William Marston was an unusual man—a psychologist, a pulp novelist, and the (self-declared) inventor of the lie detector. He was also the creator of Wonder Woman, the comic that he used to express two of his greatest passions: feminism and women in bondage. Comics expert Noah Berlatsky takes us on a wild ride through the Wonder Woman comics of the 1940s, vividly illustrating how Marston’s many quirks and contradictions, paired with Harry Peter’s illustrations, produced a comic that was radically ahead of its time in terms of its depictions of female power and sexuality. Himself a committed polyamorist, Marston created a universe that was friendly to queer sexualities and lifestyles. Berlatsky’s analysis reveals a Wonder Woman far different from the feminist symbol many of us recall from television. Noah Berlatsky is the editor of the comics
and culture blog The Hooded Utilitarian. He has written on gender, comics, and culture for many publications, including Slate, Public Books, The Chicago Reader, Reason, The Comics Journal, The Baffler, and The Atlantic.