Absolute Wonder Woman #7 review

“Rest easy in your next life, sister…”

As I’ve been reviewing this series, the most admirable thing to be said about Absolute Wonder Woman is that the mythology used is easy to digest. For many, that would be an unusual statement; however, throughout Wonder Woman’s complicated publication history, the one thing that every creative team has struggled with is the character’s very own Greek mythological origins.

For creatives such as George Perez, the mythology came second nature as he previously used Greek mythology in New Teen Titans with his longtime collaborator, Marv Wolfman (Chris Claremont’s doppelgänger.) It was no secret that Wolfman and Perez loved Wonder Woman and her concepts, specifically Donna Troy, as the titular teenage heroes were named after the Titans of Greek mythology. However, the same love can’t be said amongst other creative teams.

Kelly Thompson and Mattia De Ilulus walk into Absolute Wonder Woman #7 with the intent to change that. We’re introduced to Persephone, the wife of Hades, and Goddess of Nature. Thompson uses Persephone and Circe in a similar manner in this installment with a heavy emphasis of the motherly nature of both and how they have influenced Diana throughout her youth. For Circe, the arena she witnessed Diana nearly die in was a prediction, she taught Diana how to survive in a situation like that through stories and tales that were shared between Gods and Goddesses.

For Persephone, however, we see her observe a warrior she can use to better take control of The Underworld. The two women represent the figures within Diana’s childhood bedtime story, right down to the Tiger that Diana wrestles with to survive. All in all, this is fantastic script work. I believe Thompson is at her best when she has a narrative device she can use to further the story along.

In terms of Thompson’s script work, she bounces off of her collaborators perfectly while maintaining the same level of pacing and emotional intensity throughout. There aren’t any inconsistencies because she’s found the perfect script to page balance and it shows with Sherman’s sense of action and De Ilulus’ eerie atmosphere.

As for De Ilulus, his work is as beautiful as it was in the previous installment. The biggest highlight, however, has to be his gorgeous design for Persephone. Sherman and De Ilulus’ best traits ok this book remain the character design as the two make the Greek pantheon feel as large as possible.

Concluding this installment, we are greeted to another Li’l Diana segment by Dustin Nyugen and Kelly Thompson. Much like last issue, the segment is cute and short. There isn’t much of note but it is a nice ending short that fits the emotional story that Thompson and De Ilulus tell.

Absolute Wonder Woman #7 is another home run for the series and continues to help refine Wonder Woman for the modern audience.