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The Wonder Woman 80th anniversary celebrations have been announced to celebrate Wonder Woman’s first appearance by DC, Warner Bros. Global Brands and Experiences, and WarnerMedia.
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“Embracing the call to see the world through Wonder Woman’s eyes and to ‘Believe in Wonder,’ the 80th Anniversary celebration illuminates the Super Hero’s timeless and relevant message of hope and empowerment,” reads the official announcement.
The campaign will culminate with a “worldwide celebration of Wonder Woman Day on October 21.”
Created by psychologist William Moulton Marston and artist H.G. Peter, Wonder Woman first appeared in All-Star Comics #8 (opens in new tab) on October 21, 1941 in a backup story in an era where female superhero characters were unusual. The character debuted as the lead feature of an anthology series with 1942’s Sensation Comics #1 (opens in new tab) and then the star of her own solo series Wonder Woman later that same year.
For comic book readers, the celebration will include the Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Spectacular, a format DC has used to celebrate the recent 80th anniversaries of Robin (opens in new tab), Catwoman (opens in new tab), the Joker (opens in new tab), and Green Lantern (opens in new tab).
Similar specials celebrating the 1000th issues of Action Comics (opens in new tab), and 1000 issues since Detective Comics #27 (opens in new tab) marked the 80th anniversaries of Superman and Batman.
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On sale in October, the Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Spectacular will “bring together some of the greatest storytellers in comics and entertainment for a tribute to Wonder Woman in a collectible keepsake,” according to DC’s description.
In addition to original stories, the special will feature an art montage by artist Yanick Paquette (Wonder Woman: Earth One Vols. 1-3 (opens in new tab)) with colors by Nathan Fairbairn.
And beginning Monday, March 9, DC is making All-Star Comics #8, Sensation Comics #1, and Wonder Woman #1 free to read on the publisher’s DC Universe Infinite digital comic book service.
Additional Wonder Woman selections will be made available to read for free on DC Universe Infinite each month along with curated collections celebrating essential stories through the decades.
Special branded art to celebrate the campaign along with the 80th anniversary logo was created by Innocean USA, inspired by Nicola Scott’s cover to 2016’s Wonder Woman #4.
Additional previously announced publishing initiatives helping celebrate the anniversary include the currently on-sale young adult graphic novel Nubia: Real One (opens in new tab); September’s Wonderful Women of History (opens in new tab) young adult graphic novel anthology profiling women “from all walks of life who are inspiring young readers today to be the leaders of tomorrow who learn, build and dream”; Sensational Wonder Woman Vol. 1, an October collection of the new digital-first anthology of self-contained Wonder Woman stories; Wonder Woman Earth One Vol. 3 (opens in new tab), the conclusion of the original graphic novel series by Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette that goes on sale March 9.
The multimedia ‘Believe in Wonder’ campaign will also include videos including a mash-up of the iconic ’70s TV theme song and the stars of December’s Wonder Woman: 1984 including Gal Gadot; Wonder Woman-inspired fashion collections from designers Venus Williams, Camilla, and Azede Jean-Pierre in collaboration with Warner Bros. Consumer Products; and Warner Bros. Games will recognize the anniversary all year long via special promotions and activations in its popular ongoing game titles like DC Universe Online, Injustice 2, and DC Legends.
Additionally, Nintendo will join the celebration on June 4 when it releases DC Super Hero Girls: Teen Power, a brand-new title for the Nintendo Switch system starring Wonder Woman alongside Batgirl and Supergirl as they “try to protect Metropolis from a fearsome group of foes.”
More details on additional parts of the campaign can be found at the social media hashtags #WonderWoman80 and #BelieveInWonder.
Newsarama’s list of the greatest Wonder Woman stories of all time had 80 years’ worth of stories to choose from.
