For over a century, all across New York City, the women behind the fascinating evolution of Wonder Woman have rejected social norms and fought tirelessly to break the chains of orthodoxy in its many forms. Beginning with the suffrage movement in Greenwich Village and the nation’s first birth control clinic in Brownsville, the character’s unique history grew to span a polyamorous triad at Columbia University, a mental health clinic in Harlem, a Lower East Side bohemian boutique, the United Nations Building, and Black Lives Matter protests throughout the city. Explore the remarkable women who inspired the triumphant and troubling journey of America’s favorite female superhero in the City Reliquary Museum’s exhibit: Wonder Women: NYC’s Heroes of Heterodoxy.
The exhibition and accompanying limited-edition zine address additional themes integral to the Wonder Woman comics and their surrounding NYC history including:
- Early 20th century birth control pioneers
- Underground and Gay Comix
- 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-generation feminists
- BIPOC representations in comic art
- NYC protest activities including women’s suffrage parades, pride parades, the BLM movement
- Women’s, Transgender, and Queer liberation.
Contributors to the museum exhibit and limited edition comic book include:
- Trina Robbins; artist and author, The Legend of Wonder Woman, and It Ain’t Me Babe
- R. Sikoryak; artist, The Unquotable Trump, and Constitution Illustrated
- Robyn Smith; artist, Nubia: Real One, and Wash Day Diaries
- Tim Hanley: author, Wonder Woman Unbound, and Betty and Veronica: The Leading Ladies of Riverdale
- Noah Berlatsky: author, Wonder Woman, Bondage and Feminism in the Marston/Peter Comics 1941-1948
- Karen Green; Curator for Comics and Cartoons at Columbia University
- Andy Mangels; author, editor; Gay Comix, founder/curator; Wonder Woman Museum
Wonder Women: NYC’s Heroes of Heterodoxy will be on view through the end of 2022.
