I am Wonder Woman: Hear me roar
As Comic Art Friday regulars have surely figured out by now, my collection boasts more images of Wonder Woman than of any other single superhero. (The Scarlet Witch is a distant second. Mary Marvel will in all likelihood leap up from third within the foreseeable future.)
Why Wonder Woman, you ask?
Diana the Amazon Princess captured my attention early in my comic-reading years, back when I was a hardcore Marvelite and pretended not to read anything with the DC Comics bullet on the cover. I always admired the image of a powerful woman; one who could outfight and outwit even the deadliest of supervillains. Marvel didn't have a heroine of Wonder Woman's strength potential until Ms. Marvel debuted in 1977. Thus, in my formative years, the mighty Diana stood head and shoulders above all others.
Let's face it: Wonder Woman is a female power fantasy. (A fantasy, incidentally, shared by many men — including Diana's creator, psychiatrist and sexual theorist William Moulton Marston.) In her best comic book adventures, Wonder Woman has always been presented as a role model for young women, a testament to the fact that sisters can do it for themselves. In a universe that is home to such alpha males as Superman and Batman, Wonder Woman takes second place to none. And, to paraphrase Ginger Rogers, she does it all in a bustier and high heels.
Today's an exciting time for Wonder Woman fans. For only the second time in her seven-decade career, Diana's ongoing adventures are being scripted by a female writer — best-selling author Jodi Picoult, who's doing a nice job with the character in a six-issue arc of Wonder Woman. Better still, when Jodi leaves the book, she'll be handing the reins to one of the finest writers now working in comics — Gail Simone, currently the scripter of Birds of Prey and Gen13. Also, waiting in the wings for next year is the much-anticipated companion series All-Star Wonder Woman, to be written and illustrated by legendary Wonder Woman cover artist Adam Hughes.
Even though my teenaged daughter is not much of a comic book reader, I'm glad there's a Wonder Woman out there to remind her that she can be whatever her talents, interests, and abilities enable her to be. All she needs is confidence, determination, and inner strength.
Bulletproof bracelets and a golden lasso help, too.
And that's your Comic Art Friday.
Why Wonder Woman, you ask?
Diana the Amazon Princess captured my attention early in my comic-reading years, back when I was a hardcore Marvelite and pretended not to read anything with the DC Comics bullet on the cover. I always admired the image of a powerful woman; one who could outfight and outwit even the deadliest of supervillains. Marvel didn't have a heroine of Wonder Woman's strength potential until Ms. Marvel debuted in 1977. Thus, in my formative years, the mighty Diana stood head and shoulders above all others.
Let's face it: Wonder Woman is a female power fantasy. (A fantasy, incidentally, shared by many men — including Diana's creator, psychiatrist and sexual theorist William Moulton Marston.) In her best comic book adventures, Wonder Woman has always been presented as a role model for young women, a testament to the fact that sisters can do it for themselves. In a universe that is home to such alpha males as Superman and Batman, Wonder Woman takes second place to none. And, to paraphrase Ginger Rogers, she does it all in a bustier and high heels.
Today's an exciting time for Wonder Woman fans. For only the second time in her seven-decade career, Diana's ongoing adventures are being scripted by a female writer — best-selling author Jodi Picoult, who's doing a nice job with the character in a six-issue arc of Wonder Woman. Better still, when Jodi leaves the book, she'll be handing the reins to one of the finest writers now working in comics — Gail Simone, currently the scripter of Birds of Prey and Gen13. Also, waiting in the wings for next year is the much-anticipated companion series All-Star Wonder Woman, to be written and illustrated by legendary Wonder Woman cover artist Adam Hughes.
Even though my teenaged daughter is not much of a comic book reader, I'm glad there's a Wonder Woman out there to remind her that she can be whatever her talents, interests, and abilities enable her to be. All she needs is confidence, determination, and inner strength.
Bulletproof bracelets and a golden lasso help, too.
And that's your Comic Art Friday.
Labels: Comic Art Friday
SwanShadow was randomly pounding the keyboard at 11:06 AM
2 insisted on sticking two cents in:
No offense, but I feel Wonder Woman may be in perhaps a creative nadir that someone down the line will have to fix via a contrived and unsatisfying explination.
Amazons Attack is really nothing more than "EVIL FEMNAZIS ATTACK AMERICA!" Stupid. And sexist.
"I am Wonder Woman:Hear me sing"
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