Wonder Woman: The Once & Future Story

Wonder Woman

by Trina Robbins, Colleen Doran (Illustrator), Jackson Guice (Inker)

Is this Superman's girlfriend?

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Wonder Woman, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Fiction

47 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Trina Robbins is an American comics artist and writer. She was an early and influential participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the few female artists in underground comix when she started. Her first comics were printed in the East Village Other. She later joined the staff of a feminist underground newspaper It Ain't Me, Babe, with whom she produced the first all-woman comic book titled It Ain't Me Babe. She became increasingly involved in creating outlets for and promoting female comics artists, through projects such as the comics anthology Wimmen's Comix. She was also the penciller on Wonder Woman for a time in the '80s.

Trina has worked on an adaptation of Sax Rohmer's Dope for Eclipse Comics and GoGirl with artist Anne Timmons for Image Comics.

Trina designed Vampirella's costume for Forrest Ackerman and Jim Warren.

In addition to her comics work, Robbins is an author of non-fiction books, including several with an emphasis on the history of women in cartooning.

She is the first of the three "Ladies of the Canyon" in Joni Mitchell's classic song from the album of the same name.

Trina Robbins won a Special Achievement Award from the San Diego Comic Con in 1989 for her work on Strip AIDS U.S.A., a benefit book that she co-edited with Bill Sienkiewicz and Robert Triptow.

Reviews

[Leanne Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so sad....dealing with the issues of domestic violence. But it is so important and very accurate in its portrayal of abusers and abused women. I thought it brilliant how the story of Artemis and Ancient Greece were woven in with present day Ireland and Wonder Woman. I'm sure that this book has helped a lot of women. I hope so, anyways.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this directly from Colleen's website as it has been out of print for awhile. I'm not usually into superheroes but this was a compelling story about archaeology, mythology and domestic violence. It was a hard read and a sad one but sensitively done with some beautiful art work by Colleen.

[Nicolas Lontel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Once and Future Story est ce qu'un comic de super-héro·ïne devrait aspirer à être. Raconté sous la forme de deux récits parallèles qui informent la narration de l'autre récit (le récit primaire par l'autrice Trina Robbins, le récit "secondaire" par Wonder Woman), la narration aborde les thèmes de la violence envers les femmes et celle dite "domestique" et d'esclavage sexuel depuis l'antiquité à aujourd'hui à l'aide de deux récits tragiques qui tentent d'expliquer pourquoi certaines femmes restent avec leur abuseur. C'est définitivement un récit dur sur le moral (surtout à lire depuis une semaine au Québec) et qui vient chercher les émotions de son lectorat.

Le récit primaire explore une découverte de tablette archéologique par une équipe en Irlande et l'arrivée de Wonder Woman chargée de traduire celle-ci du grec ancien. Le récit s'étire sur plusieurs jours et pendant ce temps, la super-héroïne remarque la violence infligée sur une des archéologues par son mari et se retrouve impuissante à agir à la demande de la femme battue de ne pas intervenir ce que la protagoniste n'arrive pas à comprendre.

Le second récit imagine une Alcippé (ce n'est pas clair exactement laquelle dans la mythologie grecque, mais le flou est assez intentionnel je pense) provenant d'une société matriarcale (mais pas Themyscira) forcée de se marier à Thésée suite à sa défaite. Sa fille, Artémis d'Éphèse tente de se porter à son secours pour la délivrer de ce mariage forcé et de la violence qu'elle subit aux mains de Thésée.

Les deux récits mettront en scène des femmes qui restent avec leur mari plus ou moins malgré elle. Je pense que la quatrième de couverture explicite beaucoup mieux le problème au centre des narrations: "There are so many reasons why women stay in abusive relationships. Maybe she feels sorry for him, or thinks she can help him. Or maybe he really has her convinced it's all her fault!".

L'édition est complète avec une liste de ressources contre les violences à la fin. C'est vraiment juste désespérant de trouver une telle BD épuisée de nos jours alors qu'elle devrait clairement être parmi les classiques du genre et constamment ré-imprimée surtout avec une autrice comme Trina Robbins.

Un des meilleurs comic de super-héro·ïne que j'ai eu l'occasion de lire, de loin. L'échange entre les trames narratives, la mythologie, la narration, les thèmes abordés, tout est réussi.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trina Robbins does a great job tackling a tough issue.

Unfortunately, this was 20 years ago and things haven’t changed. 20 years or 3,000 years, and domestic violence is still rampant.

We need better laws, better support. We need to stop men from committing these atrocious crimes. We need men who aren’t abusive need to step up and fight this issue. I don’t know what it’s going to take, but it’s just one more symptom of a patriarchal society that entitles men to feel like they own women and are invulnerable to getting recompense for their crimes.

[Emile Rudoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Llegué prácticamente en blanco a esta historia y me sorprendió gratamente. Toca un tema muy delicado y fuerte, la violencia contra la mujer. Me gustó mucho la manera de abordarlo, entrelazando una historia de las amazonas con la trama real y me encantó la resolución. Quizás lo único que podría ponerle de pero es que las tintas de Butch Guice hacen ver algo sucio el trabajo de Colleen Doran, pero no es algo que haga desmerecer la historia, que creo que todo fan de Wonder Woman debería de leer (y aunque no seas fan de Wonder Woman).

[John Esse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely phenomenal. If I told you that there's a 90s comic where Wonder woman takes on domestic violence, you'd expect it to be in poor taste. It is anything but. This is a powerful and important message that needs to be read. Maybe, with enough stories like this, domestic violence will one day just be a story from the past.

[Ektor1714 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un poderoso One-shot, se lo recomendaría leer a cualquier persona. Es un must read sin duda alguna; tanto para conocer a Wonder Woman, cómo para leer una excelente y triste historia que lamentablemente sigue pasando.

[Kurt Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful and well-done story dealing with the timeless issue of domestic violence. What could have been very ham-fisted is told strongly and with emotion. Well done, recommended quick read.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first and last Wonder Woman comic I ever had (went missing). It was my favorite comic and showed a side of Wonder Woman that I never saw before. Something all Wonder Woman fans should read.