Absolutely Wonderful: Reviewing ‘Absolute Wonder Woman’ #1

There is a word, which burns at the tip of the tongue, known in the heart but forbidden from speaking. With that word’s utterance, a great power returns to the world as a new defender rises in a dark realm to bring some light.

That word is Amazon. That defender is Diana of Themyscira.

This is how things begin as Absolute Wonder Woman #1 debuts a brand new, yet familiar, version of the Amazonian warrior and princess. Courtesy of Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman, Jordie Bellaire, and Becca Carey.

It is, and was, only natural to be skeptical about the idea behind DC’s Absolute Universe of titles. This is not the first time the publisher has tried their hand at capturing what Marvel found back in the early 2000s with Ultimate Marvel books. A way to essentially reboot your biggest characters in a way that ‘modernizes’ them (in a sense) and give them bold different, hopefully sustainable, directions.

Previous attempts, like the All-Star and Earth One lines, were disconnected and tended to be received in hit or miss ways. They also fizzled out, became late, or were not sustainable for various reasons. Additionally, they were missing the shared universe connectivity that both Marvel and DC, as well as Ultimate Marvel, are built around.

That is not the case anymore.

Hot damn (straight from Hell) this was quite the intro issue.

It’s nothing wild or over the top. In fact, what Thompson does here is, on paper, pretty straightforward. Threat comes for a city. Hero emerges to strike down the threat. We’re regaled with their origin story. It’s how those pieces are handled that makes it so solid.

Basically it’s us getting to see how badass, yet compassionate, Diana truly is, no matter where she is raised or by who. Even with her Amazon family ripped away and hidden from her, raised by the sorceress Circe on the island of Hell, she is the warrior princess that we know and love. It’s also different enough to open some potentially fun and interesting avenues.

Also, I greatly appreciate that the only familiar characters we got here were Diana, Circe, and briefly Apollo. There was no Steve Trevor, Etta Candy, Hippolyta, other Greek gods or other familiar characters stuffed in just to be there. It gives more room to let this version of Diana breathe and grow, giving for a more slow build type of feeling.

Taking full advantage of all of this is Sherman, who just draws the absolute hell out of this (sorry not sorry for all the Hell usage to come…).

Big dynamic panels that stretch out the action, really giving us our proverbial money’s worth. There is a sequence where Wonder Woman is taking on the massive monster that is attacking Gateway City that really shows this off. This Harbinger is stationary on one side of the page, unleashing eye beams at various parts of the beach landscape they find themselves upon. Those beams are all striking right at little square panels that each feature Diana dodging, ducking, dipping, diving, and dodging those same beams.

Essentially its comic book panels incorporated into a full page double spread. That’s some truly wild and fun stuff.

Similarly, the pages with Diana’s growing up, focused on the home space of her and Circe, each level panel showing how things change and what happens as she grows. A truly creative way to show the progression of time outside of just a bunch of solo panels showing this off.

Sherman’s work has the right rough yet whimsical edge that this character, and this version especially, needs. Dark, light, weighty, and smooth are all words that fit how this looks too. Combining that with Bellaire’s colors deepens the effect.

Truly, Bellaire is one of my favorite colorists around. The levels that she can achieve, and the total tonal shifts that still very much scream that they are her is amazing. From a neon-streaked street-level crime book to a crack-team of soldier types taking on a terrorist organization to a Hell-born princess out to protect the world from the evils beyond their understanding. All of it works and flows, and remains fully Bellaire no matter how different it might be.

Here, many of the backdrops are of a more natural, or sometimes toned-down, quality to really hit home the ‘normalness’ of the world at large. Yet, the amount of shadows and darker tones never lets us forget that this is a darker (because of Darkseid) touched world. Amongst those more natural or lower leveled colors, the vibrant pop of superhero and fantastical tones bleed through for Diana, the monstrous beings, and even the Hell Island itself in many respects.

Infusing words with the right emotional resonance and tones is something I’ve watched Carey do masterfully before. Seeing her name here was really great, because I really enjoyed the work that was done in the far too short-lived Batgirls series. Even though the overall vibe is very different, the mission to really make sure that the words are clear, concise, punching powerfully, and hitting hard is the same.

Even the caption boxes have a personality and style to them, which is a wonderful touch. Oh and those SFX that are found across the pages, so loud and present. Making sure that whatever sound we’re supposed to hear is 100% heard, to the max. Playing out the sequences in my head as I read, making them even bigger and livelier.

Not surprisingly, Thompson really gets the character. Even though this isn’t the Wonder Woman we see over in the ‘prime’ universe, there are still a lot of the same bits of DNA there. Thompson really homes in on those beats to allow us this moment of familiarity while also turning the dial in the complete opposite direction in some cases. There is a pacing to this whole story that feels quick but not so quick that we blink and forget what happened.

I’ve read a ton of debut issues, comes with the reviewing territory, and it’s not always as easy to hit this balance as some would suspect. Go too far in one direction and we walk away knowing next to nothing about the character or the overall reason for it being. Tip too far in the other direction and we know the origins but the “why does it matter now?” is murky or nonexistent. Somewhere right in the middle, the comfort zone, is where this issue rests.

Not too hard. Not too soft. Just right.

Which, is just the way I like it.

Absolute Wonder Woman #1 is now available from DC Comics.