An Escape Most Daring — Reviewing ‘Absolute Wonder Woman’ #12

One of the greatest weapons wielded by Princess Diana of the Amazons is not her sword nor her golden lasso. No, the greatest piece in her arsenal is her merciful spirit.

Which is shown in full force within the pages of Absolute Wonder Woman #12, the closing issue of the series third story arc. Brought to vivid powerful life by Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman, Jordie Bellaire, and Becca Carey.

While Diana is merciful, she is not a fool. Each of her moves comes with strategy, power, and commitment. Second chances are given but the mighty Wonder Woman is not afraid to rescind that chance and privilege should the gifted become something more of an issue.

This is a pretty big issue chiefly because it introduces a lot of familiar aspects of the Wonder Woman lore, as well as glimpses at very familiar faces. All of them are placed in a very unfamiliar status befitting this turned upside down Absolute DC universe.

Thompson continues to not only nail writing Diana but fleshing out this pocket corner she inhabits in the greater tapestry. Every move is carefully orchestrated and logical for the character and others around her. The party of people that Diana has to turn to is now larger, by issues end, which is great since we see a glimpse of the forces amassed against her in the final pages.

Not to mention a usually familiar friendly face being setup as the next antagonist.

Singing the praises of Sherman as an artist never gets taxing or repetitive. In fact, they need to get louder and be repeated even more. Just beholding the artwork is enough to just want to drop the jaw and let the awesome wash over.

Every sequence is bold, dynamic, extraordinary, detailed, dense, and dynamic. Yes, I said that last word twice, but it’s so fitting it needs repeating. There are literally seemingly no boundaries, other than the limits of the page itself, to what is being created here. There’s a richness in design and execution as the character imagery alone leaves the reader feeling something. Watching these character radiate emotional energy as they bound from panel to panel in kinetically defining ways.

The pairing of Sherman and Bellaire continues to pay off, a truly inspired choice. Much of the space this issue takes place in, the maze, is dimmer and grimier than other spaces. The lower levels become a baseline for the overall color palette aesthetic. Diana moves through the dimmer space radiating so much light that lands as an indicator of her overall power. Flashes of vibrancy peek through the artwork as if to remind us of what could be for this character and her world.

Every time, Carey jumps on the visual train and matches the feeling setup by the other artists. Letting those colors and other elements bake into the lettering. This helps craft a strong but soft voice for Diana, and allows the rest to really sink into the page, taking care to utilize the many modifiers and elements to the extent possible so that all these voices grow uniquely in the mind. No two are alike, even if visually similar in makeup.

Absolute Wonder Woman #12 is now available from DC Comics.