It’s an Absolute team-up for the ages. Here’s our review of Absolute Wonder Woman #15, written by Kelly Thompson with art by Hayden Sherman.
The Absolute Universe has been burning bright for over a year now, both critically and commercially. A huge part of that success is the strong sense of identity each book in the line has. While the Absolute line has featured some similarities from book to book, in particular an emphasis on what I’d call “hell yeah!” moments, each book is doing vastly different things, especially in the visual department. The manga inspired art of Absolute Batman’s Nick Dragotta delves heavily into exaggeration, while being bolstered by the ever moody colors of Frank Martin. Meanwhile Hayden Sherman’s art on Absolute Wonder Woman, while still in an exaggerated style, is heavily detailed, meticulous and beautiful, with the addition of the subdued yet bright colors Jordie Bellaire brings to the table. Both books stand out on their own visually, not just from each other but also from most other books on the direct market. So what happens when they start to crossover?
Absolute Wonder Woman #15, written by Kelly Thompson with art by Hayden Sherman and colors by Jordie Bellaire, is the first real crossover between the heroes of the Absolute Universe. It notably isn’t the first time the line’s books have crossed over though. That would be last October’s Absolute Evil one-shot. In that comic, the central villains from each book in the Absolute line came together to create a united front against the emergent heroes of this world. This places characters like Wonder Woman or Batman on the backfoot. They are off doing their own things while the villains form an exchange of tactics. But of course, this issue ushers in the first meeting between these versions of DC’s iconic heroes, or at least two of them, Batman and Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman has to go to Gotham to follow up on a grisly murder where the mark of her patron God, Hecate, was used. To this end she enlists the help of Gotham’s resident superhero, Batman. This issue is just about everything you’d hope it’d be. We get to see these two all new and all different versions of these two heroes meet for the first time. It’s charming to see the more closed off Batman play off of the more overtly outgoing and empathetic Wonder Woman. The issue is, at its core, a mystery case. Which is both fun and interesting considering Absolute Batman hasn’t really played the detective too much in his book. It also positions the fierce fighter Wonder Woman in a place where she needs to use logic and deduction to solve the case at hand. The mystery, of course, blends the magical and the mundanely criminal in a way only both heroes can solve together. There’s also some excellent action that verges on thriller elements. It’s a cute little set up that pays dividends for a self contained issue that largely is establishing a relationship between these two heroes.
Sherman and Billaire get to play in a different space as compared to previous issues in this book. There is more heavy use of cultic reds and dark colors that bring Gotham and the crime scenes to life. It has almost a gothic quality, especially once Wonder Woman and Batman go to investigate the site of the murder. Billaire quite smartly taps into the moody color palette of Absolute Batman’s Martin while still maintaining her own style. Sherman really gets to play in an exciting space in the aforementioned action scene, their work really brings to life those thriller-esque elements of the issue.
In both their books, Wonder Woman and Batman are extremely empathetic characters. Their relationships to others help them along in a world that is hostile to heroism. So it’s quite heartwarming to see these two empathic heroes form this connection. As corny as this is to say, they’re both united by an unending well of love and empathy, the common ground that forges this new friendship between the heroes.
Absolute Wonder Woman #15 is a fun and exciting romp that closes out the new year for the Absolute line and signals an exciting new development for this universe. It” fun to see these two new iterations of classic heroes interact and play off of each other in a short little mystery. With an ending tease of more team ups to come, the Absolute universe’s future is looking bright.
