T&A

[lederhosen]

(Bits cribbed from this post by vito_excalibur.)

I've told this story before, so I won't go into it now, but the background to Wonder Woman is rather intriguing. The character was created by William Marston, a rather unconventional psychologist, who based her on Elizabeth (his wife, a very impressive woman in her own right), and Olive (effectively, also his wife).

Marston had some odd social theories, some of which look as eccentric today as they must have done back then. But he was ahead of his time on some things; one of them was his belief that empowering women would be a good thing for both sexes, and that there weren't enough strong role models for girls. As he put it: "Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power... 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." So he created Wonder Woman, to show readers that combination of strength and beauty.

Having just seen Frank Miller's recent portrayal of Wonder Woman (warning: NSFW for barely covered T&A, and badly-drawn T&A at that), I'm fairly sure William Marston is spinning in his grave right now. As for Elizabeth and Olive, I like to think they've clawed their way out of theirs and are on their way to give Miller a well-deserved zombie kerb-stomping.

Some more of Miller's work here... you know, I really don't have a problem with artistic nudity. But if you want to draw a naked woman, at least have the decency to DRAW A NAKED WOMAN and don't pretend that a couple of scraps of lace make it not-porn. (This one is scripted by Miller, drawn by another artist, but if you want to know how much of it is Miller's fault you have only to read the included script.) Also, if DC really feels a need to publish Wonder Woman pr0n, could they maybe hire the Foglios to do it instead?

Meanwhile, 'inspired' by Miller's efforts: old-school Vicki Vale here (with some material from the new one pasted in for comparison, work-safe), and male superheroes drawn Frank Miller style (not work-safe).

Comments

[chaos-crafter.livejournal.com]

Now Foglio Wonder-Woman Pr0n would be well worth buying. Not least of all as it would probably maintain her important values.

[vito-excalibur.livejournal.com]

Agreed! Especially if kajafoglio is involved, I am so there.

And the Foglios wouldn't do this "oh, it's not really porn if you can't see a nipple" Vampirella-style fetishism horseshit.

[mdsteele47.livejournal.com]

How sad. I had enjoyed a great deal of Miller's work, particularly the Dark Knight Returns storyline.

And thanks for sharing the WW 'backstory'. I hadn't heard that before.

[lederhosen.livejournal.com]

The Wikipedia article has a bit more about it. The Marstons sound like a fascinating bunch of people; I vaguely wonder how much trouble WM might have gotten into if he'd survived into the 1950s, between the stuff he worked into the comics and the menage au trois.

[djfiggy.livejournal.com]

At least the comics don't teach The Children to be goths. Then they'd clearly develop a desire to kill others.

[culfinriel.livejournal.com]

Some people need to get out more.