Wonder Woman is marketed by DC as one of their three top franchises but I have failed to connect with the character when I have attempted to read any of the numerous re-launches over the last twenty five years or so. However, this all changed when I read the original Wonder Woman stories from the Golden Age by William Moulton Marston and H G Peter. I sometimes struggle with Golden Age books, hence the focus of this blog is the Silver and Bronze Ages, but there are some characters whose stories are truly excellent and I can recommend Boy Commandos from DC, Captain Marvel from Fawcett and Blackhawk from Quality Comics as being particularly good. I did not think for a moment that Wonder Woman would join this list but she has.
Writer William Moulton Marston, who used the pen name Charles Moulton, was a very interesting and eccentric character himself. A noted psychologist who contributed to the development of the polygraph test he was a feminist who shared his home not only with his wife Elizabeth but with his girlfriend Olive Byrne, who may also have been Elizabeth's lover. Marston wanted to promote his feminist belief in the superiority of women and Wonder Woman was his ideal powerful beauty.
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| Sensation Comics #1 (January 1942) Art by H G Peter and John L Blummer |
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| Boy Commandos #5 (Winter 1943 - 1944) Pencil Art by Jack Kirby, inks: Joe Simon |
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| Whiz Comics #20 (August 1941) Pencil Art by C C Beck, inks: Pete Costanza |
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| Military Comics #13 (November 1942) Art by Reed Crandall |
