Absolute Wonder Woman Vol. 2: As My Mothers Made Me

Absolute Universe (Collected Edition) #8

by Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman (Artist), Matías Bergara (Artist)

Trapped in the Maze, Forged by Myth—Wonder Woman Faces Her Greatest Test

Absolute Wonder Woman Vol. 2: As My Mothers Made Me continues Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman’s bold new vision of Diana of Themyscira. Collecting issues #8–14, this volume finds Wonder Woman navigating the twisted corridors of Area 41’s Black Box Maze—a prison of temptation, trauma, and revelation. As Diana confronts the horrors of man’s world and the truth of her Amazonian legacy, she must choose between rage and compassion, isolation and connection. With supernatural threats erupting across the globe and Smallville under siege, Diana’s journey becomes a battle for identity, justice, and the soul of humanity. Available in both hardcover and softcover formats.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Wonder Woman, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy

208 pages, Paperback

Expected publication February 17, 2026

About the author

KELLY THOMPSON has a degree in Sequential Art from The Savannah College of Art & Design. Her love of comics and superheroes have compelled her since she first discovered them as a teenager. Currently living in Portland, Oregon with her boyfriend and the two brilliant cats that run their lives, you can find Kelly all over the Internet where she is generally well liked, except where she's detested.

Kelly has published two novels - THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING (2012) and STORYKILLER (2014) and the graphic novel HEART IN A BOX from Dark Horse Comics (2015). She's currently writing ROGUE & GAMBIT, HAWKEYE, and PHASMA for Marvel Comics and GHOSTBUSTERS for IDW. Other major credits include: A-Force, Captain Marvel & The Carol Corps, Jem and The Holograms, Misfits, Power Rangers Pink, and the creator-owned mini-series Mega Princess.

Kelly's ambitions are eclipsed only by her desire to exist entirely in pajamas. Fortunately pajamas and writers go hand in hand (most of the time). Please buy all her stuff so that she can buy (and wear) more pajamas.

Reviews

[natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jesus (Absolute Zatanna) was seen i just fainted

[A Serious Firefighter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Also update to date with this series! Excited for the WW/Batman crossover next 🫡

[Renato · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a recap : Absolute Wonder Woman takes place in a world where Diana of Themyscira is stolen from the Amazons as a baby, and put into the care of Circe. Diana grows up in the underworld (on Wild Isle in Hell) and develops the strength of magic first and foremost. (Sure, she can still dole out some physical intimidation, but this is mostly used as a secondary strength).

Because all rivers eventually find the sea, Diana escapes the underworld and decides to become a great champion for humanity, declaring Gateway City as her new home.

This 2nd volume deals with two story arcs:
a) one where Diana gets word that another Amazon is stuck in the middle of maze under "Area 41" (which is a agency that is being set up as a militaristic antagonist to Diana).
b) one where Area 41 releases a magical adversary to opppose the effect that Diana is having on the world (arataZ annataZ)

Both arcs serve to further develop Absolute Wonder Woman's raison d'etre in this series, and the artwork is pretty defining (I get my most favourite depicition of a primordial force in this volume):


My only qualm is that it appears that they are rushing to get these Absolute DC heroes into the same series. This volume does not only reference events from Absolute Superman, but also the next AWW issue is supposedly going to be called "The Batman". Not everything has to be an interconnected universe (blegh).

[Frank-Intergalactic Bookdragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the labyrinth in this, wish we got even more of it. Ferdinand my beloved. Love Diana's arc throughout this and how she must balance compassion and violence. Zatanna was cool but trying to read her spells made my head hurt.

This volume doesn't come out until February but all the issues are out so I'm reviewing this instead of all the individual issues.

[Pruett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basically comics perfection

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Women named Kelly are so talented and funny and smart

YESSS fortress of solitude and chosen fam 🫶🏻

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diana is good and she makes other people want to be good.

[Lyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

ZEUS GIVE US MORE ZANTANA AND MY LIFE IS YOURS

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second story arc is visually stunning. Hayden Sherman’s panels from the area 41 maze carry this book for me. I am very much looking forward to seeing Sherman’s take on Gotham City again with the Absolute Batman crossover now that Dark Patterns is over.

Plot wise this is a slow burn, with the last two issues feeling like we’re filling time before the crossover (Where Zatanna will presumably show up again?). I don’t know much about Zatanna’s character outside of the old BTAS cartoon where she wasn’t more than a Bruce love interest, so I really like her villainous reimagining here. I suspect Kelly Thompson will make her a much more compelling character beyond her looks (Which Sherman also nailed).

DC’s Absolute titles are cooking right now and this is the strongest one of the bunch in my opinion.

[Kristen Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Loved the maze, but had a bit of an abrupt and anti climatic ending. The villain in this arc just didn’t feel as unstoppable as the last one. However, I’m loving the set up at the end with volumes 13 and 14 and the color was much better. I’m really hoping to see Diana truly challenged in the next arc both physically and morally. This volume unfortunately fell a bit flat for me in terms of her character growth and exploration.

[haney]

"...You are right, Diana of Themyscira. Something is wrong with the world. And has been for a very long time. Maybe since the beginning. There's a darkness I do not quite undertand."

once again i am beyond in love with this story. so beautifully written and illustrated, all the artists did an incredible job. i'm in loooove with absolute diana.

"You will fight this darkness."

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not sure why DC needs to produce any other comics, WW is the ultimate Mary Sue - stronger, smarter, kinder, braver than anyone she meets, to the point that she talks a God into doing her bidding. All that perfection in one package makes for terribly boring stories.

[Keegan Schueler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good continuation off the first volume and I like the art in particular along with the new version of the mythos for the Amazon history. Cale is a great villain in this and seems to be a great overarching threat this series will be dealing with.

[diego · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh how i LOVE you absolute diana❤️❤️❤️🥰🥰🫶🫶🌈💖💖. she’s literally so perfect, sweetest kindest girl forced to fix the world. UGH Abs WW is so good, still loving this version, her origin, and her characterization.

Also the Batman crossover tease is peak, now to read absolute batman😈🙏

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Greatly enjoying the art and story on this run. Diana is depicted well and having her be raised by Circe and know spells is inspired. Lots of mythological characters are explored in interesting ways here.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still the best comic DC is putting out right now. Here she heads to a maze in some secret government facility where mythological creature are kept. Then there's a 2 part story drawn by Matias Bergara. I hate his art but the story is still good.

[Tyson]

wow issue #10 wow

[Cristian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love all the mythology we are being exposed to in this series, can't wait for Diana to punch Zeus in the face

[Laura Zarzyńska · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dajcie mi tego więcej!

[Lau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute Zatanna 🙂‍↕️

[Valuxiea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as big on this second arc, but still outstanding writing and art.

[Erica🐈‍⬛🧚🏻‍♀️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly don’t think I’ve ever loved a comic series more than absolute Wonder Woman. The art alone is enough to bring tears to my eyes and the story is so incredible I cannot wait for more

[PotatoUnicoorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonder woman and DC comics in general have never been more peak than Absolute ww, aghshfhfhhf so good>>>>>>>

[scarlet♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

im crushed that absolute zatanna is not real because god i want her

[A J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in single issues. Possibly the best cape comic I’ve read this year.

[Mely]

Read as single issues.

[Ruhul Arif Amit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love this series. The original artist is better than the rest though.

[Andres Pasten · Rating 3 out of 5]

entretiene, pero no me termina de convencer, pero con un par de números dibujados por Bergara, todo bien...

[Anca · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing omg

[luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

good soup