First off, I want to claim total
and absolute innocence in the hundreds of Wonder Woman items, as well as
comics, that made their way into my home over the years. Ha, you don’t believe
in my innocence when it comes to Wonder Woman, do you? You might be right, so
let me explain while you are looking at some photos of selections from my Wonder Woman collection..
Once upon a time, there was a fun
event called the Dallas Fantasy Fair run by my good friend Larry Lankford. The
DFF featured books, comics, collectibles, gaming, dealer room, and panels for
writers and artists. I sort of accidentally washed up on that shore when
invited to pontificate (like I actually knew much about anything, but I’m a
writer, so . . .) on panels. Okay, that was all well and good, but everybody
there collected something and
insisted I must collect something. I’d
always been a Wonder Woman (created by William Moulton Marston with artist
Harry G. Peter in All Star Comics #8, 1941) fan, so the great WW seemed like a
good choice.
And here’s where the innocence
comes in. Collectors were horrified that I didn’t have much of a collection (well,
I did have a few raggedy Wonder Woman
comics), so they immediately began solving my problem. They found WW items at
garage sales, flea markets, antique shops, estate sales, con dealer rooms, and who-knows-where,
and then presented them to me at DFFs. I never knew what I’d see next because I
had no idea there were all these terrific vintage items just waiting for a
home—my home.
About this time I began to feel
like a real Wonder Woman collector, so I started amassing backlist titles,
along with current ones, and new Wonder Woman action figures. I snagged the
complete and fabulous Lynda Carter Wonder
Woman television series (1975-1979) that is positively inspirational for
all.
And yet, my WW collection crew
and I were greedy. We wanted Wonder Woman up on the big screen in her own live action film.
Rumors about the much anticipated WW movie came and went, but they usually went
bust. At one point, Josh Whedon stepped in to direct WW, so we were over the
moon, thinking of the fine job he’d done with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the
television series (1997-2003), and Serenity,
the film (2005). But, once more, we
were let down when he dropped the project. About the time we were losing hope, here
came news that Wonder Woman, the
movie, was actually in the works. Could it be true?
By now, you know the answer to
that question. Yes! Well, we went to see Wonder
Woman directed by Patty Jenkins (2017), and we just kept pinching ourselves
to be sure we were actually viewing WW on the big screen. What can I say? It’d
been a long wait, but well worth it—not just for us but for folks around the
world. Wonder Woman broke all kinds
of opening weekend records, and we weren’t in the least surprised at her big
win. She’d won our hearts a long time ago.
Kim Redford is an acclaimed,
bestselling author of Western romance novels. She grew up in Texas with cowboys,
cowgirls, horses, cattle, and rodeos for inspiration. She divides her time
between homes in Texas and Oklahoma, where she’s a rescue cat wrangler and
horseback rider—when she takes a break from her keyboard. Visit her at Kim Redford.
This was great fun! I love all the retro images of Wonder Woman. I'm so excited to see the movie. I love kick ass heroines. Obviously you do, too! Can't wait to read your books
ReplyDeleteYes, I do! And I love your YA novels too!
DeleteI have heard of the Dallas Fantasy Fair, though I never got a chance to go. Your collection is *awesome*.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Wish you'd been at the DFFs. We'd have had great fun!
Delete