Rider University professor pens Wonder Woman comic
Sheena Howard, a professor in Rider University’s Department of Communication, Journalism and Media, is the author of a new Woman Wonder comic.
It appears that Wonder Woman has made a brief detour to Rider University, as Sheena Howard, a professor in the university’s Department of Communication, has penned the latest installment of the superhero’s journey.
Howard’s story appears in “Wonder Woman Black & Gold #6,” the final installment of a new anthology series that marks the superhero’s 80th anniversary. DC Comics released the comic on Nov. 23.
“There’s still a lot to do with Wonder Woman because her story is very flexible,” Howard said a press release announcing the comic. “All of the gender dynamics she stands for, there’s a lot to play with there — and you can especially play with those dynamics as they change in society.”
Howard is no stranger to the world of comic books — she is the co-writer of “Superb,” which is one of the first comics to feature a superhero with Down Syndrome. Additionally, Howard’s doctoral thesis at
Howard University analyzed Aaron McGruder’s “Boondocks” comic strip. After earning a doctorate in communication and culture, she then became the first Black woman to win an Eisner Award — the comic industry’s highest award — when she received the prize for her first book, “Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation.” Three years later she published “Encyclopedia of Black Comics featuring a foreword by Henry Louis Gates Jr.”
For this comic, Howard did a deep dive into
Wonder Woman’s history, which dates back to October, 1941. She also had to brush up on her Greek mythology, which plays heavy in Wonder Woman’s story. The story Howard penned is set in Philadelphia, and features Wonder Woman and her sister, Nubia.
Howard wanted to feature Nubia in this story, who has been portrayed alternately as a sister or friend of Wonder Woman and is widely recognized as one of DC Comic’s first Black women superheroes.
“Going in I knew I wanted these elements —
Nubia and Wonder Woman working together and having sibling banter in a story set in Philly,” Howard said in the release.
Well, operation successful.
“Every year something even more crazy happens to me,” Howard said. “I wouldn’t have thought I would ever write Wonder Woman, but now I really want to do more.”