Wonder Woman: The Complete Newspaper Strips 1944-1945

by William Moulton Marston (Writer), Harry G. Peter (Artist), Dean Mullaney (Editor)

Just a few years after she burst into comic books, the world's most famous female superhero starred in her own daily newspaper strip written and drawn by the same creative team that produced the comic book: William Moulton Marston and Harry G. Peters. The strip lasted a little more than a year and a half -- from May 1, 1944 until December 1, 1945 -- and is reprinted here for the first time. It all starts on Paradise Island where Amazonian women rule supreme and no men are allowed. Led by Princess Diana, their way of life is about to change when when Steve Trevor, a wounded American soldier, washes up on their shores. Soon, Diana -- rechristened Wonder Woman -- is off to America, where the saga continues!

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

196 pages, Hardcover

First published September 2, 2014

About the author

Dr. William Moulton Marston (May 9, 1893 – May 2, 1947), also known by the pen names Charles Moulton and William Marston, was an American psychologist, feminist theorist, inventor, and comic book writer who created the character Wonder Woman. Two women, his wife Elizabeth Holloway Marston and Olive Byrne (who lived with the couple in a polyamorous relationship), served as exemplars for the character and greatly influenced her creation.

He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2006.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Bracelets of Bronze in an Age of Gold"



Wonderwoman - die erste Superheldin

"Mars has led his man-ruled world into war - the worst of all time! One nation alone fights for love - America! She must win! You Amazons must help America with your power of love and beauty", verkündet Aphrodite gegenüber Hippolyte, der Amazonenkönigin. Und: "Thou wilt select thy strongest, bravest and wisest Amazon girl to accompany Captain Trevor to America - she´ll lead our love and beauty attack on man´s world!"

So kommt es, dass Wonder Woman Diana die Erlaubnis bekommt, die Paradies-Insel der Amazonen zu verlassen und den schwer verletzten Captain Steve Trevor ins geliebte Heimatland zurück zu bringen.
Diana nimmt dort flugs den Dienst als Krankenschwester und wird aufgrund ihrer Verdienste sodann in den Army Intelligence Service befördert:

"Diana, you´re wonderful! You broke a code in two minutes that the Nazis never solved!" - "Nazis are only men", antwortet Diana Prince nicht unbescheiden.



Bald wird WW auch Beraterin des Gerichts und kann das magische Lasso als "Lügendetektor" einsetzen. Neben der Gleichberechtigung der Frau war der Lügendetektor das zweite große Anliegen von William Moulton Marston, der als erster einen gut funktionierenden Polygraphen entwickelte (herrlich, wenn dann der böse Psychologe (!!!), Prof. Hypno, Regierungssektretärinnen en masse hypnotisiert, um an geheime Informationen zu gelangen, und Wonder Woman ihn ansieht: "This nut reminds me of somebody - - but who?").

(hier wird tatsächlich einmal der Polygraph und nicht das magische Lasso eingesetzt)

Mit dem Goldenen Lasso bringt WW zugleich das Bondagezubehör mit, und keine Heldin wird so oft gefesselt wie diese Amazone (nicht einmal Supergirl, die in den Sixties auch einen beachtlichen Run hatte). Es dauert in den Zeitungsstrips einen Monat und eine Woche, bis WW das erste Mal gründlich gefesselt auf dem Boden liegt, danach nimmt das Tempo rasant zu; Ein Fetisch, dessen sich Marston nicht entledigen konnte.
Trotzdem läßt Marston nie Zweifel an der körperlichen und moralischen Überlegenheit von WW gegenüber dem vermeintlich stärkeren Geschlecht aufkommen, zu sehr haben ihn, der in einem Frauenhaushalt aufwuchs, die Frauenrechtlerinnen an amerikanischen Universitäten während seiner Studienzeit beeindruckt (mindestens so lesenswert wie die vorliegenden gesammelten WW Zeitungsstrips von 1944/45 ist übrigens Jill Lepores "The Secret History of Wonder Woman" The Secret History of Wonder Woman, das die erstaunlichen Zusammenhänge zwischen Vita des Genies und Scharlatans Marston und seiner Wonder Woman aufzeigt und ein interessantes Stück Zeitgeschichte und Popkultur beschreibt).

Zu den Abenteuern selbst: Wie in den Zeitungsstrips üblich mäandern die Handlungen ein wenig hin und her, sind mal spannender, mal weniger spannend. Mir fiel auf, dass der Zeichner H.G. Peters insgesamt überraschend ordentliche Artwork abgeliefert hat, aber ausgerechnet die Heldin selbst häufig am schwächsten gezeichnet wird.
Im Fazit ist das Buch für alle Liebhaber des Golden Age Comics und von Wonder Woman ein Muss und auch ein sehr interessantes Stück Zeitgeschichte.

"If woman´s love controls your male dominance you won´t get into trouble"
(Wonder Woman - wer sonst?)

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

My biggest problem with newspaper strip books is they read so short and bitty to try and get a full story in. This one didn't do that. There were only a few plots that took up the book, and they didn't go into a lot of repetition but kept the story going very well. My favourite wasn't a superhero story at all, but rather a noir crime story, with a solider back from the war who was worried his girl had been having an affair. The description of the girl was fantastic, she was stronger and cleverer than him, had also gone to college, and was now making a living for herself as an artist. So not the stereotypical Dame. There was also a lot of nods towards psychology and solving the problems of criminals, rather than simply "locking up the bad guys". There were no Nazis or Japanese to fight in this so thankfully lost the propaganda racism of the comic stories. The art lost nothing for being black and white. The only complaint was that it didn't have enough Etta Candy!

[Nicolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This actually started pretty strong. They seemed to switch directions midway through and suddenly Wonder Woman was no longer fighting bad guys, but instead testifying on court or trying to avoid kissing Steve. The Cheetah stuff was weird. The mental radio was ultra dumb. Still, I'm glad I read it.

We discuss this and other favorites in a special Wonder Woman themed episode of the All the Books Show Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...

[Etienne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a magnificent archival edition and required reading for fans of Wonder Woman. Unfortunately, it is also a product of its time.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

marston was kinky af

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great new Golden Age stories and some HIGH CAMP. Lots of fun for Wonder Woman fans. One storyline in particular was a little tedious, but the last one was fun!

[Adam Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book collects Wonder Woman's 18 month run as a comic strip character. The book presents the origin of Wonder Woman (improved slightly by not having Wonder Woman having to disguise herself during her competition to come to man's world.) The book includes comic strip adaptations of Wonder Woman having her initial battle with the Cheetah and also h sought toer solving the mystery of a woman whose kisses bring death.

The art continues to be superb, but the stories themselves tend to be too off the wall which makes understanding how the series got cancelled. There was a one week story line where Steve sought to get control of the Lasso to tie Wonder Woman's arms and force her to kiss him.

Overall, while it was too weird for mainstream comic companies, fans of the Golden Age Wonder Woman should find it enjoyable.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is everything you could want from a Marston run of Wonder Woman. It's got HG Peter's great, yet static art that you've come to expect and the stories? Amazing. Marston clearly became a better storyteller and had a better idea of what he wanted for Wonder Woman by the time he started writing the Wonder Woman comic strip. He streamlined Wonder Woman's origins and made her early adventures much clearer than his somewhat rocky start on Wonder Woman originally (After all, he was still developing her).
Also nice to see Wonder Woman's lasso is still capable of compelling people.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several of the first few weeks of comics are simple repeats of Wonder Woman comic book storylines, but, beginning with WW's first interactions with Cheetah, the daily strips begin to diverge interestingly from their comic book counterparts. Definitely worth the read even for dedicated WW fans who have read all her vintage books.

[Steven "Steve" · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent collection of all the original newspaper strips by Marston and Peters (one strip might be missing?). Some stories are retold from the comics and others were created especially for the funny papers. The hardcover is gorgeous and the strips are the perfect size for reading.

[Sonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect escape read on a Sunday afternoon. Thanks, mama!