CBR: Wonder of Wonders Issue #1

[Gail Simone]

Jeff, first, thank you. I love to pick on you because of your obvious hygiene and social issues, but I still love your work to pieces.

I think you have raised a very interesting point, and there's no question it's made it harder for people to relate to WW as a character. No male superhero is asked to shoulder the burden of the entire world's views on the masculine gender, but for Wonder Woman, that is exactly what many people think of when they think of her.

So I wanted to tell stories where she did human things, made human mistakes, but ultimately triumphed. That's really the thing that interests me most about her.

[Craig M.D.]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Nicola Scott have some pics of her in a Wonder Woman costume floating around the net a few years ago (I seem to recall seeing them posted on Millarworld or the comicbloc forums at one point)? Is that one of them at the top of the blog?

Also, the Wonder Woman animated movie had a great documentary on the history of Wonder Woman on the dvd, including some interesting facts about her creator William Moulton Marston (sp?) and the women in his life.

[Gail Simone]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Nicola Scott have some pics of her in a Wonder Woman costume floating around the net a few years ago (I seem to recall seeing them posted on Millarworld or the comicbloc forums at one point)? Is that one of them at the top of the blog?

Also, the Wonder Woman animated movie had a great documentary on the history of Wonder Woman on the dvd, including some interesting facts about her creator William Moulton Marston (sp?) and the women in his life.

That is not Nicola Scott, it's Margie Cox. But there IS a shot of Nicola in the WW outfit in her interview thread on this very board.

[Love Machine]

$$$$ double post...

[Love Machine]

The phenomenon you describe in the article exists around most brands in entertainment. You see it alot in Sports, where people will follow a team, buy the merch and watch the big matches on TV...but won't (or can't) go to an actual game very often, if at all...

...thou in WW's case it's quite amazing how 'large' she remains, given the relative lack of memorable stories or media she's had since Lynda Carter hung up the costume...

[lead sharp]

I'm not sure i understand your first two sentences. Matt Fraction is a friend and a terrific writer, what's ironic about saying his book is good?

And the columns will be delving into a LOT of history, far better than I could do myself, so I'm pretty excited.

He's a Marvel, you're a DC (thank you itsjustsomerandomguy...) and that's just a start. Iron Man as a character is the opposite of everything Wonder Woman is (specifically in his worst moments granted). Then there's all the other comparisons from a media point of view. Iron Man got a movie and a successful comic, Wonder Woman...

I just found it a really good comparison.

I buy Iron Man I know how good it is.

As for the history I always liked the fact that Wonder Woman was created by a man who's original concept was to create a character who was "tender, submissive, peace loving as good women are," and put her in as much bondage as possible. His heart was in the right place but if it wasn't for his wife we would have wound up with something a bit different.

[The Mirrorball Man]

Calling yourself a Spider-Man fan without having ever read a Spider-Man comic is no more strange than calling yourself a James Bond fan without having ever read a Ian Fleming "James Bond" novel. That being said, if someone claims to love the character despite the fact that he's never even thought about reading the source material, at the very least we can safely say that he lacks curiosity.

With Wonder Woman, it's a little different. In this day and age, the character only exists in comics and in a couple of cartoons. Claiming you're a Wonder Woman fan when all you have is mugs, t-shirts and things like that is dubious. If all you're interested in is the licensed products, and reading about the character in a fictional environment has never crossed your mind, you are not a fan of the character, you just have a fetish.

[ScottyQuick]

Calling yourself a Spider-Man fan without having ever read a Spider-Man comic is no more strange than calling yourself a James Bond fan without having ever read a Ian Fleming "James Bond" novel. That being said, if someone claims to love the character despite the fact that he's never even thought about reading the source material, at the very least we can safely say that he lacks curiosity.

With Wonder Woman, it's a little different. In this day and age, the character only exists in comics and in a couple of cartoons. Claiming you're a Wonder Woman fan when all you have is mugs, t-shirts and things like that is dubious. If all you're interested in is the licensed products, and reading about the character in a fictional environment has never crossed your mind, you are not a fan of the character, you just have a fetish.

Not at all. Maybe you're a fan of Wonder Woman because she always does what's right, or because she can block bullets, or because she's beautiful and powerful and amazing. You don't need to read about her to know that. She just *is*, and that's inspirational.

[lead sharp]

Is there a definitive Wonder Woman story?

Or to put it another way are there enough 'classic stories' to choose a definitive, or at least debate over what defines definitive?

I ask because if you wanted to introduce a 'mug collector' to the source material, where would you start?

[The Mirrorball Man]

Not at all. Maybe you're a fan of Wonder Woman because she always does what's right, or because she can block bullets, or because she's beautiful and powerful and amazing. You don't need to read about her to know that. She just *is*, and that's inspirational.

Actually, by that definition, you don't even need Wonder Woman: moral virtues, supernatural powers and beauty are inspirational on their own. It has nothing to do with being a fan of a character, though.

[gargoylekitty]

With Wonder Woman, it's a little different. In this day and age, the character only exists in comics and in a couple of cartoons. Claiming you're a Wonder Woman fan when all you have is mugs, t-shirts and things like that is dubious. If all you're interested in is the licensed products, and reading about the character in a fictional environment has never crossed your mind, you are not a fan of the character, you just have a fetish.

It might not be that its never crossed their mind so much that comics still suffer a bit of the 'boy's/children only' and/or exclusive mentality. You can get merchandise at some normal stores and without any previous knowledge of the character and industry but to get into comics can be a bit more intimidating. There's trades, different eras, different titles, retcons, reboots, special stores that carry the issues, online spaces that might not always be friendly, the possibility of spending a decent amount of money on something you find you don't like, and many other factors. Most people will just do what's easier(not a bad thing) and stick to the mugs and t-shirts.

Even that aside, as you said, there's also other places they might have become familiar with the character. A friend of mine has only ever seen the recent animated movie and that's been enough that if you asked her she'd enthusiastically respond that she's a fan. Shoot, even her mother who hardly speaks English and only watched half the movie with us would probably say she's a fan with how excited she got over it. I think that says more about the appeal of the character than anything.

[The Mirrorball Man]

Most people will just do what's easier(not a bad thing) and stick to the mugs and t-shirts.

You have a point but ordering trade paperbacks on Amazon.com isn't exactly rocket science.

[Mars Getsoian]

Is there a definitive Wonder Woman story?

Or to put it another way are there enough 'classic stories' to choose a definitive, or at least debate over what defines definitive?

Yes and no. I could name you ten potentially definitive post-Crisis Wonder Woman stories off the top of my head, but the character they describe is as different from the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman is as different from the Golden Age Wonder Woman, as Adam West Batman is from the Dini-Timm Batman is from the Goddamned Batman. And the thing about Wonder Woman is, while the comic fanbase - including writers - are in general (or at least functioning) consensus over which of those three Batmans is the one the "definitive" stories should describe, Wonder Woman fans - again including writers - are rather more divided about what's really the core of her character. So, I know where I would start - I'd hand the mug collector a couple Perez and Rucka trades and maybe League of One. But there's no guarantee that that Wonder Woman is the one that will be written in the next linewide crossover or after the next writer change or in the next television adaptation, just to pick a few examples at total random. So it can be tricky to bring fans to the source, since there's a lot less agreement on what the source actually is.

[Gail Simone]

Hey!

It's Mars Getsoian, who is going to be one of the rotating column writers for WONDER OF WONDERS.

I love her stuff. Welcome her, everyone, please!

[Gail Simone]

Where is your avatar from, Mars?