In doing so, Marston controlled the ideological and philosophical presentation of the character. Most were written by William Moulton Marston, later with Joye Murchison, and drawn by Harry G.

During the early 1940s she featured in four titles: All Star Comics (DC Comics, Summer 1940–February/March 1951), Sensation Comics (DC Comics, January, 1942–June 1952), Wonder Woman (DC Comics, Summer 1942–February 1986), and Comics Cavalcade (DC Comics, Winter 1942–June/July 1954). Wonder Woman appeared as America entered World War II in December 1941. Early Wonder Woman comics, Lepore claims, are “the missing link in understanding the struggle for women’s rights.” Conversely, Berlatsky approaches themes of bondage and feminism through close readings of the comics stories and identifies Marston’s and Peter’s philosophical agendas and cultural influences. Lepore provides a historical account of the philosophical, cultural, and feminist influences on her creators, William Moulton Marston (writer) and Harry G. This review focuses on two of these: Jill Lepore’s The Secret History of Wonder Woman and Noah Berlatsky’s Wonder Woman: Bondage and Feminism in the Marston/Peter Comics, 1941–1948 examine the cultural and philosophical influences of the character’s creators on the stories, although from opposite methodologies.

Yet, apart from a few coffee-table books and chapters devoted to superheroines, she was the subject of little research until the past two years, which have seen the publication of several studies devoted to the character. Wonder Woman is perhaps the most recognizable superheroine of all, with her Stars and Stripes–inspired costume, bracelets of submission, and golden lasso.

The secret history of wonder woman