At 66, Wonder Woman's still got KAPOW!, author says

By Gillian Murdoch

SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) - Shiny red boots, wasp-thin waist, razor-sharp tiara and big, big hair. Wonder Woman, the world's top female superhero may be 66 years old, but she's still got it, Gail Simone, the comic's author says.

Simone, the character's self-professed biggest fan, is the comic book's first ongoing female writer. During a visit to Singapore recently, she told Reuters how the superhero remains an icon of "woman power" nearly 70 years after her creation.

Q: You were a fan for decades. What drew you to Wonder Woman?

A: I probably was about 10 or 11 when I discovered her. I realized right away that she was my kind of princess. Rather than being the typical fairytale princess that had a knight in shining armor ride in and save her in the end, Wonder Woman is the type of princess that saves people and could take care of herself.

Q: After a career as a hairdresser, you're now Wonder Woman's first female ongoing writer. What does this milestone mean?

A: I don't feel that being a female writer makes it so that I will be any better than any male writers. But it kind of catches people's attention because we do have stereotypes about the industry. It's no longer a little niche industry of white guys who hang out in comic book stores and don't have girlfriends.

Q: Wonder Woman is ranked number three in the DC Comics trinity, after Superman and Batman. But isn't 66 pretty old to be saving the earth every month in 22 pages?

A: The original core concepts of her character are so brilliant that she's not going to be easily dated. She's very empowering. She doesn't apologize for who she is. And she has all of these magical things at her disposal. She's become a modern myth. Her costume's great, her powers are great, her lasso is awesome. And she has great hair.