Joye Kelly and Wonder Woman

On Thursday Jill Lepore, author of The Secret History of Wonder Woman, came to talk with students and faculty here at Hamilton College. Many of her points on the comic book series made me look at the character of Wonder Woman in a new light. Like I mentioned in my previous post, I struggled to accept Wonder Woman as a feminist figure. However, Lepore showed how Wonder Woman related to the suffragists during the first feminist wave. For example, the images of Wonder Woman locked in chains serves not as a hint at bondage, or as a method to diminish her power, but as an allusion to suffragist images. Wonder Woman metaphorically breaks free of male oppression each time she frees herself from the restricting chains.


The same goes for the images of Wonder Woman riding a white horse. At first I thought the inclusion of a horse was merely meant to add content that would attract young girls (what school-aged girl doesn't like the idea of riding a horse?). But again, this horse is yet another nod to the suffragist movement.
Although I enjoyed learning about this suffragist interpretation, the part of Lepore's discussion I found most fascinating was her story of Joye Kelly. At nineteen, the William Moulton Marston hired Kelly to assist him with the creation of Wonder Woman. After Marston's death, it was Kelly who took on the role of Wonder Woman author. I love this idea of a young career woman creating the stories of the first highly commercialized female superhero! Yet, who has ever heard of Joye Kelly? From the way Lepore described the tale, it seems like Kelly never got the credit she deserved for her work. Maybe Kelly wanted it that way or maybe she didn't care, but I can't help thinking that her story is just another example of the comic book industry choosing to remain a male-dominated business. Why did they not choose to promote Kelly's work? I can't say that I am an expert in the comic book author field but I can't think of any prominent female writers or artists of superhero comics. I wonder if Kelly's work had been more known during her time working with Wonder Woman whether or not women would have a larger presence in the superhero comic book field today.