Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons

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Right from the opening issue of Historia, it’s clear that this is unlike any Wonder Woman story that came before it, with DeConnick and Jimenez drawing heavily from Greco-Roman mythology and the classic art of the era. I think of being queer as being anti-tradition, anti-patriarchal, as something that upends kind of a traditional and often conservative, regressive point of view. Jimenez takes full advantage of the prestige format with which the Black Label line is published, working with colorists Hi-Fi, Arif Prianto, and Romulo Fajardo, Jr. Intended for a more mature readership, the imprint has a reputation of diving into the deep end, sometimes depicting a darker world than fans might expect from their favorite characters. For her part, Scott has hinted that three additional installments of Wonder Woman Historia, with nine installments planned in all based on how strong sales are.

And for all the gorgeous artwork, of which there is certainly no shortage, this miniseries only works with the scripting provided by DeConnick who confidently tells her origin story while masterfully maintaining the narrative through the extended page count and changes in tone. The last chapter of Historia is ultimately a war story and epic tragedy in the Homeric tradition as only DeConnick and Scott can tell it. There’s no point in making art about the past unless you’re using it to talk about the present or the future, because the past is past. We all know the Marston stuff was mired in Marston’s own fetishized view of sex and women, but it’s still amazing work to me because of the fact that this was 1942, the middle of World War II, and it was so clear and obvious on the page. Nicola Scott, who has often worked with Greg Rucka on some truly memorable Wonder Woman stories, including updating Diana Prince’s origins in Wonder Woman: Year One, joins DeConnick with colorist Annette Kwok for Historia’s third chapter.To prepare us for this reframed classic that uses the past to reveal our present, we spent an afternoon with Phil and Kelly Sue to discuss Historia in the making.

And this happens sometimes when women are trying to celebrate women as well, but it happens a lot when men are trying to celebrate women. Hopefully, the creative team will get the chance to complete their overarching tale because, as it stands, Wonder Woman Historia is one of the most impressive Wonder Woman stories told in recent memory. And the reason that first page has no images is because we wanted to begin with the idea of tabula rasa. I don’t think of it exclusively in terms of sexuality so much as the notion of the queering of the world.

One of the things I really loved about this process was that Kelly Sue and I came from two very complementary sociopolitical ideologies and we brought that to the work. On the other hand, if you’re anticipating the same old story about the trials of Wonder Woman’s people, you’re about to be brilliantly surprised. And so, prioritizing the comfort of those men and getting their own needs met in a way that didn’t appear demanding or burdensome was a survival adaptation.

The Tribe of Artemis, Hestia, and others appear to play a central part in the limited series’ premise.The inaugural issue had concluded with the introduction of Hippolyta, a woman who endured some of the gravest injustices society had to offer.