Wonder Woman

In my extensive comic book reading I have never come across hippie lesbian villains except in this issue, so I have to assume they are the only ones of their kind.   The villains are never identified as lesbians per se, but the writer later said that he intended to portray them that way without actually labelling them as such so that he could get around that pesky comic book code.   Still it doesn’t leave much to the reader’s imagination as they walk around their neighbourhood trying to put collars on women, who they will thereafter control.   This is pretty ludicrous, I don’t get why anyone ever thought such people would make compelling villains, though the issue did come out about half a year after the Stonewall Riots in New York City and about four months after Woodstock, so maybe some saw the raising gay rights or hippie movements as something to be feared.  I don’t know to be honest.   It still gave an interesting picture on a different era of our history, though I think the picture was taken with the wrong lens on.  It sort of reminded me of the golden age Wonder Woman comics which sort of informed girls what to dream about on their wedding days, except in this case it warned them of the dangers of becoming a hippie or a lesbian.   Even without this off base lesson the story is pretty weak.   Diana is in her depowered mod girl phase but she is still almost without comparison in terms of hand-to-hand combat.   Throughout the issue though, she doesn’t ever stand up to the bullying by the villains, rather she just waits for some random guy to come along and save the day.   Overall one of the worst issues I think of any comic to bear the Wonder Woman name.   The hidden meaning is absurd, and the story displays our favourite princess as victim and not victor.   Ironically though I do suggest people read it, if only to realize how far we have come and where we once were.