Absolute Wonder Woman #18

The last issue of Absolute Wonder Woman was quite an unexpected ride, as Giganta stepped into the spotlight as one of Diana’s fiercest foes yet. It was starting to look like Absolute Wonder Woman‘s ‘Season of the Witch’ arc was set to be a non-stop battle royale, but as seems to be tradition at this point, the release of Absolute Wonder Woman #18 completely subverted my expectations, as our titular protagonist retreats for a brief respite, before re-joining the fray.

Today, we’re reviewing Absolute Wonder Woman #18, with spoilers included! Make sure you read the issue for yourself if you’ve been keeping up to date with the series! So, let’s get into it! It’s time to dive into our Absolute Wonder Woman #18 review!

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Absolute Wonder Woman #18 Review

Image by DC Comics

After the last issue of this series was an action-packed outing from the get-go, I was expecting Absolute Wonder Woman #18 to keep the pace going, as Diana stared down the barrel of her next opponent, a giant skeleton man. My lack of intricate comic knowledge has often failed me throughout this series, and the Absolute comics in general, because when this antagonist was teased in the last issue, I had no thoughts on him at all. Luckily, Diana was in as much need of a break as I was, and she is quickly whisked away from the fight in the early pages of Absolute Wonder Woman #18, for a trip to see some old friends.

As a result of her retreat, Absolute Wonder Woman #18 is an extremely calm comic, one which shifts the focus completely away from high-stakes action, and towards the importance of the supporting cast that the comic has built throughout previous arcs. Peagsus, Ferdinand, and Petra all make returns in this issue, and it’s far more exciting to see them all than I would have imagined it would be. Diana has been pretty unstoppable in Absolute Wonder Woman since the beginning, often leaving her supporting cast feeling borderline useless. It’s nice to see them provide support to Wonder Woman in one of her rare times of need, even if they still don’t do all that much.

The calmer feel of Absolute Wonder Woman #18 doesn’t equate with poor storytelling however. The big twist of this issue is Zatanna’s alliance with Wonder Woman, something I didn’t see coming at all, despite me knowing that Zatanna is usually one to find herself on the heroic side of things in the DC Universe. At first, I was a little unsure about this turn of events – after all, I was set on Zatanna being the one to really bring the fight to Diana as one of Absolute Wonder Woman‘s first major villains. However, I actually quite enjoy the dynamic of Zatanna as a shaky ally, one that Diana cannot fully trust, but keeps by her side with due caution. Who knows? Maybe Zatanna will end up betraying Diana in the future? This approach to her character at least leaves that door open, which is a promising development.

Image by DC Comics

Zatanna’s real gift to Absolute Wonder Woman though is her visual flair. The visuals in Absolute Wonder Woman have really blossomed since Zatanna was introduced, and this issue is no exception. There’s a very short, and subdued battle between Diana and Zatanna in Absolute Wonder Woman #18, and though it’s nothing to write home about from the perspective of progressing the plot, the visuals are truly beautiful. Recent issues of Absolute Wonder Woman have really captured what I’ve loved about this series’ illustrations from the beginning, the mixture of a gritty baseline, with splashes of colour from all sorts of magical spells.

It’s largely thanks to these visuals, and the overall calming, unusual vibe of this issue, that I was left with a really pleasant feeling after reading Absolute Wonder Woman #18. Usually, I feel a little hard done by when the plot of one of these comics progresses minimally, because we only get treated to a new issue once a month. However, Absolute Wonder Woman #18 just worked for me, way more than it should have. There was something nice about seeing Diana reunite with many of her old allies, and the heroic turn of Zatanna. I’m hoping we get back to the action in Absolute Wonder Woman #19, but for now, I’m enjoying the respite.

Speaking of getting back to the action, we do see Diana return to last issue’s battleground in the closing pages of this issue, where she comes across Ara. Much like Zatanna, Ara turns out to be a member of the Suicide Squad who wants nothing to do with killing Diana, and ends up fleeing the scene after Diana relieves her of her hostage parasite. This interaction didn’t do much for me, and felt like a quick way to write Ara out of the story. However, I did get a brief flashback to Nina from Creature Commandos during this interaction, which I enjoyed, so the issue gets a couple of sympathy points on that note.

Image by DC Comics

The excitement isn’t over just yet for Absolute Wonder Woman #18 though, as we also get treated to the reveal that the giant fire skeleton monster, a creature that looks like it was pulled directly from the most hardcore metal album cover you’ve ever seen, is actually Zatanna’s father, Giovanni. This reveal worked for me, mainly because it adds both a little emotional weight, and a lot of moral complexity to this upcoming battle. Without this reveal, this could have easily been considered a generic, hellish creature that Diana would exorcise with relative ease. I’m interested to see how this storyline plays out, with Zatanna’s new dynamic added to the mix.

Ultimately, I enjoyed Absolute Wonder Woman #18. It was pretty uneventful in the grand scheme of things, but it did feature some enjoyable reunions, and some compelling plot twists that introduce interesting emotional dynamics when it comes to upcoming fights. The issue didn’t exactly push forward with the momentum of the Giganta fight in the last issue, but it looks like the stage is set for Diana and Giovanni to go all-out in the next issue. A brief respite for our Absolute Wonder Woman cast turned out to be a really enjoyable sidebar this month, and I’m content with what we got in this issue.

What did you think of Absolute Wonder Woman #18? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comment section, and thank you for reading!

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