Absolute Wonder Woman #13 // Review
It appears to be a being of pure energy. It’s first reported in Reno, Nevada. There’s a darkness about it that seems to follow in its wake. Diana races-off after it. She tangles with the monster a bit. Then it disappears...only to reappear again in Uruguay. And the Dominican Republic. And Mexico. And Hawaii. And Delphi. Diana’s fast, but she may have met her match with a being made entirely of energy in Absolute Wonder Woman #13. Writer Kelly Thompson continues a spectacularly entertaining heroic adventure with artist Matías Bergara. Color comes to the page courtesy of Jordie Bellaire.
Diana’s research group is looking into background on the Amazons of Themyscira, which actually turns out to have some sort of connection with the location of the energy being’s attacks. They all seem to have some sort of connection with ancient Amazon battle sites. (Almost all of them anyway...the Reno attack took place outside of the “Paradise Island Casino.”) Every time she makes contact with it, she stands-up to it and it vanishes...only to reappear, bringing destruction and negative emotion with it until Diana shows-up again, causing it to vanish again. Diana is able to keep-up with the monster, but it’s wearing her down.
Thompson has been a staggeringly clever architect for Diana of the Wild Isle. Now that initial concerns have faded-out into the background, Diana’s extended cast begins to fit together beautifully in an adventure that tasks Diana’s ability to cover the Earth chasing after a single threat. Themes of light and darkness and inner balance play deftly across the page in a fusion between action fiction and the heroic legends of the ancient world. Diana comes across as an overwhelmingly heroic character as her series begins its second year..
Bergara defines a lot of Diana's hero, wisdom through sheer determination. That determination is written across your face in ways that pier through a variety of different emotions. And though there is more than a bit of exaggeration in her facial expressions, they always seem to come across with a sense of beauty and organic reality. Her emotions ever seem unduly amplified, even as they are clearly being brought to the page with amplified drama. Bellaire gives the darkness of the story, a warmth around the edges that feels pleasantly immersive. The pacing of a story that's set in a bunch of different locations. All over the Earth would be difficult for any artist to layout on the page.Bergara does an excellent job of this as well. There is a somewhat breathtaking feeling of Diana's speed and precision that shoots from one panel to the next as she pursue of being a pure energy.
Thompson’s series serves as a sharp and brilliant counter-balance to Tom King’s Wonder Woman series that focusses more on the current geopolitical climate. The two series fit together in a way that match each other quite well. This is one of the more strikingly pure contrasts between two series in recent years. Two of the better writers in the genre are both working on one of the most fascinating characters in the history of superhero comics.
