Emma Magazine - CASE

ack in the day 05By Gabrielle demarcoWonder Woman of HistoryComic books—their colorful covers and tissue paper-thinpages filled with battling superheroes in shining capes—arean iconic part of American childhood, particularly for youngboys who purchased them at corner comic shops startingin the 1930s and continuing today.Emma Willard is the star of a WonderWoman comic from the 1940s.Superman stopped trains and Batman and Robin saved Gothamcity in every issue. The men of the comic book universe savedthe damsels in distress and flew off to victory.As America entered the 1940s with World War II raging inEurope, psychologist and inventor William Moulton Marstonenvisioned a totally new kind of superhero—a superheroine.Marston wanted to create a female superhero who would serveas a model of female power for the young girls of the time. Andso in 1941 DC Comics released Wonder Woman in all her starspangling,red go-go booted glory. With her Lasso of Truth andsleek mane of black hair, Wonder Woman completely upset theplace of women in the comic book world from crying victim tointernational intelligence agent and gave girls their own and firsteversuperhero.Shortly after Wonder Woman first came out, the artists and writerssought to offer girls real-world examples of “Wonder Womenof History.” And in 1946, our very own Emma Hart Willard andher important work for education and for girls was given a comic book treatment. Her life story was featuredin Wonder Woman issue number 17 as a model for what a dedicated woman could achieve.We were lucky enough to get access to this Emma comic, originals of which are valued in the hundredsand even thousands of dollars today. She stood as a true wonder woman then and continues to do so todaymore than 200 years later. Read about our very own caped crusader in all her penciled and zam-bop-powcomic greatness.“Wonder Woman completely upset the place of women in the comic bookworld from crying victim to international intelligence agent.” Summer 2012