Wonder Woman: The Once And Future Story by Trina Robbins, Colleen Doran and Jackson Guice (graphic novel review).
I came across ‘Wonder Woman: The Once And Future Story’ by Trina Robbins, Colleen Doran and Jackson Guice through one of TwoMorrow magazines and looked it up. Oddly, Wonder Woman is a peripheral character in this 1998 graphic novel.
An antique cairn is found on a farm in Ireland and a message sent to Wonder Woman for help in translating some ancient Greek tablets. Here she relates the tales of Artemis who is a forerunner to Wonder Woman herself, although from Ephesus. Her mother and queen, Alcippe, is taken by Theseus to be his wife.
Wearing a mask to conceal her identity, Artemis beats all the competition and becomes her people’s champion with the mandate to rescue her mother. Theseus continually abuses Alcippe and when Artemis approaches the king as a servant, finds herself resisting his advances and is nearly beaten to death. She recovers and leads a revolt which you’ll have to read for yourself.
Blended into this is the present where archaeologists James and Moira Kennealy have an abusive relationship and something Wonder Woman is powerless to really sort out until the end.
This graphic novel is really about showing the signs of domestic abuse and although I’m not sure after 22 years all the phone numbers at the back of the book are up-to-date, this book is still valid. I would question whether the victims themselves would buy it, then certainly relatives can and try to ensure they do and see if they recognise themselves.
Although I’m not sure the Artemis aspect would re-enforce this although the legendary historical part is there to indicate that domestic abuse is not something new but has been carried out throughout history. When you consider how women have been treated as second-class citizens for so long and the time it took for them to get the vote and all the struggles of emancipation, I suspect such acts have been hidden. Don’t turn a blind eye.
GF Willmetts
April 2020
(pub: DC Comics, 1998. 48 page graphic novel. Price: I pulled my copy for £13.99 (UK) . ISBN: 1-56389-373-8)
check out website: www.dccomics.com
