Wonder Woman Unbound

By: Tim Hanley

Narrated by: Colby Elliott

Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's Summary

This close look at Wonder Woman's history portrays a complicated heroine who is more than just a female Superman with a golden lasso and bullet-deflecting bracelets. The original Wonder Woman was ahead of her time, advocating female superiority and the benefits of matriarchy in the 1940s. At the same time, her creator filled the comics with titillating bondage imagery, and Wonder Woman was tied up as often as she saved the world.

In the 1950s, Wonder Woman begrudgingly continued her superheroic mission, wishing she could settle down with her boyfriend instead, all while continually hinting at hidden lesbian leanings. While other female characters stepped forward as women's lib took off in the late 1960s, Wonder Woman fell backward, losing her superpowers and flitting from man to man. Ms. magazine and Lynda Carter restored Wonder Woman's feminist strength in the 1970s, turning her into a powerful symbol as her checkered past was quickly forgotten. Exploring this lost history adds new dimensions to the world's most beloved female character, and Wonder Woman Unbound delves into her comic book and its spin-offs as well as the myriad motivations of her creators to showcase the peculiar journey that led to Wonder Woman's iconic status.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2014 Tim Hanley (P)2016 Last Word Audio, LLC

Critic Reviews

"A lively and important examination of a key feminist icon." ( Booklist)

"There’s plenty here for Wonder Woman fans; Hanley writes with clarity and enthusiasm, and he’s got a fine eye for the goofy absurdities of comic-book narratives...." (Salon.com)

"Elliott's conversational style enlivens the many footnotes, popular objections to comic books, and anecdotes about the Senate hearings of the 1940s and '50s regarding whether or not comic books cause juvenile delinquency...Most enjoyable are Elliott's lively cartoon quotes and engaging female voices." (AudioFile)

facts about how Wonder Woman has been portrayed

I'm not normally a non-fiction kinda gal but I was really curious about this title and I'm glad I gave it a go!

I missed the Wonder Woman era of comics and cartoons but the two reasons that drew me to this book were: I'm a traditional nerd and comic books and superheroes dressed in primary colours appeal to me, and this is the era of the modern feminist.

Tim Hanley splits the book into three main sections, the Gold, Silver and Bronze age of comic book history and the roles that both Wonder Woman and Diana Prince play in those eras.

I found the Golden Age to be particularly fascinating, Wonder Woman was created by a guy called William Marston in 1942.  Among other things, he was a psychologist with an interest in dominance and submission - this is something that makes a whole lot of sense when you look back and realise how much time the characters spend being tied up or lassoed.

On that note - wear headphones while listening to this in public places or at work unless you want to share some learning on sexual psychology and bondage with passers by. Learn from my mistakes.

The purpose of Wonder Woman as a character at the time of her creation was to represent a strong female who doesn't need a man to complete her, which was pretty progressive in the WW2 era when women were being forced back behind the kitchen sink when their husbands came back from the war. However, future writers didn't seem to honour this idea and she steadily grew more pathetic, needy and scantily clad.

I love that someone took the time to write this book, especially someone who seems as disappointed with her progression as a character as I am. I would love to know Hanley's thoughts on Gal Gadot's incarnation of Wonder Woman.

During the 1960s, when feminism took its first stand, Wonder Woman was dusted off and used as an icon but she could only work as such if you ignored most of her storylines and stuck to her original persona. This point in the book opened my eyes to something that I already knew in an abstract way- women were still struggling for anything resembling equal rights in the 60s, the battle we're waging today in the western world is nothing compared to that - the decade my own mother was born in!

Colby Elliot narrates this excellent quality work impeccably, his voice definitely kept my attention when I was struggling to concentrate (this is my first non-fiction audiobook after all!).

This is a book I would recommend to WonderWoman fans, fans of comic books in general and people with even the most fleeting of interests in feminism. It doesn't dwell heavily on personal opinions but tells us the facts about how Wonder Woman has been portrayed in comics and TV in the past 70 years. Yes. 70 years. Anyone else feel old?

Audiobook was purchased for review by ABR.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

[If this review helped, please press YES. Thanks!]

114 of 121 people found this review helpful

Interesting history of Wonder Woman

This book is a great detailing of how Wonder Woman has changed with the times and other females in general throughout comics, both Marvel and DC. The author does list more books that he has researched into writing this book so I'm going to be sure to look into them. It is a head scratching affair when you hear how people thought back then but that's what's also fascinating about it as well. It's good that we've grown, and still are growing, from that bigotry mindset. Any person that claims to be a fan of Wonder Woman in general or has a curious mind for history, should listen to this book, and perhaps getting the physical book too since they're charts and pictures that are mentioned.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Very informative and interesting!

Tim Hanley does a great job making the history of Wonder Woman in relation to her writers a very interesting read. I’d love to see a second book with the analysis of the new Wonder Woman film that came out in 2017.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Interesting and Informative

I found this book enjoyable to listen to. It was very informative about the history of Wonder Woman, including a lot of information about related male and female characters as well as the comic book industry. Despite being an extended essay about Wonder Woman, the performance stayed engaging.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

true to its title

It was very nice to listen to this book, not because its tension, but because I could afford to zone out a bit every now and then.
Don't get me wrong, it is not a bad book, it just feels repetitive at times.
I now know a lot more about WW, Superman and the way women were stereotypes and tropes throughout media for a long time.
The narration wasn't bad or excellent, but soothing and factual.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Good to bind you over 'til your next blockbuster

What made the experience of listening to Wonder Woman Unbound the most enjoyable?

The author clearly has a deeply abiding love for this subject, and that's always worth a fair amount of goodwill. It's not a great book, but it's honest and it's more than a little interesting, regarding the origins and various iterations of Wonder Woman through time.
Not to mention the creator and his not so subtle representation of his particular special interests.

But I think for me, as nothing like a fan of comic books, the most enjoyable thing was wondering how comic book fans would react. On the one hand, the fantastical adventures and overtly feminist theme would be appealing to some. I kind of liked that aspect of it. But on the other, the typical male comic book fan would see the utter ridiculousness of the stories and situations, rail at the absurdity.... and only then be forced to look at themselves and see how silly the whole idea of comic books is.

Would you recommend Wonder Woman Unbound to your friends? Why or why not?

Comic book fans should be very interested in this book. I think I know a couple. I got it on a Daily Deal, so I can't complain. I doubt I would have used a full credit, though.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

He was true to the intent of the author, and conveyed it well. All that is asked.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I had no idea of the depth and breadth of the comic book industry. And I had a begrudging respect, I'll admit a bit snobbishly, for how it was revered by the author, as would any collection of classic literature. I admire the unabashed love for the genre, and Wonder Woman in particular.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

a master's thesis about Wonder Woman

I must have bought this on sale. I was looking for a book about the famously unusual creator of the original Wonder Woman. This isn't it.
I'm not particularly a comic book reader, and I now know a great deal more about Wonder Woman and the history of feminism -- or lack thereof -- in female superheroes than I actually wanted to know.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Learned so much!

This was so enlightening to Wonder Woman’s history in DC comics as well as her appearance in other medias. I am sad to learn that her past is so convoluted and checkered, but I’m glad to know and understand more of who Wonder Woman is.

This is a great resource for anyone like me who wants to brush up their facts and knowledge about who Wonder Woman was/is. I enjoyed it a lot.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I am so surprised by Wonder Woman's full history!

if you love female heroines this book is for you. It doesn't just cover wonder woman but compares her to Louise Lane, Batgirl, and Super Girl as well

7 of 11 people found this review helpful

Missed Opportunity

Where to start?

There's some interesting stuff here - even for the casual fan. The history, the involvement of women in the writing, the ups and downs of this character are fascinating - a real study in the plight and position of women in our society since the 1930s.

But, oh, the narrator. Nice enough voice, but Mr. Elliott reads much to fast, and his delivery - well he just reads! Mostly, though, for me, this was a missed opportunity - the narrator should definitely have been a woman! Duh! There are many, many excellent female performers out there who could have given this work a much-needed extra oomph!

And footnotes? There's a PDF with this, for crying out loud! Why make listening that much more a chore by breaking up the narrative for footnotes!

Could have been a really good audio.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful