'Absolute Wonder Woman' Issue One Review: Finally jumping into this one

I'm not sure what suddenly changed my mind about this comic, for the longest time I have been feeling like I just can't find any interest in it. Some of that being from the character of Wonder Woman that I have never really cared for, as well as the previous little glimpse I had into the comic to which I noticed the art style wasn't quite my thing. But this is now six issues deep, and I have been reading a bit of everything lately, even a much surprising Absolute Flash; perhaps that has somewhat inspired this return. Recently I've been jumping between a ton of different stories, some from the current Absolute run from DC, others from previous years that are over and done with. But I do really enjoy having something that's ongoing that gives me something to look forward to every few weeks or month. Given i don't know anything about the character, I really wasn't sure what to expect from this, and jumping into it I had the assumption that it just wouldn't stick with me. Though after reading a few panels into it, I have to admit that it really did catch my attention. Starting off with an odd invasion of a San Fransico-type city, a shape object that appears in the sky over the city, with huge dragon styled creatures and beings exiting in a swarm fashion.

A being on a skeletal winged animal appearing at the same time to swipe them from the sky, defending the people below to best their ability. Starting off from a news broadcast from a journalist's point of view, we switch to our masked figure, with the narration of a princess having existed, one that was born with the all the abilities she could possibly need, and that came from having been raised in Hell. Hell being an island in which she was raised on, one that had no promise and seemed far too remote to have any real promise. Also referred to as a prison. With this comes a call from the Gods; a baby sent down to Hell as punishment on the Amazons, taken from them and placed under the control of a woman residing on Hell. A punishment from none other than Zeus. I quite liked the references to Greek Gods here, it made the story seem a bit more real with some connection to reality's own history rather than some made up Gods or a simple God from a more relevant religion from today. A punishment from the King of Gods after all certainly has more weight to it, bringing in the question of what the Amazons did to have a child taken from them and placed into Hell, alongside their very name being banned from speech.

Now having to raise the child under the assumption that it'll be a personal challenge from the Gods, assuming they'll send every challenge her way in attempt to kill the child, we see how in actuality the baby is pretty independent in that sense already. Capable of dealing with the many threats that appear: snakes and lizards are dealt with on her own, even in some ways showing some empathy towards the animals and not causing them harm. She was not only capable of defending herself, but also controlling the animals that came her way with a threatening nature. This is told to us through the narration from the child's new carer, another person we know very little of or as to why she's on that island in the first place; though it's likely a similar case regarding the harsh wrath of the Gods themselves that led her to such a fate. We see how the two form a relationship over the years as the child grows into an adult, learning of the world and maintain its general compassion for living things, though never forgetting their ability to cause harm on those closest to her. This is where we fast-forward back into the present, back to the invasion of the species upon Earth. And how this young adult is now a warrior, and a protector.

But this wouldn't be a first issue if it didn't loop things. And by that I mean returning to the origin: Amazon. Our young warrior is still trying to understand her surroundings. Still trying to figure out who she is. And her mother is fully aware of the fact that she needs to know. Even having kept the banned word from her, she somehow still knows it deep within her. That it's her origin. A place and type of being that serves as her roots. And through this is the real birth of the character. The two saying the word over and over until it awakens something within. Though we don't really see the outcome of her having said the banned word after all these years. I wonder what the punishment would've been given the stern warning from the Gods. I quite liked this though, I enjoyed the gradual process and telling of a character that grew from nothing. Shaped into a warrior that knows her foundations, defying the Gods and incapable of being kept idle and away from civilisation. Clear that her Amazon roots actually mean something and hold some power, and that is enough to invoke the fear into the Gods in the first place, leading to her very existence in Hell.

I was quite surprised by this issue in the end. It was something that I thoroughly enjoyed despite putting it off for months. I'm really glad I put that art style preference aside and jumped in. I wouldn't say I am a general fan of the art still, but it's really not as bad as I had previously assumed. In the end it was a fun read and had me wanting more, so it can't be that bad, right?