Wonder Woman Unbound: The Curious History of the World's Most Famous Heroine

by Tim Hanley

Overview

2015 Amelia Bloomer Project List

This close look at Wonder Woman’s history portrays a complicated heroine who is more than just a female Superman with a golden lasso and bullet-deflecting bracelets. The original Wonder Woman was ahead of her time, advocating female superiority and the benefits of matriarchy in the 1940s. At the same time, her creator filled the comics with titillating bondage imagery, and Wonder Woman was tied up as often as she saved the world. In the 1950s, Wonder Woman begrudgingly continued her superheroic mission, wishing she could settle down with her boyfriend instead, all while continually hinting at hidden lesbian leanings. While other female characters stepped forward as women’s lib took off in the late 1960s, Wonder Woman fell backwards, losing her superpowers and flitting from man to man. Ms. magazine and Lynda Carter restored Wonder Woman’s feminist strength in the 1970s, turning her into a powerful symbol as her checkered past was quickly forgotten. Exploring this lost history adds new dimensions to the world’s most beloved female character, and Wonder Woman Unbound delves into her comic book and its spin-offs as well as the myriad motivations of her creators to showcase the peculiar journey that led to Wonder Woman’s iconic status.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613749098
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	04/01/2014
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	1,127,771
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Tim Hanley is a comic book historian. He writes a blog, Straitened Circumstances, that discusses Wonder Woman and women in comics, and his monthly column, “Gendercrunching,” runs on www.bleedingcool.com. He has also written several articles for the Tumblr magazine DC Women Kicking Ass.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Part 1 The Golden Age

1 The Utopian Alternative 3

2 Damsels in Distress 25

3 Amazon Princess, Bondage Queen 43

Interlude 1 Wonder Woman's Extra Features 73

Part 2 The Silver Age

4 A Herculean Task 89

5 Focus on the Family, or Superman Is a Jackass 107

6 Conforming to the Code 127

Interlude 2 Letters and Advertisements 151

Part 3 The Bronze Age

7 Wonder Woman No More 161

8 Doin' It for Themselves 175

9 Restoration and Re-creation 197

10 The Mundane Modern Age 225

Conclusion 243

Acknowledgments 247

Source Notes 251

Bibliography 285

Index 295

Editorial Reviews

"I’ve never seen more information about Wonder Woman than in Wonder Woman Unbound! Author Tim Hanley tells us everything we’ve never asked about Wonder Woman because it simply never occurred to us: from her mythic Golden Age origins through her dismal Silver Age years as a lovesick romance comic character, and worse yet, when she lost her costume and powers in the late 1960s. Our favorite Amazon’s saga becomes upbeat again with the 1970s advent of Gloria Steinem and Ms Magazine, and Lynda Carter’s unforgettable portrayal of her on television. And it’s all told with a dollop of humor, thanks, Tim!"- Trina Robbins, author of Pretty in Ink, North American Women Cartoonists from 1896 to 2013

"Wonder Woman is the sum of her parts, and all of those parts should be examined thoroughly—something this book does very well." —Bust

"A lively and important examination of a key feminist icon." —Booklist

"There’s plenty here for Wonder Woman fans; Hanley writes with clarity and enthusiasm, and he’s got a fine eye for the goofy absurdities of comic-book narratives..." —Salon.com



 "An entertaining and informative read. [Hanley] helpfully situates his subject in the universe of superhero comics and ably describes what made her seem unique and powerful to readers in her early years." —Library Journal



 

"Bondage, polyamory, lab coats, comic books, feminism: this story has everything. It's weird and complicated, but at least it has a good interpreter in Hanley." —Chicago Reader

"...the author offers a compelling and insightful consideration of a cultural icon that has endured and engaged with the culture for many decades without ever truly being known. A richly detailed, often-surprising work of comic-book scholarship." —Kirkus



"A useful companion history that’s good at placing the character in the setting of her comic-franchise peers." —New York Review of Books

From the Publisher

2014-06-12
Hanley traces the long, strange existence of Wonder Woman, the world’s most famous female superhero and complicated feminist icon.Wonder Woman’s creator, psychologist William Moulton Marston, proves to be by far the most fascinating character in the narrative. An accomplished three-time Harvard graduate, co-inventor of the polygraph (which found an analog in Wonder Woman’s truth-compelling magic lasso) and developer of the still relevant DISC theory of human behavior, Marston was also a polyamorous bondage enthusiast who believed in the imminence of a shift in society toward matriarchy. His creation was intended to prepare young boys for their inevitable disenfranchisement—indeed, to make them happy about it. From this heady stew of high-minded theory and sexual kinkiness, Marston added a pastiche of Greek mythology tropes, and his Avenging Amazon was born. Hanley charts the many incarnations of the character over the decades, from bland post-Marston escapist twaddle to the disastrous attempts to make her “relevant” and hip in the mod era to Gloria Steinem’s successful campaign to return Wonder Woman to her girl-power roots and establish her as an icon of liberal feminism. At each stage, Wonder Woman was beset by bizarre tonal inconsistencies, muddled ideology and frequent editorial neglect or incompetence. Hanley identifies the character’s lack of a coherent, consistent core and, paradoxically, her strength as an icon. Simultaneously semiotically loaded and a blank slate, Wonder Woman is uniquely positioned to reflect whatever values her various constituencies wish to project. Hanley’s analysis is well-argued and richly supported, but he is prone to long digressions—e.g., his discussion of Marston’s cheesy erotic novel and a fixation on Lois Lane. Ultimately, though, the author offers a compelling and insightful consideration of a cultural icon that has endured and engaged with the culture for many decades without ever truly being known.A richly detailed, often surprising work of comic-book scholarship.

Kirkus Reviews