A 40TH ANNIVERSARY celebration… By PETER STONE Wonder Woman has had a colorful and brilliant history. William Moulton Marsdon to begin with, the legendary creator of the Amazing Amazon. Many argue that his wife had a lot to do with it, but I wasn’t there, so I don’t know for sure. Then there is Gene Colan, a legendary artist who took his turn at the demi-goddess in the very early 1980s. His work, was truly new and exciting. There’s also been Phil Jimenez, who brought a particularly detailed look to the character. Liam Sharp, David Finch, and Terry Dodson also provided luminous visions of the Warrior from Themyscira… or Paradise Island. There are so many others, too many to name. Writers alone include Greg Rucka, Denny O’Neil, William Messner-Loebs, Gail Simone. On a personal note, I love 1977’s Superman vs. Wonder Woman (aka All New Collectors Edition #C45), the treasury edition written by Gerry Conway and drawn by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Dan Adkins. It features some of the greatest art that both of those heroes ever had. With the backdrop of World War II and the atomic bomb, our heroes fight it out on… the MOON. I read that comic a million times and still love it today. However, for extended runs, I personally think the late George Perez created the best. When he started his run — Wonder Woman #1 was released Oct. 14, 1986 — I had seen his work on The New Teen Titans (a series that rivaled The Uncanny X-Men), Crisis on Infinite Earths (he is the ONLY artist who could have pulled that epic together), Justice League of America, The Avengers, Marvel Two-in-One, and too many more comics to even mention. Then, he took a very personal stab at Wonder Woman. Plotting and penciling, Perez brought the Amazonian Princess back to her roots… and then elaborated upon it. With dialogue writers like Greg Potter and Len Wein, Perez’s plots would sing triumphantly. He journeyed all the way back to 1200 B.C. and Olympus. The female goddesses gather together, and to battle Ares’ belief that the world is controlled by men and war, they create a new race of only women… the Amazons. The goddesses carefully guide Hippolyta to her greatest desire, a daughter. To honor the Greek goddess of the hunt and protector...