posted 07-15-2001 09:46 AM               

Wonder Woman first appeared in comics was in 1941, in issue #8 of All Star Comics, literally on the heels of the debuts of Superman and Batman, respectively. But compared to the other members of DC Comics’ “Big Three,” Wonder Woman’s origins are relatively unknown to non-comics fans. You certainly don’t have to be a comics reader to have seen at least one of the many Superman and Batman adaptations, and absorb even some superficial knowledge about each character’s legend. However, outside of the Lynda Carter television series, Wonder Woman is a mystery to most of us. She’s a pop icon, to be sure, and her spangled customs is as recognizable as Superman’s cape, but there’s still a lot to learn. Les Daniels’ Wonder Woman: A Complete History goes along way in filling in the gaps in Wonder Woman’s origin; even avid comics fans will learn a thing or two.

Content-wise, the book moves chronologically, starting with when psychologist (and inventor of the lie detector test) William Moulton Marston began educating himself about the comics industry. After a well-timed article in Family Circle about the merits of comics, Marston was offered a position on the Editorial Advisory Board of DC and All American Comics. It wasn’t long after that he proposed the idea of a female super hero, “a character with all the allure of an attractive woman but with the strength also of a powerful man,” to M.C. Gaines, the DC executive credited with landing Superman.

The details of Marston landing the position and then convincing Gaines to indulge his new character are sketchy and Daniels does not pretend to know all the facts. He does make allusions that while Marston may have lacked literary talent (his original title for Wonder Woman was Suprema, the Wonder Woman) he was intelligent, educated, and fairly shrewd.

Daniels does a good job of showing how Marston tried to integrate his work as a psychologist with the early Wonder Woman tales. Marston had always been fascinated with the ideas of domination and submission, so it's no wonder (pardon the pun) that the tales penned by Marston (under the pseudonym Charles Moulton) were laced with thinly veiled bondage themes. Wonder Woman made frequent use of her golden lasso in those days and this sparked a public controversy. Marston, however, seemed to almost welcome the controversy because it gave him a chance to espouse his opinions on the subject.

Long after Marston died and others took the book’s helm, Wonder Woman remained more than simply a comic persona. Daniels’ account of Wonder Woman’s very public role in the woman’s liberation movement in the early seventies is one of the highlights of the book. Her appearance on the cover of Ms. Magazine was, to a degree, a validation of her impact on culture outside of the comics, even if Gloria Steinem didn’t quite get all her Wonder Woman facts right. True to the book’s title, Daniels takes the character right up to the current continuity, with nods to character revamps in the sixties and eighties and her Kingdom Come adventures. There’s even the ubiquitous “looking ahead” portion, which in this case is not as eminently skippable as one would imagine.

Visually, the book is stunning; there’s no other word for it. The art design is by Chip Kidd, who also designed the gorgeous Batman: Animated hardcover, one of the books I have on my stranded-on-a-deserted-island list. Beautifully reproduced pages from her early stories interspersed with photos of antique Wonder Woman toys, dolls, and DC promotional items complete the experience. The fact that it is so much fun to leaf through and enjoy Kidd’s layout is probably why these books (Kidd designed all three Complete Histories, as well) earned the unfair “coffee table” label. Fans of the television show will be happy to know that there are plenty of photos from the series included as well as an introduction by Lynda Carter, which is a nice nod to the permanent association many of us have between the actress and the character.

Text-wise, this effort is surely more substantial than a coffee-table book. Full of interesting facts and straightforward summaries of monumental storylines in the character’s canon, it is worthwhile reading for those with even a passing interest in comics history.

(Note: Reviews for this and the other "Complete History" books appaer in Culture and Media because their content is not simply "comics-related." Thanks to my evil hard drive the Superman and Batman reviews are under construction. Bugger!)