Absolute Wonder Woman #10: Down The Rabbit Hole

Absolute Wonder Woman #10 picks up with Diana now working closely with her newfound minotaur companion, Ferdinand, as she moves rapidly to help save the child, Petra, from the mysterious Clea. This issue raises more questions than it provides answers regarding Diana’s mission to locate more of her Amazonian sisters. As has been commonplace with this series, the focus shifts back to Diana’s past to reveal more about her character, foreshadowing how the issue will end.

It’s hard to identify the best part of an Absolute Wonder Woman issue because it feels as though the entire issue is the best part. But, if you had to pick one, the backstory featuring a young Diana facing trials and tribulations is a sweet spot. Not only does this flashback reveal everything you need to know about who this version of Diana is, but it also raises glimpses of the secrets behind some of the more mysterious elements of the book, specifically Hecate’s plan for Diana and why she allows Circe to raise her on the Wild Isle of hell. The segment itself shows how comfortable writer, Kelly Thompson, and artist, Hayden Sherman, are in this space. This team does wonders with the limited page real estate of a single issue of a comic book, making this issue feel like a complete story in and of itself.

Speaking of the art, Sherman takes this series down a trippy path towards the end of the issue, after Diana is poisoned by some sort of hallucinogenic. Not only  does Sherman go nuts with the crazy looking pencils here, but colorist Jordie Bellaire, gets to break loose and colors the segment with some truly mind-bending effects. This all creates a very fun segment of the book that looks to bleed over into the next issue.

Despite this series being very heartfelt and serious, there are several moments of levity that help make this world feel lived in and somewhat relatable despite the subject matter. Sometimes this is in a short exchange between the supporting cast playing “not it,” and other times it is Sherman having a man-fish creature awkwardly point away saying “I think she went that way.” These moments are short, but they really help round out the unique tone of the series that has made it such a smash hit.