Absolute Wonder Woman #1 has Diana as the last Amazon from hell who stand in the way of demons taking the Earth! All In has a dark comic book universe with a twist on classic characters. This was in the All In special #1 by Joshua Williamson and Scott Snyder. It divided into “Alpha” with art by Daniel Sampere and Dan Mora. It is the story of the Justice League becoming Justice League Unlimited, a nod to the 2004-2006 animated series. The flip book has “Omega” with art by Wes Craig which is the story of Darkseid leading to the creation of the Absolute universe.
The special introduced the Absolute heroes and their series has launched including Absolute Wonder Woman with the series by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman. “The Last Amazon Part 1” is by Thompson and Sherman. Thompson is also the writer of the latest Birds of Prey series. Sherman’s art is also found in the “Arkham Academy” stories running in Batman: Urban Legends. Sherman provides the cover, Wonder Woman in her Absolute outfit, right arm with red tatoos, black armored left arm, with a Wonder Woman symbol and tiara, but upgraded like the fantasy series, Dark Knights of Steel with black fur coat mixed with the 1986 Dark Knight Returns. She rides a skeletal pegasus with red eyes flying over a city like Taarna from Heavy Metal (1981).
The comic kicks off with a large panel of Gateway City, a city in California that was a base for Wonder Woman. It is a vision of a city by the bay with a pier extending from buildings blooming from hills, the detail and fine lines look like Kevin O’Neill art. The setting sun in an orange sky gives a pinkish sheen with light purple waters. Incredible work by colorist Jordie Bellaire. I also like the sights for the advert of Moulton Cove, Wonder Woman creator, William Moulton Marston, a partially covered mention for what looks like Gail, a tip of the cap to Gail Simone! This is disrupted by a screech! This has knocked down reporter, Allan, and his cameraman.
The camera points to the pyramid-like object, a sinister, Hellraiser thing, hanging over the blue sky and beach! Allan reports about the object’s appearance when red creatures start to swarm from it! People start to run from the demonic, pterodactyl-like beasties called Harbingers. One red-haired woman with glasses covers her ears, then looks up, nice insert panels. This is a helmeted warrior with red pony tail riding the skeletal pegasus, Wonder Woman! She tears free her sword the size of Guts’ blade from the Berserk manga! I think this uniform is screaming out to be cosplayed. The panels sweep with Wonder Woman’s sword that slices through the demons! They shriek and begin flying after her. Then, she leaps off the hellish pegasus. She cuts through more of the Harbingers and the narration describes the princess.
Wonder Woman lands taking off her helmet to take the demons’ blood to wipe across her eyes. A contrast to the gifts given to the princess; “Beauty. Grace. Compassion.” She crosses her black gauntlets and unleashes an almost eye scorching blast, white and pink that fills up the page! The signature move of Wonder Woman in the films called by Gal Gadot, the "Boosh!" This is the other gift, “the darkest of magicks”! It leads to a two page title and credit list, epic! We get “Years ago. The Wild Isle of Hell. Prison of the Great Sorceress Circe.” The long time foe of Wonder Woman was introduced in Wonder Woman #37 (1949)! Circe narrates that she was a ruler of the island, Aeaea, which was where she encountered Odysseus. Good mix of myth and superhero like George Perez’s run. The Wild Isle is in darkness as Circe begins to mold earth.
Then, it seems like the sun shines, but it is presence of Apollo, the sun god. He holds a grey bundle and Circe rejects his command to kneel. Her hands and forearm are covered with the red clay like blood. He hands her the bundle which has a baby girl with blue eyes. He says she is Diana, Princess of Themyscira, and the last of the Amazons. Apollo says Zeus took her from them as punishment for crimes against the gods. I like the use of the original clay origin with the Zeus part from the Brian Azzarello run. I would like this origin in any future movies. Apollo says that Diana may never reunite with the Amazons that are exiled by Zeus for an eternity. Lastly, Apollo says, closeup of his over exposed face, that Circe can never say the word “Amazon.” He asks her to say it, but the word is distorted like the sigil in Agatha All Along.
The sun god leaves unconcerned if Diana dies in hell. Circe is careless with the baby and her narration is that she is not a mother. A snake, like a channel of lava, slithers up to the rocky depression that holds Diana! Circe just watches as the serpent opens its fangs. It is is held by the baby and tossed away! This is a great echo of Hercules’ infancy where he strangled snakes sent by Hera. Circe is intrigued. She stirs a cauldron as baby Diana sees a red lizard. A series of panels as it blasts flames at Diana, she holds the beastie, then tells it “Nono” before taking as a plaything. The next pages showing Diana growing up in hell has Circe’s cave with cauldron. She starts to walk, Circe bathes her with a magical rain cloud, Diana plays with the snake, demonlings, and a tiny skeletal horse. Circe’s narration notes “How you fall in love with a child is by raising it.”
Circe tucks in Diana opposite her bedding. The empty cave soon fills with shelves, candles, and books. She teaches Diana to read, answers her questions (addressed as mother!), and shows her magic. The cave has plants as decorations, the candles start to light up the walls, and then as a girl, asks her about a lost word. Circe summons a Cerebrus-like beast with a scorpion tail to challenge the teen girl Diana They practice magic. A dead Harbinger is found. Circe’s narration repeats the raising the child saying and then adds, “But letting them go is how you prove your love.” Brilliant writing that works with the clever panel layout and designs. This moves back to Gateway City where Wonder Woman sends Pegasus to patrol the perimeter while demon bodies carpet the ground!
She walks up to a soldier and then orders him to evacuate the civilians. Her eyes have a demonic fire. Wonder Woman says the demons are just stunned. She falls under the shadow of a Kaiju-sized demon, Harbinger Prime, but she defies it with the Earth under her protection. She tells it she has the Athena Blade. Harbinger Prime has a split bill, three globes inside its black eyes, and it opens its Cthulhu-like maw. Wonder Woman holds back its roar behind the Athena Blade and sends Pegasus to burn it. She takes hold of its leg casting a spell, but Harbinger PRime blasts her with its eyes. Wonder Woman recovers as the Harbinger Prime commands its demons to rise. The demons shriek past her and in some inset panels Wonder Woman moves away from the demon takings its eye blast! She crosses her gauntlets and this sends the blast back at Harbinger Prime! It unleashes another blast that expodes, this sends Wonder Woman skittering across the beach. Absolute Wonder Woman #1 is an impressive comic with demons, myth, and a blend of different versions into one powerful Wonder Woman!
Five Athena Blades out of Five!
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