Absolute Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: The Last Amazon by Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman, Mattia de Iulis & Jordie Bellaire

Comic books, y’all. Ngl, I bailed from being a regular comics reader — I even had a box with a weekly pull list at my local comics store up till that point — around the time of Marvel’s House Of M fiasco in 2005, because I was so tired of reboots (and crossovers, but that’s another story altogether.)

So I kinda wish I’d known that Absolute Wonder Woman is a title that also comes from a rebooted line, DC Comics’ Absolute Universe. Aside: I can’t be the only person wanting to drop the silent e from the end of the adjective and chortle in a Russian accent, can I? Anyway, this Absolute Universe is a grimmer, darker world (yes, that sound you’re hearing is the audible rolling of my eyeballs) where superheroes are raised in hell instead of paradise. In Diana of Themyscira’s case, this is quite literal: instead of growing up as the beloved only child of a tribe of Amazons, she is given to the exiled witch Circe to be raised in the Underworld.

When a monstrous threat emerges to jeopardize the safety of Gateway City, a helmeted Diana emerges to save the city, first from Harbinger Prime and its minions, then from the greater threat of the Tetracide. Along the way, we learn more about Diana’s upbringing, her powers and how she escaped from Hell (tho not how she happened to show up in Gateway City just in time to save its residents. Maybe that’ll be explained in a future volume.) We’re also introduced to her supporting cast, including some well-loved names such as Steve Rogers, Etta Candy and Barbara Minerva.

As far as reboots go, I didn’t hate it, tho I did spend a lot of time thinking this would have been awesome as a story that was about another kickass Warrior Witch who had nothing to do with the Amazons. Wonder Woman has no monopoly on the cross-section of being female and powerful and kind, after all. This story would have been cool as hell were it about an original property, with kudos to Kelly Thompson for writing it so well.

That said, it fits the Wonder Woman mythology well enough, and I can’t begrudge the author for not keeping this story for an independent project. Big names bring in more money, and Wonder Woman is about as big as it gets in the comics world. So while I’m side-eyeing the necessity of tacking this great story onto the Wonder Woman name, I also get it. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not mad at this being a Wonder Woman story! It is super entertaining and fits the spirit of the character and mythology. I’m just annoyed that the Powers That Be decided once again that a beloved comic book character needs a brand new origin story in order to pump up sales. In fairness, this book is presented as an alternate that doesn’t pave over the established, mainstream story, for whatever value that has now, given the revoltingly anti-feminist New 52 revamp. And while I may have plenty of criticism for the capitalist choices that brought about this title, the story’s feminist bonafides are thankfully 100% solid.

The art is also solid, which is high praise from someone who grew up reading Wonder Woman comics from George Perez all the way through to Phil Jimenez (with a special shout-out to Bill Messner-Loebs & Mike Deodato Jr! If you would consider signing up for a Patreon membership for the former at that link, it would really help an elderly creative who’s at the mercy of the USA’s depressing lack of social net.) I especially loved the adorable Little Diana single-pagers illustrated by Dustin Nguyen at the end of the volume, which showcase our heroine’s childhood adventures. They really help flesh out the character and her circumstances, underscoring her essential goodness.

Anyway, this book is smart and pleasant to look at, and the first of my reads for the 2026 Hugo Awards for Best Graphic Story. I wasn’t wowed the way I was with the Historia nominated in 2024 but I still have five more books to read, so we shall see how my voting choices go!

Absolute Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: The Last Amazon by Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman, Mattia de Iulis & Jordie Bellaire was published August 12 2025 by DC Comics and is available from all good booksellers, including