Wonder Woman was one of my first crushes. Back in the late 1970's, Lynda Carter's take on the Amazing Amazon was the hottest thing on TV, even giving Charlie's Angels a run for their money. Except for that episode where the three Angels were chained up and escaping from the prison camp, running through the water...mmmm.... Anyway, back to Wonder Woman.

Les Daniels and Chip Kidd have written beautiful books about Superman and Batman, both subtitled "The Complete History." And they were both great books. Now they've outdone themselves with a third volume in the series, "Wonder Woman: The Complete History." The book examines her creator, her history in comics, television, and pop culture, but also her significance as a symbol of womanhood from the 1940's until now. The book is over 200 pages long, hardbound, with over 200 color photographs. It's well worth your time if you've ever been a fan of comics or of Wonder Woman in any of her forms.

The book is broken up into five sections: The Doctor, The Amazon, The Princess, The Woman, The Icon.

"The Doctor" is the psychologist who created Wonder Woman, Dr. William Moulton Marston. He became interested in comics as a medium for communicating the innermost thoughts of the human psyche, in a way that would be accessible to even the youngest readers, or illiterate adults. But well before he started writing about Wonder Woman, he was more famous as the inventor of the Lie Detector. Ever wonder why Wonder Woman's lasso compels people to tell the truth? Because Dr. Marston wanted to compel people to tell the truth. The first lie detectors wrapped around a person's chest, just as Wonder Woman's lasso did, and the book explains in fair detail how Marston developed the Lie Detector and how it was used in criminal cases, and the issues surrounding the curious invention.

Even more interesting is Dr. Marston's personal life. Basically, the guy was a polygamist, who was REALLY into bondage. It seems that many of his experiments he conducted as a professor involved tying up young ladies, making them kiss men who weren't their boyfriends/husbands...all sorts of kinky schmoo. He was married to one woman, and had several children with her, but then was also living with another woman, and had several children with her. The two women and Dr. Marston all lived in the same household, and the "wives" even named their children after each other. Not too dissimilar from the living arrangements in 19th Century Utah. How intriguing that this is the same guy who came up with one of the three comic book characters to remain in continuous publication from her creation in 1940 until now. Only Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman have had uninterrupted publication...and this triad have become iconic heroes in their own right.

"The Amazon" describes Wonder Woman's early years in the comics, and explains more fully what Marston's goals were. They were pretty convoluted, and there's still a lot of kink and weird schmoo going on (every Wonder Woman story had to have a panel where a woman was in bondage), but basically Marston was writing a book for boys and men, NOT a role model for women. There were some side benefits for women, and every comic also had a "Wonder Women in History" tribute to female role models like Madame Curie, Amelia Earhart, Eleanor Roosevelt, etc. At the time, this was quite revolutionary in every aspect, and Wonder Woman soon had a female editor, another first in Comics. Wonder Woman was the most active of the superheroes in fighting for the Allies in World War II...quite often stateside as a spy/intelligence agent, but sometimes right there on the front lines with the G.I.s. Batman and Superman only rarely went to Europe to fight the Nazis, but Wonder Woman was an active part of WWII through 1945. It also gives her history with the Justice Society, the first "Super-Team" that also included Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, and other heroes...she started out as a secretary, but soon became the most active, most prominent hero of the bunch. There are several pages of Comic Book stories reproduced in the book, and despite the clunky art of the time, you can see a bit of the magic in Wonder Woman that sustained her for the last six decades.

"The Princess" follows Wonder Woman into the Fifties and Sixties, the hardest time for comics publishers, and the time when every other comic book hero had to hang up their tights...except for DC Comics' Big Three. There was always an underlying tension with Wonder Woman, that she was a woman in a man's world, that she was usually apprehending men, at a time when women were pretty much confined to home and family. That tension threatened Wonder Woman several times, but she was always able to overcome the odds and even come out on top. When the Justice League was formed in 1960, she was one of the five founders (along with Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and Aquaman), and stayed with the League from that time forth, with a few leaves of absence. It was this prominence in comics and pop culture that made her a part of the SuperFriends, and set the stage for the live-action television premiere of Wonder Woman.

"The Woman" brings us into the Seventies, and the Wonder Woman my generation remembers the most:

"All the world is waiting for you
And the power you possess.
In your satin tights,
Fighting for your rights,
And the old red, white and blue."

"Wonder Woman!
Wonder Woman!"

etc, etc....one of the tidbits in the book is that this was written by the same people who "wrote" the 1960's "Batman" theme, which was basically, "Batman, Batman Batman." What skill they had back in the day, eh? My wife and I heard the "Wonder Woman" song remixed at an Old Navy store just a week ago. It may be what prompted me to write this review.

The book details the two horrid attempts at a television series before the Lynda Carter version took hold, and explains exactly why her version worked so well: it was in Lynda Carter herself. She's the one who emphasized that Wonder Woman AND Diana Prince both had to be played completely straight...not the campy way Batman had been handled, but as a serious contender for any villains. It also explains why some Wonder Woman episodes featured Nazis in the 1940's, and some were quite obviously in the 1970's. Besides the Wonder Woman television series, other things were happening for her in that decade, including a de-powered Wonder Woman (no costume, in a sort of Mod Squad type comic book series) and Gloria Steinem's attack on, and then alliance with, the Amazing Amazon.

"The Icon" examines what Wonder Woman has become and meant to a broader society than just the introverted Comic Book Geeks of the world...and what her future may be. In the comic books, she's stronger than ever, a true contender for title of Most Powerful Superhero. The Justice League uses her as a leader, a warrior, a peacemaker, a goddess, and hottie. She has various sidekicks and a supporting cast (including allies and villains) nearly as rich as Superman's and Batman's, and it's a distinct possibility we'll see her soon on the Silver Screen. WB's #1 choice for the lead: Sandra Bullock. I think she'd be good, but I also think Angie Harmon, Terry Farrell, or Catherine Zeta-Jones would fill the star-spangled shorts quite nicely.

One of the best parts of this outstanding book is actually in the introduction, by none other than Lynda Carter herself. In part:

"Wonder Woman is to me--as she is to so many women of all ages--a symbol of all the glorious gifts that reside in the spirit of Woman. She is dashing and dazzling. Yet her truest power and beauty come from within. The magic tools she brings to the fight--the bracelets, the lasso, the invisible plane--are only as good as her own ability, confidence, and courage to wield them. In that regard, perhaps she is not so different from you and me. We all show one part of ourselves to the world, while we hold close the ultimate power within is. Only when we trust in ourselves do we reach our fullest potential."

"...the Wonder Woman in each of us is even better than the original. For we are also mothers, girlfriends and wives, givers of life and love--roles that Wonder Woman, for all her adventures, was never able to play."

This is a remarkable work as entertainment and as history, and it's a fitting companion piece for the Batman and Superman volumes. If you were ever a fan of Wonder Woman in any of her forms, I'd recommend picking it up at the library and revisiting her. You're sure to find surprises, adventures, and new respect for the greatest Super Heroine of our time.

Recommended: Yes