*disclaimer*
Wonder Woman and the likeness thereof,are trademarks of those wonderful people at DC Comics.INC and are used without permission.This page is purely a non-profit making fan page and intended to be interpretted as such.Thank you.God bless America.
Long before the likes of Xena:Warrior Princess, Lara Croft and Buffy The Vampire Slayer, was this lady...The original ass-kickin' babe....Princess Diana of Themyscira, a.k.a WONDER WOMAN !
Created by the unconventional psychologist,Dr William Moulton Marston back in 1941 as 'psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should rule the world',Wondie has now been flying the flag for DC Comics for over 60 years (and her age still isn't showing!).
And THIS is how my obsession began!......
Yep,Saturday afternoon tv was never quite the same again!
Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman was somethin' else. It can still make my hairs stand on end when watching the re-runs.It was fantastic.
Lynda's Wonder Woman was beautiful and no doubt every schoolboy's fantasy. (Although I'm sure the 'normal' boys didn't rush out into the garden after the show,hide behind a bush,twirl round,and think they WERE Wonder Woman,lol!!!)..naw,the 'normal' boys were happier being Supermen. And then there was the whole 'doll' thing...I was never allowed a Wonder Woman doll!.It's all I wanted!.I had Superman,Batman and a Hulk but my heart yearned for a Wonder Woman (geez,if that wasn't a sign to my parents!..how could thay have not realised all those years ago that their son was gonna grow up to be a screamin' woofter???!!!)...Still,I've had the last laugh,I have loads of Wondie dolls now!
Anyway,back to the tv series...
After a couple of very 'dubious' attempts (let's just bury that Cathy Lee Crosby fiasco to the darkest regions of our minds,shall we?!) Wondie came spinning onto our screens in 1976 (following 3 tv movies in '75).The first series, by ABC,stayed true to her comic book origins and was set during the 2nd World War. After just one series ABC dropped it and it was picked up by CBS, where it was modernized,and continued to run for another 2 series until 1978.
Some of my stuff - Neil's Wonder Cabinet!
(Right) Ok, so this is probably a bit wrong and disrespectful!.. This is by Iceman, one of my favourite 'erotic' cartoonists. He's done some pretty awesome work, erm, 're-imaginging' the Justice League in the past (far right) and now he's had a crack at Wondie!
(Right) In stark contrast to Phil's beautiful work,here's how NOT to draw Wondie! ...I have a great respect for Frank Miller. His work on Batman, in particular, is stunning but I really do think that this is one character he shoulda' left alone, it's enough to give you nightmares!
Alex Ross' Wonder Woman...
Mr Ross is a mighty fine artist and his work in the DC Universe is stunning.He gives real maturity to the characters.The pix on the right are from the 2001 graphic novel 'Spirit of Truth'.
WW Issue#188 - The end of an era!
From 2001 'til March 2003, Wondie was represented in the monthly DCs by the god-like Mr Phil Jimenez. Phil never hid his true passion for Diana, resulting in 2 wonderful years of excellent comics. With issue #188, Phil bowed out, but what a way to go, pulling out all the stops and paying homage to Lynda Carter's 70's show with some fabulous costumes changes. Phil's final page was a beautiful double page spread (which hasn't reproduced very well I'm afraid!) showing the various incarnations of Wondie over the years. Phil - you are a true star - thank you for keeping Diana beautiful!
(Left) The Wonderful Maria from 2003's Brighton Pride. You have my respect!
(Above) Wonder Man! This superb illustration is by Glen Hansen for the G-Man 2007 Calendar.(www.GlenHansen.com). A year later, again for the G-Man Calendar, Glen's take on the lovely Lynda C!
In 2006, rumours of a proposed Wonder Woman film became reality when it was announced the mighty Joss Whedon was to take on writing duties. The whole world (well, I did anyway) screamed and spun with delight at this news - 'The man behind Buffy The Vampire Slayer who has such respect for kick-ass babes? It's gonna be awesome!' But alas, by February 2007, it had all gone to pot and Joss left the project, basically quoting creative differences and budget restrictions between himself and the film company. The world stopped spinning again (or, at least, I did) and Diana was dumped back into The Bermuda Triangle.
How cool is America? Every year they have a 'Wonder Woman Day' - Just how GAY is that???!!!!!! It does have a serious message though and all proceeds go to a charitiy supporting victims of Domestic Abuse. You can read all about WW Day and get tons of fab Wondie info by visiting the Wonder Woman Museum Site.... just hit the banner below....
Oh, and 2 fab animated GIFs of Wondie used on this page are from Pete's animated gif site. He has loads of fab Superhero gifs!...
A friend of mine gave me a link to this really cool programme where u can make your own Superhero so, following on from the G man calendar, here's my various takes on Wonder Man (and NO apologies for them all looking so gay!!!!)
Erm, I really think I should get out more, hahahahhaa! Anyway, thanx Ray for the fab link... hours of mindless fun!
Warner Bros and DC left Diana in limbo and it wasn't until a few years later that a different tact was used when, come 2009, The Amazing Amazon got her own straight-to-DVD animated movie relase from the guys behind the hugely successful 'Superman - Doomsday' and 'Batman - Gotham Knight'.
The grim image on the right formed part of an Aids Awareness Campaign in France. The point of which was to highlight that no-one is invincible to AIDS, not even Superheroes.
Kerry Does Diana!
The fabulous Miss Lynn, who was a true joy to work with, dons the Red White and Blue to do Diana proud at Kerry's Leaving/Birthday Party in Feb 2009. Accompanying Kerry in the last pic is the Lovely Mel who made a pretty hot and sexy Robin!
Photos by Anna Lewis
(Above) From the pencil of the the amazin' Patrick Fillion. Maybe a little bit wrong but it's kinda' hot! (click 4 larger)
A dark day for Diana...
I was on holiday in Spain at the time. The first I heard about this was a text from a friend. I almost choked on my sangria.
In June 2010, DC Comics took it upon themselves to destroy The Princess. They stripped her of her powers (she would have to learn these in instalments over the months that followed) and, more shockingly, stripped her of her satin tights and the image I knew and loved.
In came black leather pants and a bikers jacket. The sort of look a Superhero would have if they were just popping out down to the mini-mart for a pint of milk and needed to put civvies on.
The synics suggested that this was all part of a marketing ploy as the green light had been given for a new Wonder Woman TV show (the writer /producer has already been confirmed) and that this image would be easier to portray on TV than the classic look that we all know and love...
The Return of Wonder Woman? (Blink and you'll miss it!)
... Sure enough, after DC Comics broke us in gently with the new look, details of a new Wonder Woman pilot began to surface in early 2011. The pilot had been touted, and refused, by all major US Networks until NBC had a change of heart and took it on board after initially rejecting it. For me, this should have been the most exciting news ever but my heart sunk at those dreadful words: 'a re-imagining': 'Diana Themyscira, aka Diana Prince, aka vigilante Wonder Woman, is a successful corporate executive trying to balance all elements of her hectic life'....
Writing duties fell to NBC favourite David E Kelley, known for his credits on Ally McBeal, Boston Legal and LA Law. The role of Wonder Woman went to relatively unknown acress Adiranne Palicki with Justin Bruening (2008 revamp of Knight Rider) as Steve Trevor and Elizabeth Hurley, sealing the project with the kiss of death, as Veronica Cale.
In March, the new logo was revealed (top left - sorry it doesn't open to bigger) along with Ms Palicki in the new costume, right (which does open to bigger). Pretty much as expected, out went the satin tights and in came electric blue leatherette skin tight pants, along with matching boots. Compared to what DC had done in the comics, I was expecting a lot worse so was rather relieved: despite my sadness that Diana could no longer fight for our rights in her satin tights, it wasn't a bad look. However, after the 'unveiling' many fans displayed their disapproval and, when it came to shoot the pilot, the outfit had altered - still no satin tights but at least the red boots were back!
You too, can look as beautiful as an Amazonian Princess!...
Whilst news of a Wondie 're-imagining' horrified me, this totally thrilled me! I'm not entirely sure why they did it (I can't see it being a major seller) but, in early 2011, make-up giant MAC brought out an entire range of Wondie Cosmetics. The stylised packaging and promotion was absolutely perfect and I, for one, applaud them!
(all thumbnails on the right open to bigger)
The fact that NBC were prepared to listen to the fans regarding the 'look' was a promising start and maybe my mis-forgivings over the script were to prove unfounded but, after the completion of the pilot, NBC had their second change of heart and wouldn't pick up for a series. Princess Diana was, once again, thrown mercilessly back into The Devil's Triangle.
