Research Catalog

Title

Wonder Woman Unbound : the Curious History of the World's Most Famous Heroine / Tim Hanley.

Author

Hanley, Tim

Publication

Chicago, Ill. : Chicago Review Press, c2014.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xi, 304 p., 16 unnumberd p. of plates : ill.; 23 cm.

Summary

"With her golden lasso and her bullet-deflecting bracelets, Wonder Woman is a beloved icon of female strength in a world of male superheroes. But this close look at her history portrays a complicated heroine who is more than just a female Superman. The original Wonder Woman was ahead of her time, advocating female superiority and the benefits of matriarchy in the 1940s. At the same time, her creator filled the comics with titillating bondage imagery, and Wonder Woman was tied up as often as she saved the world. In the 1950s, Wonder Woman begrudgingly continued her superheroic mission, wishing she could settle down with her boyfriend instead, all while continually hinting at hidden lesbian leanings. While other female characters stepped forward as women's lib took off in the late 1960s, Wonder Woman fell backwards, losing her superpowers and flitting from man to man. Ms. magazine and Lynda Carter restored Wonder Woman's feminist strength in the 1970s, turning her into a powerful symbol as her checkered past was quickly forgotten. Exploring this lost history as well as her modern incarnations adds new dimensions to the world's most beloved female character, and Wonder Woman Unbound delves into her comic book and its spin-offs as well as the myriad motivations of her creators to showcase the peculiar journey that led to Wonder Woman's iconic status"--

Subjects

• Bandes dessinées
• Comics (Graphic works)
• Wonder Woman (Fictitious character)
• United States
• Women in literature
• Gender identity in literature
• COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS / Superheroes
• LITERARY CRITICISM / Comics & Graphic Novels
• SOCIAL SCIENCE / Popular Culture
• Literature and society > United States
• Comic books, strips, etc > United States

Genre/Form

• Comics (Graphic works)
• Bandes dessinées.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Introduction -- Part 1: The golden age. The Utopian alternative -- Damsels in distress -- Amazon princess, bondage queen -- Interlude 1: Wonder Woman's extra features -- Part 2: The silver age. A Herculean task -- Focus on the family, or Superman is a jackass -- Conforming to the code -- Interlude 2: Letters and advertisements -- Part 3: The bronze age. Wonder Woman no more -- Doin' it for themselves -- Restoration and re-creation -- The mundane modern age -- Conclusion -- Acknowledgments -- Source notes -- Bibliography -- Index.

ISBN

• 9781613749098 (pbk.)
• 1613749090 (pbk.)

LCCN

^^2013045111

OCLC

859187727

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library