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.
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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 |
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.
Artist Harry G Peter was equally important in defining Wonder Woman and he created a look which conformed to Marston's ideas about beauty, grace and power. A far cry from the current depictions of the character.
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Original Draft Sketches of Wonder Woman
Art by H G Peter |
One theme in the tales that cannot pass without comment is bondage. Ropes and chains abound. Our heroine is tied up, supporting characters are tied up, villains are tied up. It makes one speculate about the exact nature of Marston's relationships with Elizabeth and Olive!
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Sensation Comics #14 (February 1943)
Art by H G Peter |
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Wonder Woman #24 (July/August 1947)
Art by H G Peter |
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Bondage in Wonder Woman #2 (Fall 1942)
Art by H G Peter, Script by William Moulton Marston |
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Bondage in Wonder Woman #6 (Fall 1943)
Art by H G Peter, Script by William Moulton Marston |
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Wonder Woman #28 (March/April 1948)
Art by H G Peter, Script by William Moulton Marston |
There was also repeated use of phallic symbolism.
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Sensation Comics #21 (September 1943)
Art by H G Peter |
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Sensation Comics #26 (February 1944)
Art by H G Peter |
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Sensation Comics #74 (February 1948)
Art by H G Peter |
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Wonder Woman #11 (Winter 1944)
Art by H G Peter |
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Wonder Woman #12 (Spring 1945)
Art by H G Peter |
If you are prepared to either ignore or embrace these themes you will discover a well-written, pacey, uniquely illustrated series of adventures that will engage you and keep you turning the pages. Marston had a gift for the finely honed phrase and Peter's art is great fun. What true comic fan can resist the Invisible Plane?
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Sensation Comics #1 (January 1942)
Art by H G Peter, Script by William Moulton Marston |
Or the "bullets and bracelets" trick?
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Sensation Comics #3 (March 1942)
Art by Irwin Hasen |
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Sensation Comics #48 (December 1945)
Art by H G Peter |
Or the body positive role model and unique supporting character Etta Candy?
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Etta Candy from Sensation Comics #12 (December 1942)
Art by H G Peter, Script by William Moulton Marston |
Or the love triangle between Wonder Woman, Steve Trevor and Diana Prince which puts the Lois and Clark relationship in the shade?
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Diana Prince and Steve Trevor
Wonder Woman #1 (Summer 1942)
Art by H G Peter, Script by William Moulton Marston |
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Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor
Sensation Comics #46 (October 1945)
Art by H G Peter, Script by William Moulton Marston |
Marston died in 1947 and whilst Peter continued to draw the adventures until 1958 the magic was gone and the series drifted through a teen romance period until Bob Kanigher introduced a Silver Age version but that is another story entirely! If you have yet to take the plunge into the Golden Age of Wonder Woman I urge you to do so at the earliest opportunity.
Comics have been criticized for sending subliminal messages. Usually, those critics, like Dr. Frederic Wertham, were probably seeing a subtext that never existed (e.g., the idea of Batman and Robin as a gay couple). But in Wonder Woman's case, the claims are harder to deny. Males were often villains (subhuman brutes or nasty dwarfs), or buffoons (Steve Trevor made Dagwood Bumstead look like Superman). That may have been some sort of attempt at equal time. After all, most comics had heroic men constantly having to rescue helpless damsels. But then there were the constant bondage images. And it wasn't just the equivalent of Luthor tying Lois Lane to a railroad track; there was a frequent theme of men trying to dominate women, and of men betraying women who trusted them. The strip was like a feminist fable, or a cautionary tale that mothers might tell their adolescent daughters.
ReplyDeleteIt is ironic that Marston was initially engaged as a consultant to promote the educational and wholesome nature of comics!
DeleteI never really knew who was the audience for Wonder Woman. The superhero genre is basically a boy's power fantasy. I didn't know any boys who read comics that had a female lead character. And I never knew any girls who read super-hero/action-adventure comics, period. Obviously, somebody was buying it, or it would have been cancelled. Maybe it had a closet audience, like other guilty pleasures (porn, soap opera, professional wrestling). That is, more fans read it than would admit it.
ReplyDeleteI did read somewhere that Wonder Woman had to be published to stop the rights reverting to the Marston estate, which would explain the reason the title has endured through some pretty poor periods.
DeleteBesides Boy Commandos, Blackhawk, and Captain Marvel, I would recommend almost anything by Simon & Kirby (Newsboy Legion, Manhunter, Captain America), Jack Cole's Plastic Man, and Will Eisner's Spirit. Lou Fine's strips at Quality (the Ray and Black Condor) had good artwork, if routine scripts.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Simon and Kirby are standouts on everything. I forgot about Plastic Man and regard The Spirit as a newspaper strip although it is of course excellent!
DeleteAlso, Fawcett's Captain Marvel Jr. and Bulletman had good artwork (Mac Raboy). Another Marvel spin-off, Mary Marvel, had charming, sometimes tongue-in-cheek stories that did not take themselves too seriously. Wonder Woman is so odd and kinky that it exerts a weird, almost addictive, fascination!
DeleteI also could never figure out who WW was aimed at, but I enjoyed the Denny O'Neil run (many years later) - although, truth to tell, it wasn't really Wonder Woman. Also enjoyed John Byrne's run, but there's just something about the character which is inherently underwhelming.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the character is inherently derivative, since she was originally conceived as a female counterpart to Superman. And the early 1970's version seemed imitative of Emma Peel. -TC
DeleteThe history of Wonder Woman is one of my favorite Golden Age tropes. Spanking, bondage, and crazy imagery...what more fun can be had?
ReplyDeleteOn a personal note, I'd love to contact you regarding an upcoming celeb-filled comics series that features the participation of some of the top names in the business, and focuses on Golden/Silver/Bronze Age comics. If you're interested in finding out more, and possibly participating, contact me at: kurt@isml.info
Thanks!
I never understood what use there was in having an invisible airplane when the people inside it were still visible from the outside. It wasn't really invisible, just transparent. But then, in comics, invisible and transparent are often the same thing. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, but isn't it cool and highly memorable!
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