WONDER WOMAN: AN INTRODUCTION

Wonder Woman has gone through many incarnations over the years, adapting to the times and to the visions of the great creative teams who have chronicled her adventures.  If you’re into WW but you’re not sure where to start, you’re probably not alone, but fortunately comiXology’s Kara Szamborski has put together this reading guide to help you get started:

There’s this movie coming out this week that you might have heard of called Batman v Superman, or, as I like to call it, Wonder Woman and Two Dudes in Capes Who Punch Each Other For Like Two Hours. Thing is, I’m super excited for the big screen debut of the Amazon princess. There have been very few films including superheroes who happen to be women, and nothing makes me happier than the thought of one of the most famous heroes in comics getting introduced to a whole new audience.

Wonder Woman has had a few origin stories over the years, and she’s been reinvented just about every decade. At her core, though, she is the same: she wants to help others, and she believes she can make Man’s World a better place for everyone. Her most commonly used origin story (and my personal favorite) is where the Amazons, a tribe of warrior women in ancient Greece, retreat to an island protected from the world of men by the gods. Their queen yearned for a child, so she went down to the beach and sculpted a daughter from clay, and the goddesses brought her to life. Years later, that daughter would win a contest to represent the Amazons in Man’s World and go forth to aid and inspire.

You don’t need to read years of comics to understand Wonder Woman; I recommend these four stories as a crash course in why she has been such a popular character for so long:

Sensation Comics #23-24  A teenaged Wonder Woman emerges from the sea near a boardwalk and spends the evening making friends and dancing circles around some rude boys. The Amazons discover ice cream. Noelle Stevenson’s art is flawless.

Sensation Comics #20-21  – Wonder Woman dons an astronaut suit to assist on a scientific shuttle that’s closer to danger than the crew thought. Alex de Campi is a genius at writing the Amazon princess and should be doing it forever, the end.

Wonder Woman (1987-2006) #195 – Ambassador, hero, friend, boss—Wonder Woman has a lot on her plate, and her newest member of staff has to learn fast to keep up.

Wonder Woman (2006-2011) #34-35  – What’s better than a Wonder Woman story? A Wonder Woman story guest starring Black Canary! Also, Gail Simone @gailsimone wrote it. Boom.

If you want more, I recommend the whole new Sensation Comics line, as most of those stories are short and don’t rely on continuity, plus, a different creative team on each story means you get a different side of Wonder Woman each time! If that’s not enough for you, definitely revisit her original Sensation Comics series from the 1940s to see the woman who was created to be a better hero than Superman.

Kara Szamborski supervises the Production Coordinator team at comiXology and co-hosts the weekly comiXologist podcast to help readers like you find their perfect comic. She has been a Wonder Woman fan since seeing her on Superfriends as a kid and has always wanted those nifty bulletproof bracelets.