached to Absolute Wonder Woman, a book that stood out amongst the originally announced books for the Absolute line, was enough to hook me. After years of following their individual books, I can confidently say that Thompson and Sherman stuck the landing in more ways than one. Coming right off the trail of Absolute Batman, Thompson and Sherman created a unique setting for Wonder Woman, which was quite a challenge for the two creators. Thompson almost considered dropping the book until she discovered the spark needed to create this story.
Spoilers ahead for Absolute Wonder Woman #1!
Credit: DC Comics
Diana is the princess of Hell, she is the last Amazonian, and technically a sin against the Gods. The two play with Greek mythology and the lore of Wonder Woman in a unique manner as their way of maintaining the goodness and gentle mind of Diana Prince in this hardened universe where Darkseid prevails is to simply have Diana maintain her original coming-of-age story with a more extreme background.
Thompson’s framing of Diana and her demeanor throughout the script opens up the most important observation with Absolute Wonder Woman #1, which is that the first issue is fairly simple. Even with the deviation and experimentation with Greek Mythology throughout the issue, the focus is on Diana’s relationship with her adoptive mother, Circe, sorceress and daughter of Helios. The book, thus far, stands its ground as the strongest introduction due to how clean and simple the script ended up being. Thompson sees the main goal for the first few issues as slowly setting the stage and creating an engaging environment for new readers to jump into the All-In initiative, and it works perfectly.
Thompson’s Diana still carries many of the character’s fundamentals but especially leans into Diana’s personal connection with a motherly figure as Circe narrates the story and how she had come to love Diana as her own. It functions as a strong origin and a powerful story between a mother and daughter that especially hits its emotional point when the discussion of Diana leaving and growing up becomes more relevant. Wonder Woman was always a coming-of-age story, more so than Superman and Batman. She is a gentle but strong woman who ventures into a world unknown and learns to adapt to it.
Credit: DC Comics
Thompson’s usage of Diana’s emotional background helps readers understand the character as she uses the same character mold that George Perez used in his original Wonder Woman series back in the late-’80s. Perez’s Wonder Woman is a young and emotional hero who was introduced when Diana was processing the challenges of growing up and leaving home for the first time. By leaning on Diana’s connection with Circe and having her struggle to understand who she is, Thompson successfully crafts an emotional portrayal of the character that calls back to her roots in main continuity while staying unique for this universe.
As for the art, Hayden Sherman is at their best with the growth and experimentation seen throughout this first installment. Sherman’s biggest strengths are character design and paneling, as Sherman focuses on portraying each character in a stylized manner that helps readers grasp the individual and their personality. With Diana’s design in particular, it is easy to see that Diana takes a ‘gentle giant’ approach with how large and empowering she appears. This is emphasized during Diana’s big emotional moment, where readers discover how she is.
Sherman’s paneling relies heavily on action shots and irregular panels, which allows for more creativity in their art. Jordie Belliare’s coloring additionally complements the action, experimentation, and emotional beats. Together, the artistic duo creates an eye-catching story that fits in with the gritty atmosphere of the Absolute universe while creating a strong look and style to the book that helps Absolute Wonder Woman stand out compared to the other books on the shelves.
DC
Sherman also emphasizes the world around Wonder Woman, as every scene has a heavily detailed environment that complements every scene in the book. Most notably, the scenes with Diana and Circe show this best, with Sherman highlighting the slow evolution of Diana’s childhood home, using the evolution to symbolize how Circe grows to become Diana’s mother.
Ultimately, Absolute Wonder Woman #1 is a strong but simple start to an exciting new series. Sherman and Belliare’s art is at the top of their game and Thompson’s writing is the strongest its ever been. Moving forward, I can’t wait to see how the creative team introduces more familiar faces into Diana’s story and see how this version of Wonder Woman grows into this new city and world.
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