Good Wonder Woman during World War II stories? (other than original Golden Age)

[MajorHoy]

Question for those of you more familiar with Wonder Woman's many, many writers.

Other than her original Golden Age stories, at what other times has Wonder Woman been in a story set during the World War II era?

Off-hand, I can think of the period during 1977-1978 when both the Wonder Woman comic book and her feature in World's Finest Comics told about the Earth-2 Wonder Woman in the 1940s (coinciding with the first season of the TV show).



There were also a few issues around +/-early 1998 during the John Byrne era (#130-133?) when Hippolyta (as Wonder Woman) travelled back to the 1940s and essentially became the "Golden Age" version of Wonder Woman.



And recently, Renae De Liz's The Legend of Wonder Woman had Diana become Wonder Woman during World War II.



Any other post-Golden Age runs/stories featuring Wonder Woman during World War II?
(NOTE: I'm leaving out the Bombshells series since that's a way different interpretation.)

[Jim Kelly]

The tabloid-size "Superman vs. Wonder Woman," ALL-NEW COLLECTORS' EDITION C-54 (1978). This came out around the time of the TV show, but it feels like it belongs in its own continuity.

[MajorHoy]

The tabloid-size "Superman vs. Wonder Woman," ALL-NEW COLLECTORS' EDITION C-54 (1978). This came out around the time of the TV show, but it feels like it belongs in its own continuity.

I tend to group that in with the same period of Wonder Woman #228-243 (cover-dated Feb. 1977 - May 1978) and World's Finest Comics #244-250 (cover-dated April/May 1977 - April/May 1978). By the way, Baron Blitzkrieg first appeared in the Wonder Woman feature of World's Finest Comics #246 and Sumo next appeared in Wonder Woman #241 (March 1978).

[Phoenixx9]

I tend to group that in with the same period of Wonder Woman #228-243 (cover-dated Feb. 1977 - May 1978) and World's Finest Comics #244-250 (cover-dated April/May 1977 - April/May 1978). By the way, Baron Blitzkrieg first appeared in the Wonder Woman feature of World's Finest Comics #246 and Sumo next appeared in Wonder Woman #241 (March 1978).

Did Baron Blitzkrieg and Sumo ever appear again? I don't think I ever saw them outside of those aforementioned stories.

[MajorHoy]

Did Baron Blitzkrieg and Sumo ever appear again? I don't think I ever saw them outside of those aforementioned stories.

Yes . . . Baron Blitzkrieg showed up in All-Star Squadron/Young All-Stars, and even later on in the series Damage. I believe Sumo also appeared in All-Star Squadron/Young All-Stars.

[Dr. Poison]

Yes . . . Baron Blitzkrieg showed up in All-Star Squadron/Young All-Stars, and even later on in the series Damage. I believe Sumo also appeared in All-Star Squadron/Young All-Stars.

Both the Baron and Sumo appeared in All-Star Squadron with the Baron also appearing in Young All-Stars. Sumo hasn't been seen in a while, sadly. I'd love to see him make a come back in the current Wonder Woman series.

[MajorHoy]

By the way, a couple of single appearances from 1999:


Sensation Comics #1
(ties in with All Star Comics #1-2 from 1999 as well as several other one-shots named for old Golden Age titles)


All-Star Comics 80-Page Giant #1
(features a ten-page story w/Hippolyta (as Wonder Woman) and other female members of the All-Star Squadron)

[Jim Kelly]

The tabloid is set apart by the quality of the art and the scope of the story. It's very special. And the thing is the Superman in there almost seems like the Earth-One Superman, except that the story is happening during World War Two. So it doesn't really fit with Earth-Two, which is why I think of it as being in its own continuity bubble. Much like the Superman/Spider-Man tabloids that don't really belong in any continuity but their own.

Of course, the WONDER WOMAN comic at that time didn't really fit with Earth-Two, either, as the continuity was altered to fit the TV show.

Bob Kanigher returned to the "Golden Age" in the mid-60s, with stories that were set in the wartime period (more or less). Hippolyte even had black hair.

And when Kanigher returned as editor in 1973, after the first three issues that involved Nubia (204 - 206), Kanigher dove into the files and rehashed stories that he and Joye Hummel had written between 1947 - 1949. So not wartime, but just after the war. The only difference being that Hippolyta had blonde hair. These stories were in issue 207 - 211 and that's when I first started to pick up the WONDER WOMAN comic book. I know some people look down their noses at those stories, but I thought they were neat and they were what got me interested in reading more Wonder Woman comics, so there.

[Phoenixx9]

I loved those issues as well, Jim Kelly. I liked Hippolyta with blonde hair. She seemed more compassionate and caring.

I love Nubia!!

[MajorHoy]

. . . Bob Kanigher returned to the "Golden Age" in the mid-60s, with stories that were set in the wartime period (more or less). Hippolyte even had black hair . . .

Any idea of what issue numbers those were, and whether any of those stories actually had a WWII mention/influence or were just written as if they could have probably happened back then?
(I know he was heavily involved in DC's war comics at one time, but I'm curious if that atmosphere may have worked its way into his '60s Wonder Woman stories.)

[Jim Kelly]

Any idea of what issue numbers those were, and whether any of those stories actually had a WWII mention/influence or were just written as if they could have probably happened back then?
(I know he was heavily involved in DC's war comics at one time, but I'm curious if that atmosphere may have worked its way into his '60s Wonder Woman stories.)

I don’t have SHOWCASE PRESENTS WONDER WOMAN Vol. 4 (not yet) which reprints the bulk of the stories, nor do I have the back issues. Maybe someone else does and can give a more complete picture.

From what I’ve seen, the approach seems similar to THE LEGEND OF WONDER WOMAN, the 1986 four issue mini-series, by Trina Robbins (with Kurt Busiek), that was set in the 1950s.

I know that the "Golden Age" idea starts in WONDER WOMAN 156 (August ’65), which is reprinted in SHOWCASE PRESENTS WONDER WOMAN Vol. 3 (I have that one). Then issue 159 (January ’66) has “The Secret Origin of the Golden Age Wonder Woman” that seems to be squarely set during WW II.

After that, issues 160 - 163, continue the “Golden Age” approach. Issues 164 - 170 contain the same type of stories but not in “Golden Age” art style, as they feature villains like Dr. Psycho, Mars, Cheetah, Giganta and Paula von Gunther (or Gunta). The trend seems to have been played out by issue 171 (July-August ’67), when things return to normal before issue 178 when everything gets a Mod re-invention.

[The I.A.D.C.]

That's a pretty good run-down of that era. Flipping through the SHOWCASE PRESENTS WW VOL. 4, it looks like that whole "Return to the Golden Age" was mainly a return to the art style of the '40s. Ross Andru is clearly trying to mimic H.G. Peter's style. I always thought stories in WW 159-170 were set on Earth-1 as there's no specific mention of WWII and we get the return of a lot of the Golden Age villains instead of Nazi agents.

I'd love to see a nice complete collection of the 1977-78 issues mentioned in the original post. Complete with the WW vs Superman story and the WW SPECTACULAR along with a nice introduction page by Lynda Carter.

[MajorHoy]

The tabloid is set apart by the quality of the art and the scope of the story. It's very special. And the thing is the Superman in there almost seems like the Earth-One Superman, except that the story is happening during World War Two. So it doesn't really fit with Earth-Two, which is why I think of it as being in its own continuity bubble.

I really don't agree with this.
After all, the Wonder Woman who starred in the Earth-2 stories from 1977-1978 didn't act exactly like the Wonder Woman in those old Golden Age stories, either.
It's just how Golden Age characters were reinterpreted for a more modern (at that time) audience.

[Jim Kelly]

You don't have to agree with me, but I stand by my own opinion. It's something I thought when I read the tabloid in 1978 and it's what I thought when I read it again more recently. Superman looks like Earth-One Superman, his powers are more like the Earth-One Superman than the original 1940s Superman.

At that time, the comics had changed Wonder Woman's 1940s continuity to make it more like the TV show--which contradicts previous comics, as well as stories that came afterward in ALL-STAR SQUADRON. The Diana in the tabloid is pretty much like this TV Earth-Two amalgam in the other comics at the time. But those comics otherwise were true to the continuity they had set up for the Earth-Two JSA. This tabloid contradicted the version of Earth-Two Superman that had been established in the '70s, so it was again a greater contradiction.

As I've said, I didn't like the TV Earth-Two amalagam back then. I understand why they did it--to satisfy the TV audience. But by trying to fit it into Earth-Two, they were spoiling the continuity that I liked. And they couldn't totally embrace all of the continuity of the TV show either. So maybe it would have been better if the run was fully out of continuity--a la the current WONDER WOMAN '77 comics.

I understand why they did the tablioid how they did it, too. These crossovers needed to cut corners to provide readers with team-ups they wanted, not wasting pages to explain petty details. But I still don't consider the tabloid to be in continuity with any other comics DC was publishing at the time. And I'm fine with that.

[MajorHoy]

. . . So maybe it would have been better if the run was fully out of continuity--a la the current WONDER WOMAN '77 comics.

But I don't know how well that would have worked, either. Mind sets forty years ago as to publishing / buying comic books were totally different then.
And, by the way, is there any real "continuity" within the Wonder Woman '77 comic books? I haven't read any, so I don't know. (Also, I'm assuming they are only focusing on the "modern day"/CBS/Seasons 2 and 3 episodes and not any of the 1940s/ABC/Season 1 episodes from 1976-77?)