What do you think?
Rate this book
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman: Amazon. Hero. Icon.
Wonder Woman is a comprehensive look at the first and most important female super hero of DC Comics, from the Golden Age to the present day. Wonder Woman is the most popular female super hero of all time and a cultural icon. During her existence, she has served in the army, renounced her powers at the height of the feminist movement, and helped launch Gloria Steinem’s Ms. magazine. She has been—and continues to be—a trailblazing role model to girls and women and an integral part of the cultural zeitgeist. Loosely chronological, Wonder Woman explores idiosyncratic creator William Moulton Marston’s interest in ideas of a "new woman" for the twentieth century; costume and character story changes over the decades; the influence on all other female comic book characters since her inception; and how Wonder Woman is still powerful and relevant in today’s comic book renaissance. The book contains more than 250 Wonder Woman illustrations, including covers, interior comic art, and sketch treatments, beginning with her inception in the early 1940s to present-day treatments of the character. Celebrated artists include Alex Ross, Jim Lee, George Perez, and Brian Bolland, to name only a few. The book will also feature rare covers and pin-up posters created for past special-edition comic books. Wonder Woman is certain to appeal to fanboys and fangirls, collectors, and newcomers to the comic book genre alike.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
October 4, 2020
I ordered my used copy of this book after a slightly goofy phone call with my husband Marco. We had somehow gotten onto the topic of superheroes, their disguises and all their wonderful toys. Later he followed up on the chat by sending me a youtube video made of clips from the Wonder Woman television show. I had forgotten that she used to spin to change into her superhero costume, and the video showed her spinning away from her Diana persona and into Wonder Woman. Again and again and again. Did you know you can get seasick watching something like that?! lol
Well, anyway, I was browsing a day or two after that and saw this book listed so ordered it and here we are. We are also here because this is an over-sized book and I have just one empty shelf left in my bookcases so a side project these days is filling that space first with any of the larger books I read and want to keep.
And this one is definitely a keeper.
There are interesting sections detailing all aspects of Wonder Woman's life and history. I knew about this character seemingly forever, but I never knew she had first been created in 1941. I got a kick out of her appearance back then. I liked her original costume, but her original face was too babyish for a true warrior princess. But don't worry, as she 'ages' she develops a fiercer expression, sometimes too much so, at least to my eye. And I had to laugh at one 1993 cover that showed her working in a fast food restaurant. She has a baseball cap on, and the way she was smiling out at the world she was the spitting image of a young Julia Roberts!
I was fascinated by the way the comic book universe is affected by a new writer coming onto the scene, and by how the story lines were brought together or at times 'erased' by a dream sequence or time travel plots. I imagine soap opera writers trying to remember how many times this person or that person was written off the show only to come back later in a miraculous resurrection, complete with more or less plausible explanations for everything. In comic book world there seem to be the same happenings, and I cannot imagine trying to keep them all straight. Which explains many of the stories, come to think of it.
I still am....well, wondering about Wonder Woman's creator, a man by the name of William Moulton Marston. The first section of the book talks about him. And he was....let's see...he was unconventional. That is the word the author used to describe Wonder Woman, and it fits her creator too. He "was interested in psychology and the dynamics between men and women". And eventually he ended up as an advisor to what would later be known as DC Comics. According to the book it wasn't long before he decided to create a leading character himself. So In an attempt to spread "psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should, I believe, rule the world," Marston decided to create a strong female lead, perhaps basing her attributes on the two women closest to him in his life.
And who were these two women? His wife Elizabeth and his mistress Olive, who both lived with him in the same house raising their four children (two with the wife, two with the mistress). After Marston's death the two women stayed together for the rest of their lives, according to the children.
All this makes you think the man was a bit ahead of his time, but then there was all the bondage in his comic books. Wonder Woman and her fellow Amazons were constantly being tied up either by themselves as part of a festival or by enemies and villains. Even in the 40's the editors were receiving letters of complaint about the topic. But Marston insisted bondage was a good thing and that "This, my dear friend, is the one truly great contribution of my Wonder Woman strip to moral education of the young. The only hope for peace is to watch people who are full of pep and unbound force to enjoy being bound. Women are exciting for this one reason ~~ it is the secret of women's allure ~~ women enjoy submission, being bound. This I bring out in the Paradise Island sequences where the girls beg for chains and enjoy wearing them."
Excuse me while I go outside and scream.
Okay. I feel better now.
Without stomping on each person's right to behave however they wish in the privacy of their own home, I personally draw the line at trying to influence others to follow your way of thinking, no matter what it is. Live your life, let me live mine, you know? I would like to think that the Wonder Woman character became stronger than the propaganda she was originally created to spread. And thanks for that goes to the writers who came after Marston and to society itself for being bothered about the way Wonder Woman was being depicted.
This was an eye-opening book, a beautiful one, and also a thought-provoking one. Very much worth the space on that last empty shelf of mine.
Well, anyway, I was browsing a day or two after that and saw this book listed so ordered it and here we are. We are also here because this is an over-sized book and I have just one empty shelf left in my bookcases so a side project these days is filling that space first with any of the larger books I read and want to keep.
And this one is definitely a keeper.
There are interesting sections detailing all aspects of Wonder Woman's life and history. I knew about this character seemingly forever, but I never knew she had first been created in 1941. I got a kick out of her appearance back then. I liked her original costume, but her original face was too babyish for a true warrior princess. But don't worry, as she 'ages' she develops a fiercer expression, sometimes too much so, at least to my eye. And I had to laugh at one 1993 cover that showed her working in a fast food restaurant. She has a baseball cap on, and the way she was smiling out at the world she was the spitting image of a young Julia Roberts!
I was fascinated by the way the comic book universe is affected by a new writer coming onto the scene, and by how the story lines were brought together or at times 'erased' by a dream sequence or time travel plots. I imagine soap opera writers trying to remember how many times this person or that person was written off the show only to come back later in a miraculous resurrection, complete with more or less plausible explanations for everything. In comic book world there seem to be the same happenings, and I cannot imagine trying to keep them all straight. Which explains many of the stories, come to think of it.
I still am....well, wondering about Wonder Woman's creator, a man by the name of William Moulton Marston. The first section of the book talks about him. And he was....let's see...he was unconventional. That is the word the author used to describe Wonder Woman, and it fits her creator too. He "was interested in psychology and the dynamics between men and women". And eventually he ended up as an advisor to what would later be known as DC Comics. According to the book it wasn't long before he decided to create a leading character himself. So In an attempt to spread "psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should, I believe, rule the world," Marston decided to create a strong female lead, perhaps basing her attributes on the two women closest to him in his life.
And who were these two women? His wife Elizabeth and his mistress Olive, who both lived with him in the same house raising their four children (two with the wife, two with the mistress). After Marston's death the two women stayed together for the rest of their lives, according to the children.
All this makes you think the man was a bit ahead of his time, but then there was all the bondage in his comic books. Wonder Woman and her fellow Amazons were constantly being tied up either by themselves as part of a festival or by enemies and villains. Even in the 40's the editors were receiving letters of complaint about the topic. But Marston insisted bondage was a good thing and that "This, my dear friend, is the one truly great contribution of my Wonder Woman strip to moral education of the young. The only hope for peace is to watch people who are full of pep and unbound force to enjoy being bound. Women are exciting for this one reason ~~ it is the secret of women's allure ~~ women enjoy submission, being bound. This I bring out in the Paradise Island sequences where the girls beg for chains and enjoy wearing them."
Excuse me while I go outside and scream.
Okay. I feel better now.
Without stomping on each person's right to behave however they wish in the privacy of their own home, I personally draw the line at trying to influence others to follow your way of thinking, no matter what it is. Live your life, let me live mine, you know? I would like to think that the Wonder Woman character became stronger than the propaganda she was originally created to spread. And thanks for that goes to the writers who came after Marston and to society itself for being bothered about the way Wonder Woman was being depicted.
This was an eye-opening book, a beautiful one, and also a thought-provoking one. Very much worth the space on that last empty shelf of mine.
September 8, 2021
I received my copy of Wonder Woman: Amazon, Hero, Icon and I have to say, I'm impressed. This book is beautiful, with thick glossy pages and TONS of artwork of Wonder Woman. It features a mix of written information detailing many aspects of Wonder Woman's creation and history, as well as comic pages to highlight aspects of her story.
The first thing that struck me about this book is how up-to-date it is. It features artwork and information from Wonder Woman's entire publication history, up through Gail Simone's Rise of the Olympians story arc.
It's organized very nicely. There are numerous sections detailing all aspects of Diana's life through every incarnation, from her creator to her trials; from her tools to her friends. There is even a nice section on alternate reality versions of Diana. The sections also feature large reprints of actual pages from the comics. Examples include Golden Age Hippolyte explaining the Amazon history to young Diana, Diana fighting the Echinda from George Perez's run, and even Diana in full battle armor talking to Tom Tresser from Gail Simone's run. These beautiful reprints aren't random filler; rather, they highlight the information discussed, and expand on what Robert Greenberger shared. The sections also feature panels and covers from Wonder Woman's history, sketches from some of the leading artists, and photographs of the people involved in Diana's history.
The only place I feel that this book falls short is in its citations for the images used. For most of us, if we see an image we really like, we'll attempt to seek out the story it's from. More often than not, the citations for images in this book give specific issue numbers and year information in addition to artist credits. However, there are a number of times where the citation only includes some information of the story and the artists. This makes it a little difficult for fans to seek out specific stories. This is a very small drawback to such a wonderful book (pun only slightly intended).
I really enjoy this book, and I highly suggest it to fans of Wonder Woman, both new and old. The amazing full-color artwork and full-page reprints highlight the detailed information Robert Greenberg presents from Wonder Woman's entire publication history. Plus, the book is incredibly up-to-date, so you won't feel the need to replace with a newer version for many, many years.
Edit: I did find one flaw. Wonder Woman (volume 03) Annual 01 was credited in this book as being written by Gail Simone, when it was actually written by Allan Heinberg.
The first thing that struck me about this book is how up-to-date it is. It features artwork and information from Wonder Woman's entire publication history, up through Gail Simone's Rise of the Olympians story arc.
It's organized very nicely. There are numerous sections detailing all aspects of Diana's life through every incarnation, from her creator to her trials; from her tools to her friends. There is even a nice section on alternate reality versions of Diana. The sections also feature large reprints of actual pages from the comics. Examples include Golden Age Hippolyte explaining the Amazon history to young Diana, Diana fighting the Echinda from George Perez's run, and even Diana in full battle armor talking to Tom Tresser from Gail Simone's run. These beautiful reprints aren't random filler; rather, they highlight the information discussed, and expand on what Robert Greenberger shared. The sections also feature panels and covers from Wonder Woman's history, sketches from some of the leading artists, and photographs of the people involved in Diana's history.
The only place I feel that this book falls short is in its citations for the images used. For most of us, if we see an image we really like, we'll attempt to seek out the story it's from. More often than not, the citations for images in this book give specific issue numbers and year information in addition to artist credits. However, there are a number of times where the citation only includes some information of the story and the artists. This makes it a little difficult for fans to seek out specific stories. This is a very small drawback to such a wonderful book (pun only slightly intended).
I really enjoy this book, and I highly suggest it to fans of Wonder Woman, both new and old. The amazing full-color artwork and full-page reprints highlight the detailed information Robert Greenberg presents from Wonder Woman's entire publication history. Plus, the book is incredibly up-to-date, so you won't feel the need to replace with a newer version for many, many years.
Edit: I did find one flaw. Wonder Woman (volume 03) Annual 01 was credited in this book as being written by Gail Simone, when it was actually written by Allan Heinberg.
December 4, 2012
(More pictures at parkablogs.com)
This is a nice guide to Wonder Woman, great for readers, new or old who are keen on finding out more. The pages are adorned by beautiful art from past (1940s) and present artists. There are over 250 illustrations including covers, comic panels and sketches. It's a 208-page hardcover with good paper stock.
The book covers a bit of everything. There's writeup on the creator William Moulton Marston, the Amazons, Olympians, friends and allies, the different roles Wonder Woman played, and even romance. In short, the book details the legend of Wonder Woman from creation to how she has evolved today (just right before Jim Lee changed her costume). It's fun to see the different iteration of Wonder Woman as interpreted by different artists.
The commentary is interesting and the snippets from comic panels really add on to what was written. When talking about her weapons, selected panels are brought out to illustrate their magical abilities as used on unfortunate foes or situations -- her Lasso of Truth can withstand nuclear explosions!
It's a beautiful and informative book, enjoyable and recommended to Wonder Woman fans.
May 31, 2016
I enjoyed this book. It provided a very thorough overview of not only Wonder Woman's history, but as well as her creators, writers, and artists. It was a bit repetitive at times. Though I liked the comic strips placed throughout the book- I feel the spacing of pages, sentences, and paragraphs to be a bit off and required me to go back a few pages to reassemble my thoughts. Other than that I enjoyed the history and backstory to the most famous leading lady in comics. Now, I need to go find the comic books it mentioned!
June 23, 2016
The only downside is that book had to end at some point. I love illustrations (though as other reviewers have pointed out - it's disappointing that not all of the art has been properly credited). As far as timeline/history/biography books go with regard to Wonder Woman I still recommend the book in spite of a few spelling errors. If you're looking for a good summarized version of Wonder Woman's history I highly recommend this book.
January 2, 2023
3.4/5 I liked this! The art was amazing and had little anecdotes to accompany them. Wonder Woman will always be a very important symbol of the rising feminist culture in an era that was highly conservative.
July 3, 2017
A nice overview of the history of Wonder Woman, the comic book superhero, including information about the creator, the evolution of the comic, changes and variations in the story, and the writers and artists over the years. Not a detailed geek's history of Wonder Woman, but certainly a nice introduction.
On the other hand, The book lacks a story arc or any analysis that I would expect from a book about a cultural icon, and it ends so abruptly it seems like the last few pages containing a conclusion are missing. But I suppose, without a point, why have a conclusion?
Despite its shortcomings, this book gets four stars rather than three, because of the awesome compilation of images and reprinted comic book pages from the very beginning to contemporary Wonder Woman. This collection of images shows the evolution of both the character and art and makes this book well worth owning.
On the other hand, The book lacks a story arc or any analysis that I would expect from a book about a cultural icon, and it ends so abruptly it seems like the last few pages containing a conclusion are missing. But I suppose, without a point, why have a conclusion?
Despite its shortcomings, this book gets four stars rather than three, because of the awesome compilation of images and reprinted comic book pages from the very beginning to contemporary Wonder Woman. This collection of images shows the evolution of both the character and art and makes this book well worth owning.
January 10, 2023
Gorgeous to look at, with some stunning reproductions of comic art from all ages of Wonder Woman, this volume is informative without being comprehensive and, as such, feels a little "lightweight".
Spoiled by a couple of errors that should have been picked up by a proofreader.
Spoiled by a couple of errors that should have been picked up by a proofreader.
December 31, 2017
Great way to learn about Wonder Woman
July 16, 2020
A wonderful overview of the Amazon Princess' life and times in words and pictures from the world of comic books.
June 9, 2015
Basic Purpose: This is a fairly comprehensive history of the character Wonder Woman, including her allies, villains, and artists.
This booked is packed full of art from every era of Wonder Woman's existence. It doesn't shy away from the stranger times in Wonder Woman's continuity, either. The history is pretty fascinating, and there is some explanation given for most of the changes in continuity and character. Some aren't explained, but they are the briefer blips of weirdness. It did seem a bit rushed, but for a coffee-table book that relies mostly on the art to tell the tale, it really did do a good job. Fascinating for the well-versed (like me) and comprehensive enough that a newcomer to the mythos would understand it.
This booked is packed full of art from every era of Wonder Woman's existence. It doesn't shy away from the stranger times in Wonder Woman's continuity, either. The history is pretty fascinating, and there is some explanation given for most of the changes in continuity and character. Some aren't explained, but they are the briefer blips of weirdness. It did seem a bit rushed, but for a coffee-table book that relies mostly on the art to tell the tale, it really did do a good job. Fascinating for the well-versed (like me) and comprehensive enough that a newcomer to the mythos would understand it.
September 17, 2013
A great book that covers the history of Wonder Woman from her debut in 1941 through 2010, when the book was published. It covers everything from a spotlight on her creator to hear earliest stories, through various in-universe history changes to her present incarnation.
The book is full of eye candy--they obnoxious boobs-and-butt-filled pinups you expect from comics, but also great character studies, covers, and scenes, rendered in full color.
As a relative newbie to Wonder Woman and the DC universe in general, this book was a great help in giving me an overview of her history so I have references when picking up more recent stories, but it also gave me quite a list of tales to seek out.
The book is full of eye candy--they obnoxious boobs-and-butt-filled pinups you expect from comics, but also great character studies, covers, and scenes, rendered in full color.
As a relative newbie to Wonder Woman and the DC universe in general, this book was a great help in giving me an overview of her history so I have references when picking up more recent stories, but it also gave me quite a list of tales to seek out.
September 22, 2016
An informative coffee book table that does a good job of covering Wonder Womans' lengthy career. The writer seems to have been given complete access to DC's voluminous archives and this book doesn't hold back. It is full of pages from her original books as well as images both old and new. It really is a great book to flip through as well as read. It deals with aspects of her story with chapters highlighting such things as friends, foes, the Olympians and her origin story. The book seems a little hurried and the research is not as deep as true bio would be but this is a coffee table book and in that vein the book succeeds.
June 25, 2015
This retrospective of Wonder Woman primarily organizes itself by her character's history and traits which is sort of funky. Those looking for a definitive history of the character will be disappointed, BUT for the quality of image reproductions, this is a beautiful coffee table addition.
I will echo the other reviewers here and criticize the inconsistent/non-existent citations for images. Most of the artists are credited fairly well, but most writers are left out completely. More detail on the actual issues being sourced would have been nice as well.
I will echo the other reviewers here and criticize the inconsistent/non-existent citations for images. Most of the artists are credited fairly well, but most writers are left out completely. More detail on the actual issues being sourced would have been nice as well.
May 17, 2010
Very good and beautiful coffee table book for any Wonder Woman fan. Greenberger used text throughout the chapters, but allowed the reproduced comics pages themselves to tell most of Diana's story (and always in full color).
The reason for the four stars is the fact that for most of the comic panels used in the book there is no issue number given in the caption so that the reader can go back to the comics to find the complete story.
The reason for the four stars is the fact that for most of the comic panels used in the book there is no issue number given in the caption so that the reader can go back to the comics to find the complete story.
May 18, 2015
Quite apparent that this was written by a comic book writer; almost every sentence is clipped. It's also in need of a good proofreader - it's littered with typos. A decent intro to the art and back story of Wonder Woman for someone who has never read the comic, but what I'm really looking forward to reading is Jill Lepore's book about this character and her creators.
July 18, 2016
Tons of gorgeous artwork and some early sections of comics, in addition to some interesting history of Wonder Woman. The sections are brief enough that this makes a great coffee table book, but not a great history of the character. It's also old enough that it's missing Gail Simone's run, which is one of my absolute favourites.
January 9, 2018
Una "enciclopedia" que reúne todas las veresiones y desarrollo de la primera heroína de cómics. Me ha gustado mucho, aunque me habría gustado que la única guionista que ha tenido esta heroína hablara un poco de ella y que el libro hubiera tenido una conclusión (y mención a la versión cinematográfica que ha triunfado en el 2017).
June 7, 2016
I really loved the old comics and how they were intermingled with the newer comic images. The history on Wonder Woman was good, it got a touch dull at times but the imagery was so incredible it kept me turning the pages.
January 11, 2015
Good quick read. Coffee table book with gorgeous pictures.
August 20, 2015
More of an encyclopedia
August 24, 2015
This was neat. I really like Wonder Woman and this is a pretty neat coffee table style book.
November 21, 2015
This is a nice coffee table book. Pretty pictures.
Read
September 15, 2016Interesting overview--I look forward to reading more about Wonder Woman's origins because that Marston guy had. . . . interesting ideas.
January 24, 2022
Esta interesante. Va contando un poco como surge Wonder Woman, los diferentes autores y dibujantes por los que va pasando y algunos que otros hitos importantes en toda la historia del cómic de WW.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews