A FRANCO FRIDAYS birthday tribute to creator William Moulton Marston. Plus, calling out someone very special…
By FRANCO
Today is William Moulton Marston’s birthday. Interesting guy. Varied background. He was a psychologist, basically invented the polygraph, was into bondage. And oh yeah… a comic book writer and creator of Wonder Woman.
The man and background fascinate me. The character he created fascinates me. The evolution of the character fascinates me. There have been some great runs in comics: The George Perez run. The Messner-Loebs and Deodato run. The Azzarello and Chiang run. Good stuff! (And if you have not read the currently running Absolute Wonder Woman, do yourself a favor and pick it up! Highly recommend!)
She’s successfully jumped to the screen: From the Super Friends cartoon version to the Justice League cartoon version. Lynda Carter’s portrayal in her iconic run on television to Gal Gadot in the movies. And let me tell you… Lynda is a dynamo. She is radiant and exudes the power of Wonder Woman in real life. Kind and gracious when I met and spoke with her and the epitome of what you would want Wonder Woman to be.
My parents worked a lot when I was a kid. I mean, a lot. But there was always family. We were always working together in the restaurant. We were always together on holidays. And the day-to-day going to school/work life was taken care of by either my mother or my Aunt Evelyn.
My mother and my aunt (she passed away many years ago, sadly) were two of the strongest women I’ve ever known. I was always encouraged to read and comics were not frowned upon like I’ve heard from others. I was encouraged to draw by these women. My mother was always supportive of my creativity. My love of art was mostly instilled in me by both of them. Not that either could draw but when I did they encouraged me to do so. Yeah, I did get yelled at once for drawing with crayons on the wall but I distinctly remember them admiring what I did draw on the wall before I was made to clean it off.
Marie Aureliani, the real Wonder Woman.
In my eyes there was never a distinction between Batman, Superman or other male heroes and Wonder Woman. She was a hero as well, and even stronger than most of her male counterparts. I had very strong female influences in my life and they made a strong impact on how I learned about the world. There were injustices in society and I was looking for heroes to help navigate it. Luckily, I had examples of the very best when growing up, but I also found them in the four-color pages of comic books and Wonder Woman.
Women are amazing. Women are strong. They are all Wonder Woman! Every single one of them.
So thank you William Moulton Marston for such an iconic, inspiring character. And, with Mother’s Day just two days away, thank you Ma, and thank you Aunt Evelyn. For everything.
Happy Friday!
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— Just Call It STAR WARS — Nothing But STAR WARS. Click here.
— Who’s the CRAZIEST JOKER of Them All? This Version. Click here.
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Franco and his forehead have traveled the world and he writes and draws stuff. Franco is the creator, artist and writer of Patrick the Wolf Boy and Aw Yeah Comics! Franco has worked on books/comics, including Tiny Titans and Superman Family Adventures. Franco was also a high-school teacher and is one of the principal owners of Aw Yeah Comics retail stores. Dan made Franco add that he has won three Eisners.
