Ages of Wonder Woman

Joseph J. Darowski teaches English at Brigham Young University and has published on comic book superheroes such as the X-Men, Wonder Woman, and Superman as well as on television series such as Chuck and Frasier.

“a valuable contribution to the study of this character”—Journal of American Culture; “the character is both iconic and mysterious, recognizable but hard to understand. Part of the problem is that she has been repeatedly reinterpreted depending on the sensibilities of the era”—Year’s Work in English Studies; “there are many things to like about Darowski’s Ages of Wonder Woman...accessible and clearly written...provides much value to a general audience...especially those interested in the history of pop culture and Wonder Woman’s place in it”—SFRA Review; “nineteen essays about the Amazon warrior and how she’s changed over the years...Wonder Woman has always been seen as one of the leading DC characters...few have had a real fix on what she is really about”— SFCrowsnest; “goes into extensive detail about the individual characters starting from their origins and their transition and evolution through the decades...makes for fascinating reading”—Collectors’ Corner.

• Table of ContentsIntroductionWilliam Marston’s Feminist Agenda by Michelle R. FinnA Most Thrilling Struggle: Wonder Woman as Wartime and Post-War Feminist by Donna B. KnaffContaining Wonder Woman: Fredric Wertham’s Battle Against the Mighty Amazon by Craig ThisWonder Woman Comic Books and Military Technology After Sputnik by Lori MaguireCold War Fantasies: Testing the Limits of the Familial Body by Joan OrmrodRetiring Romance: The Superheroine’s Transformation in the 1960s by Francinne ValcourWhat a Woman Wonders: This Is Feminism? by Jason LaToucheWonder Woman’s Lib: Feminism and the “New” Amazing Amazon by Paul R. KohlNot Quite Mod: The New Diana Prince, 1968–1973 by Peter W. LeeThe Near-Awakening of Diana Prince by W. C. Bamberger“I No Longer Deserve to Belong”: The Justice League, Wonder Woman and The Twelve Labors by Joseph J. Darowski“Steve Trevor, Equal?” Wonder Woman in an Era of Second Wave Feminist Critique by Ruth McClelland-NugentWorking Girl: Diana Prince and the Crisis of Career Moves by Matthew J. SmithBacklash and Bracelets: The Patriarch’s World, 1986–1992 by D. R. HammontreeThe Dark Amazon Saga: Diana Meets the Iron Age by Nicole FreimSuper-Wonder: The Man of Steel and the Amazonian Princess as the Ultimate 1990s Power Couple by Jeffrey K. JohnsonWar, Foreign Policy and the Media: The Rucka Years by Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni BernsOut of the Refrigerator: Gail Simone’s Wonder Woman, 2008–2010 by Alison MandavilleGreek, Roman or American? Wonder Woman’s Roots in DC’s New 52 by John Darowski and Virginia RushAbout the ContributorsIndex