The Pre-Crisis Wonder Woman Respect Thread

Dawsey28 has a wonderful respect thread devoted to post-Crisis Wonder Woman.

However, the Wonder Woman character has about 40 years of history prior to 1985 that people are unaware of.

I got interested in the idea of showcasing her immediately after someone posted the cover to what I eventually discovered is Sensation Comics #26.

I was astonished to see that an artist from before 1960 would draw a woman with such an impressively strong-looking physique, to say nothing of the fact that the cover of SC26 features WW stopping a locomotive in its tracks.

I'm an infrequent poster. I still have considerable trouble getting posts to "work" right in this forum. Nevertheless, I hope to make a thread that is eventually as well organized as something Dark Crawler might create. Hopefully DigiMark will help me out after a certain point with retro-editing. The only real option I have given my time limitations for now, unfortunately, is to post what I have readily available, hoping I can make adjustments later...

Wonder Woman's creator envisioned her to be a heroine of great physical power.
This is an integral part of the character, so I'll begin with showing images where Wonder Woman is displaying strength, moving gradually from the feats a strongwoman from her era might perform on up the scale.

In general, I'll cite book and writer info for every submission I can.
If I miss a citation on the first go around, I'll try to get it at a subsequent opportunity.

Powers free from rope-binding, delighting a young fan...
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/bluewaterrider/000ah0qq.jpg

Easy log break, followed by the LITERAL hand-carving of surfboards for a waterski race.
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/bluewaterrider/WW%20mightiest%20only%20etc/WonderWomanv1057p02.jpg

Bending Bars.
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/bluewaterrider/WW%20mightiest%20only%20etc/tangent010.jpg

Catching a car. In the alternate civilian guise of "Jane Case".
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/bluewaterrider/Page_04.jpg
Source: Wonder Woman #51, volume 1.

Wonder Woman has one of the most amazing real-life backgrounds of any comic character.
To get an idea of how much this is so, read a paragraph or two about the man who invented her:

(from Wikipedia)

---------------------------------------

"Dr. William Moulton Marston (May 9, 1893 – May 2, 1947) was an American psychologist, feminist theorist, inventor, and comic book author who created the character Wonder Woman.
Two women, his wife Elizabeth Holloway Marston and Olive Byrne, (who lived with the couple), served as exemplars for the character and greatly influenced her creation.
---------------------------------------
Marston is credited as the creator of the systolic blood-pressure test used in an attempt to detect deception, which became one component of the modern polygraph...

---------------------------------------

Yes, you read that right --
MOULTON INVENTED THE LIE DETECTOR!

(Wonder if that fact appears in some manner in his work?)

---------------------------------------

...Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, was also involved in the development of the systolic blood-pressure test.

This would be the basis for Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth..."

---------------------------------------

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Moulton_Marston

Completing the picture...

(from Wikipedia)

In an October 25, 1940, interview conducted by former student Olive Byrne, Marston described what he saw as the great educational potential of comic books.

This article caught the attention of comics publisher Max Gaines, who hired Marston as an educational consultant for two of the companies that would merge to form DC Comics.

In the early 1940s the DC line was dominated by superpowered male characters.

According to the Fall 2001 issue of the Boston University alumni magazine, it was his wife Elizabeth's idea to create a female superhero:

“ William Moulton Marston, a psychologist already famous for inventing the polygraph (forerunner to the magic lasso), struck upon an idea for a new kind of superhero, one who would triumph not with fists or firepower, but with love. 'Fine,' said Elizabeth. 'But make her a woman.' ”

Marston introduced the idea to Max Gaines, cofounder.

(Marston's pseudonym, Charles Moulton, combines his own and Gaines' middle names.)

Given the go-ahead, Marston developed Wonder Woman with Elizabeth, inspired by Olive Byrne, who lived with the couple.

In a 1943 issue of The American Scholar, Marston wrote:

“ Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power.

Not wanting to be girls, they don't want to be tender, submissive, peace-loving as good women are.

Women's strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness.

The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman. ”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Moulton_Marston

"All the strength of Superman."

Moulton was quite serious when he wrote the above.
Hence, the early 1940s features Wonder Woman doing everything Big Blue can do.

And more.

For instance, thanks to the popular radio show of this era, nothing is more synonymous with Superman's great strength than the famous "more powerful than a locomotive" tagline.

Strangely enough, I don't think I've seen an actual image of Superman in earlier years confronting such a thing. Unless I miss my guess, therefore, it's quite possible the first person to actually perform directly against one was... well...

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/bluewaterrider/WW%20mightiest%20only%20etc/supermancannotdobetter.jpg

Source: Sensation Comics #26
Writer: William Moulton Marston (a.k.a Charles Moulton)

Considering how women were generally drawn in comics before the 1980s, the following image, the aforementioned cover of Sensational Comics #26, STILL strikes me as a remarkable physique rendition --
for the 1940s or any age:

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/bluewaterrider/WW%20mightiest%20only%20etc/Sensation026_01_fc.jpg

Source: Sensational Comics #26
Artist: H.G. Peters

I include the following to compare with that Sensation Comics cover above.

Technically it is depicting a pre-Crisis Wonder Woman in that this is from a storyline that takes place before the 1980s.

It is probably the hardest physique rendition I have ever seen for Diana.
Even so, and I may add a side-by-side shot of the 2 images later on to let viewers see more clearly, you'll note that SC featured Diana with a thicker build, at least as far as upper body is concerned.

Again, major respect was given the physicality of Wonder Woman in her early years...

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/bluewaterrider/WW%20mightiest%20only%20etc/hardswiftstronglt9th9.jpg

Source: Amazonia , DC, 1997, William Messner-Loebs, Paul Kupperberg and Phil Winslade

DC is reintroducing elements of the Silver Age into their current run.

Remember the old Superfriends TV show?

They've adapted that into a comic of sorts which is a unique but fun blend of past and present.

I will explain why what you're going to see conforms to the pre-Crisis Wonder Woman and not post-Crisis Diana later on in this thread.

For now, I merely hope you enjoy:

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/bluewaterrider/WW%20mightiest%20only%20etc/superfriendssteelbendingBelle.jpg

DC Source: Superfriends #6
Creative Team: Dario Brizuela & Sholly Fisch

This will probably be my last submission for the evening.
Just want to give a taste of things to come...

Little known fact: Pre-Crisis Wonder Woman could not fly.

Even after 35 years in comics, Wonder Woman had to obey the same laws of physics as the rest of us.

Or...did she?

Thanks to a certain handy piece of rope, amazing speed, great ingenuity, AND absolutely ridiculous
physical strength, Diana could make people forget she was earthbound in a hurry.

I'll be very impressed if anyone presents a hero flight with grander imagery than the following scene:

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/bluewaterrider/Wind%20Rider/010waterspoutcreation.jpg
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/bluewaterrider/Wind%20Rider/020tornadowhirlrider.jpg
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/bluewaterrider/Wind%20Rider/030nickoftimeaquariumdropin.jpg
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/bluewaterrider/Wind%20Rider/040batmansafebutnotimefortalk.jpg

DC Source: The Brave and the Bold v1 #140 (1978)
Creative Team: Bob Haney and Jim Aparo

One of the first things I was surprised to learn was that, unlike Marvel, DC comics history is divided into more than 2 "canon" eras. Marvel has a continuous line now called 616. It has a 2nd variant which is referred to as it's "ultimate" line. 2 running storylines.

Similarly, I thought, DC has "pre-Crisis" Universe and "post-Crisis" Universe, which should also be 2 running storylines.

In other words, I thought Marvel had a 1960 to present day running story (616), and a year 2000 to present day story (Ultimate), and I thought DC had a 1938 to 1985 (pre-Crisis) as well as a 1985 to present day (post-Crisis) storyline.

Actually, it's a lot more complicated than that, at least at DC, though perhaps now for both companies.

Strangely, it is more complicated the further back you go with DC, whereas nearly the reverse is true for Marvel.

I learned after reading an interview with a famous comic writer named Mark Waid that this was due to the original Marvel storyline being largely the vision of one man, namely Stan Lee, creator of the Fantastic Four, Spider-man, Hulk, etcetera.

DC, by contrast, was the vision of multiple talents, each separate from another, essentially thrown into a shared universe by company mergers and acquisitions. If I'm lucky enough to chance upon it again, I'll post that interview here...

At any rate, I discovered that what DC fans call the "pre-Crisis" era is actually an era divided roughly into 3 periods:

1) Golden Age (1938-1958)*

2) Silver Age (1958-1972)*

3) Bronze Age (1972-1985)*

* Dates are approximate, and may well vary for each character.

--------------------------------------------------------

Thanks to a friend, I currently have access to a great deal of Wonder Woman material from these time periods. My current plan is to put up roughly 10 scans or posts every 10 days or so. I can't promise my access to material will continue, but, for as long as it does, I'll share it as systematically as I can think of within the confines of respect thread protocol. Please note that I'll be learning some stuff along WITH you guys, suggestions for presentation/improvement, etcetera, are welcome.

Now I'll present part of Diana's Silver Age origin.

You might think it would be most logical to start with her Golden Age origin story, but, as far as I can tell, there wasn't one.

More precisely, there wasn't a Golden Age origin story that was actually written in the Golden Age. In real time, the Silver Age origin story was actually the first.

As I progress, I'll again try to return and give citations for anything that needs it, along with filling in "extras".

For instance, I actually read Diana's origin in a book released a few years ago.

It looks like so:

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/bluewaterrider/diana%20s%20silver%20age%20origin/010covertosecretorigins.jpg

... and opens with the following

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/bluewaterrider/diana%20s%20silver%20age%20origin/SASecretOriginsSerpentineWhale.jpg

Despite the crediting to Charles Moulton in this story, I'm fairly certain Diana's origin was actually crafted by a man named Robert Kanigher.

There is a key difference in the concept of Silver Age Wonder Woman versus her Golden Age incarnation which I'll outline later.

At any rate, the 1st birth scene of Diana of Themyscira, outlining precisely what and who is responsible for her being super-powered:

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/bluewaterrider/diana%20s%20silver%20age%20origin/030part1oforigin.jpg

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/bluewaterrider/diana%20s%20silver%20age%20origin/040part2of2oforigin.jpg

I've made a major error in this thread already.

Apparently there was an origin early on in the Golden Age.

I missed it because I don't have the very first title that featured Wonder Woman. This was All-Star, and Wonder Woman debuted in Issue #8 of that title.

And when Moulton decided to have a regular series of Diana's solo adventures, that title was called Sensation Comics, and Diana was the marquee attraction.

So the first title I don't have, and the 2nd title, which I DO currently have, doesn't feature a "from birth" origin, only the intro of Diana into our world following the misadventures of one Steven Trevor.

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/bluewaterrider/diana%20s%20silver%20age%20origin/Sensation001_01_fc_repr.jpg
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/bluewaterrider/diana%20s%20silver%20age%20origin/Sensation001_03_WW_repr.jpg
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/bluewaterrider/diana%20s%20silver%20age%20origin/Sensation001_04_WW_repr.jpg

Relatively shortly after this scene, Diana comes across the person who inspired both her civilian identity and original occupation.

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/bluewaterrider/diana%20s%20silver%20age%20origin/Sensation001_10_WW_repr.jpg

The reader discovers that the recovering pilot is acting in haste to thwart a major poison gas assault by the enemy.

Although he heroically acts to thwart the plot and even saves Diana with a spare filtration mask, he finds himself put out of commission again, whereupon Diana takes a still more involved role in his care to end the first Sensation Tale:

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/bluewaterrider/diana%20s%20silver%20age%20origin/endingforsensation1forkmcwwprecry.jpg

As mentioned a few posts earlier, I'm going to try to keep an average of 10 scans every 10 days here.

Hmm... I see I'm one short...

I'll correct that with the following.

As stated before, Wonder Woman's creator was surprisingly progressive.

It might not seem so now, but Wonder Woman's very costume was considered revolutionary by the standards of the day.

(Actually, her manner of dress then might seem a little risque even now, depending on your background.)

Back in the 1940s, when women were often covered head to toe, it was probably a minor shock to the system, as the following panel from Sensation Comics itself suggests:

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/bluewaterrider/diana%20s%20silver%20age%20origin/progressivestreetware.jpg

Young woman from Belarus started a Miss Martian thread earlier this month. Great beginning to it.

Then, a few days later, all the links got wiped out.

Reason: The poster had relied on 1 image hosting provider (IHP), in this case Picamatic.com. Picamatic had gone out some weeks before temporarily, this latest outage seems to be permanent.

I empathize. I experienced the exact same thing with ImageHoop.com a few years ago, Picamatic on other message boards, and, most disconcerting of all, AllYouCanUpload.com (AYCU) just a little before that. (My but Aycu was a good IHP... even months after it could no longer accept new images to host, it faithfully allowed retrieval, with NO advertising, of all previously loaded material, and that with size parameters 3 times greater than most...)

The only guard against such, unfortunately, is to upload and/or re-upload using several IHPs for any particular image. So, I might as well resume with KMC's own program...

There is something that feels inherently more magical about Diana's experiences as a young teenager in the early Silver Age than any other period of her history. Even the style of drawing reflects the beliefs of ancient myth. Notice that the whale in this picture is more serpentine than mammal, and that it has the type of vertical tail fin you would see on a shark as opposed to another whale.

Planet Slinging Adventure 01

Planet Slinging Adventure. 02

Planet Slinging Adventure. 03