Wonder Woman comics at the height of U.S. In one episode, Diana Prince wrestles an opponent for war bonds. involvement in the war featured a plea to buy U.S. Likewise, many Wonder Woman comics at the height of U.S. Instead, images like Rosie the Riveter became popular. Rarely did American propaganda posters put out by the army show explicit, photographic realism of the battlefield. This comic’s portrayal of patriotism matched many of the concerted national efforts geared toward women and children at the time, who happened to be Moulton’s major audience. Duncan, Smith, and Levitz note in The Power of Comics that early comic books mixed the format of comic strips with the drama of the “hero pulps,” like The Shadow and Doc Savage.Īlongside the superhero drama in early Wonder Woman stood the real-world antipathy of the Axis Powers. It’s not surprising to find overwrought plotlines in 1940s-era comics. Scholars Ames and Kunzle note that 18,000,000 comic books were sold monthly, making up a total of a third of all magazine sales in 1943. These comics marked the golden era of comic books, at least in terms of sales. Zany plot twists aside, the widespread nature of comic books meant their cultural impact went beyond entertainment. Photo: Rachel Mans McKenny Pop Cultural Propaganda And then there’s Sensation Comics #13, where Wonder Woman, rumored dead, reveals herself at a co-ed bowling championship (and defeats Nazis).įrom Comic Cavalcade #4 (Fall 1943). For instance, in Comic Cavalcade #1 (Winter 1943), while attempting to rescue a boy from a Nazi submarine, Wonder Woman stumbles upon Hawthorne’s House of Seven Gables, which becomes key to her victory. Both of these types of adventures veer into uncharted territories of non-sequiturs. One has to appreciate the ridiculous long-sightedness of a villain like that, as well as the obvious schilling in the comic for the American dairy industry.Įarly Wonder Woman comics matched the heroine, her bandleader-sidekick Etta Candy, and love interest Steve Trevor against two types of bad guys: WWII-era Axis spies or Greek gods from outer space. One memorable episode matches foe Paula von Gunther against Diana Prince in a scheme to cease accessible milk supply for the youth of America in order to cripple the armies twenty years down the line. Wonder Woman, of course, wasn’t written as a primary text for cultural sensitivity and enlightenment, but for entertainment. On the other hand, Marston once justified the chains to his editor by saying that “ women enjoy submission.”
Charles Moulton Marston’s explanation of the constant chaining up of Diana has been described, on one hand, as a nod to the struggles of the suffragettes. Besides these gifts, she wears her characteristic costume and her bracelets, which repel bullets but also act as kryptonite if chains are attached to them by men.
Diana opts to leave the island to aid the world of men, bringing with her a magic lasso, mind-controlled radio, and invisible jet. Wonder Woman debuted in All-Star Comics #8 in 1942, with her origin story marking her early years with her Amazon sisters (including jousting atop kangaroos) and the fateful crash-landing of Steve Trevor on Paradise Island. What did American womanhood mean to a 1943 audience?Īfter watching herself take the oath of office in the Sphere, Diana turns to her mother and says, “Oh Mother, he didn’t beat me after all - I almost wish he had.
While comparative essays exist discussing dueling origin stories in the comics and movie and the sanitized sexuality of the film, the context and substance of these early comics deserve critical examination. Poor Steve!”Ĭontrast this sentiment with the feminist (particularly white feminist) embracing of the new Wonder Woman franchise.
After watching herself take the oath of office in the Sphere, Diana turns to her mother and says, “Oh Mother, he didn’t beat me after all - I almost wish he had. The superhero’s alter ego Diana Prince runs on behalf of the “Woman’s Party” against her very own Steve Trevor. (Before praising Wonder Woman’s creator, Charles Marston Moulton, for his progressiveness, note that he sets this victory in the year 3004 A.D.) The opening blurb states that it will be “Wonder Woman herself, that gorgeous, stupendous personification of all that is glorious in American Womanhood” who will be president. In Wonder Woman #7, published in the winter of 1943, Diana and her mother stare into their Magic Sphere on Paradise Island and see that in the future, a woman will become president.
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