"When an Amazon girl permits a man to chain her bracelets of sub-mission together she becomes weak as other women in a man-ruled world!" - Quote from a 1940's Wonder Woman comic
Such a strange weakness... losing her powers when bound by a man. But when you get past the sexual overtones, I really think it was a positive message to young girls in the 40's:
To break her bonds, Wonder Woman must do so as a normal woman. But after she has emancipated herself from the oppression of men, she is a superhero once more.
This piece is based off of a 1973 Ric Estrada and Vince Colletta cover. This was in the age of Green Lantern and Superman, when most of the comics were almost solely men physically beating on each other. The creator of Wonder Woman, William Marston, wanted to create a female protagonist that would be a good role model for young girls... in his words:
"Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should, I believe, rule the world"
It made even more sense to me when I found out Marston was in college at the tail end of women's suffrage and witnessed women chaining themselves together during sit-ins to fight for the right to vote. It evidently made quite an impact on him.
Other interesting facts about William Marston:
- he was credited with developing the prototype to the lie-detector
( helps shed light on Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth)
- No surprise he was super into bondage (to the point it bordered on his life philosophy), and lived with his wife AND his mistress in the same home where they all raised their children together. It's an understatement to say this was quite progressive for American suburbia in the 40's and 50's.
Click the image below to see the process...
I tried a new concoction of acrylic paint and gesso to create the cast shadow of the door. It worked well for me in the studio, but turned out horribly dark and blotchy outside... probably too much gesso (as you can see in the 6th photo). I went back a second day and ended up repainting each color. Definitely worth the extra time...
You can see the finished product in the side alley of Trencherman on North Ave in Chicago.
Oh... and the woman tied up with Wonder Woman is her mother, Hippolyta. Everyone asks... figured that needed to be in here as well