This was a very well researched history of Wonder Woman that I thoroughly enjoyed making my way through. This is basically a research paper but it doesn't read like one - it's much more engaging and interesting to read. I certainly feel very informed about the history of Wonder Woman now. I have read a few of her comics but and I knew a bit of her back story but I was not fully versed of any of it. I knew of Wonder Woman as an icon and this book really helped me understand her complicated history and somewhat neglected storylines. I was very excited about the new Wonder Woman movie and now I feel like I have the necessary knowledge to truly enjoy the story. I own Tim Hanley's other two novels and I may jump into the nest one which is about Lois Lane right away! ( )

I read The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore some years ago, so I was familiar with the creator of Wonder Woman, William Moulton Marston, and his proclivities and motivations, but this book goes beyond the creation of Wonder Woman and brings us a full history of her legacy. It dives deeper into the way that Wonder Woman has been received by the masses and talks about each of her writers, in comics and on screen. Except, of course, for the new movie that is still out in theaters.

I'd been wanting to read this book for a while and had been waiting on hold for it. I've also been a follower of Tim Hanley here on Wordpress and his blog, Straightened Circumstances, which was how I came to be familiar with this book in the first place. He's actually written on Lois Lane and recently published a book on Catwoman as well. In this book, and I imagine the others, he takes a really deep look into the feminism that Wonder Woman has had and that she hasn't had. He looks at the way her character has been idealized at times and turned into a role model at other times and what exactly she's modeling.

There's a lot to love here. First of all, Hanley goes into the evolution of Wonder Woman, which means that he starts at the beginning and works through each writer and artist and discusses them and their growth as writers of Wonder Woman. Second, in order to do this he also displays some great feminist terminology and herstory. I get that Wonder Woman's compatibility with feminism isn't always the greatest but I like to think of her as a Bad Feminist in much the same way so many of us are. Imperfect at what we do but always striving toward progress, even when we hit a few snags. There's also the way he paints the contrasts with other characters throughout the years to give context to what was happening with Wonder Woman and why it was or wasn't the most palatable thing for audiences. I love the delineation of the Ages of Comics, which was not something I was well versed in and would have been lost without. Also, the many changing origins are annoying and seem to have digressed, especially having watched the movie and seen what they did there. I like the original better.

Overall, a great book about a great character. I look forward to reading the other two and probably whatever else he puts out. Hanley does post reviews for new Wonder Woman comics as they come out on his earlier mentioned blog and if you read this and get curious about his take on the movie, he's got a review up there too. For a preview of his writing, he has been posting about the new Catwoman book, but here's a link to the movie review. ( )

Informative, insightful, sensational; the "curious history" of Wonder Woman unravels flawlessly here to expose the character's rich complexity. ( )

ARC provided by NetGalley

Wonder Woman. One of the big three heroes of DC comics and one of the more prominent female heroines. But who is she really? In this book Hanley lets readers in on Wonder Woman’s complicated history, as more than just a female Superman, but a heroine who was ahead of her time in advocating for female rights and matriarchy. Throughout the years she has has been many things including being involved with bondage, expressing hidden lesbian desires, and a powerful advocate for women’s rights. In addition, Hanley grounds Wonder Woman in her creator’s life, William Moulton Marston, who believed that women would one day take their rightful place alongside the leaders of the world and that young men needed to know how to deal with that. While future writers lost that idea and diminished Wonder Woman’s powers, she persisted and was brought back to life by Lynda Carter and others to continue on today. Hanley exposes it all in this well researched and readable book that brings Wonder Woman to life. ( )

She’s going to appear in the next Superman movie (played by Gal Gardot), had a long-running TV show, in which she was played by the bodacious Lynda Carter, and graced the cover of Ms. Magazine.

So why isn’t Wonder Woman in the top tier of superheroes? And there’s this weird disconnect between her super powers and the titillating way she’s been drawn—and the strange bondage imagery—in many of her early incarnations.

Tim Hanley’s historical overview of Wonder Woman addresses her early proto-feminist strengths, as well as the way she kind of lost it at the same time that the feminist movement was gaining the most ground. He’s got a nice analysis of the irony of having a feminist icon written and drawn by a bunch of guys, and the hazards of expecting a freaking superhero to represent real people at all.

Hanley’s a thoughtful writer, more than willing to bust a few myths, and this historical survey of Wonder Woman’s place as an individual and as part of the Justice League is a well-done and accessible book.

Reviewed on Lit/Rant: http://litrant.tumblr.com/post/87586408853/wonder-woman-unbound-the-curious-hist... ( )