"We are each other's shelter from the storm."
SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN #6

One day I walked into a library and my eyes fell on a book called Kingdom Come. I picked it up and to my surprise it was a comic book...or rather as I later learned, a graphic novel. But I saw beautifully painted panels and heroes that I recognized from my childhood who seemed ...well, grown up. I borrowed that book and I was moved and fascinated by, not only the story of men and women who are great heroes, but by they way they showed their humanity. They suddenly were not two dimensional people who just fought bad guys. They were deeply complex. I love books and reading on the whole and I guess getting into the comic genre as an adult woman was a case of serendipity. It led me to finding DC comics and the heroes I grew up with on TV and saw in movies and newsprint. It led me to finding Clark Kent or as he is known by his other name, Kal-El, and Princess Diana. I fell in love with them and am obsessed with all things Amazonian and Kryptonian now. I love their relationship. I love what they stand for. I love the contrasts of the princess/farmer's son; reporter/ambassador; pragmatic warrior/idealistic protector and empathetic teacher/enforcer of justice. A girl born of the earth and a boy who fell from the sky. The first daughter of Themyscira and last son of Krypton. And it surprised me to find that there were many fans like me, who adore them too.

DC rebooted their universe in 2011 and my favorite pairing is now canon!!! Yay.



Disclaimer : Superman and Wonder Woman are the property of DC comics.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Why Superman and Wonder Woman

Just a little something I was asked to write for the Superman Wonder Woman Fan Archive.

http://www.supermanwonderwomanfanarchive.com/whysmww.html


I want to say that the web masters Imfanci and WonderCat who run this site are Wonder Women themselves and it is because of generous folks like them, David Schock (RIP) Djinn's Lair, the SM/WW Yahoo Group that this couple is finally getting the attention they deserve. Superman and Wonder Woman, unless you read comics, had no way of ever being highlighted in other media. Lois was pushed everywhere , even at her worse in stuff like Superman Returns, and up to even Batman came out of nowhere as a love interest for WW in the JL/U cartoon. Bruce Timm's adoration of the Batgod gave Wonder Woman batgroupie status and Superman was the dumb jock in the series. It was annoying and unfortunately spilled into comics to the detriment of Diana's evolution as a strong, and confident woman. Sending the message that Wonder Woman fancies emotionally closed off, paranoid men who can be jerks to to their allies.

The fans had little chance to bond with people who cared for Kal and Diana and had no forum to share their love and thoughts. Well, all that has changed in the last few years. For anything to flourish, it needs to be given a chance. Kingdom Come did that to some extent but clearly is not enough for fans who have been waiting for decades for DC to commit something to this couple. Not force feed us rubbish that for even Superman to look at Diana, Lois would have to never be around or he can't live without her. That clearly is ludicrous and contrary to what Superman is supposed to stand for. It has been sites like the Archive and Yahoo Group and Deviant Art and Fan Fiction.Net that has done much to make people take notice of Superman and Wonder Woman, not only as a romantic couple or allies who have a deep and respectful bond, (because DC is messing up their friendship too) but as individual heroes.



No comments:

Post a Comment