For the global celebration of Wonder Woman, DC is honoring the iconic character’s 80th anniversary with a vibrant collection of commemorative releases, free editions and new series launches. Headlined by the inspiring anthology showcasing 23 trailblazing women around the world, Wonderful Women of the World, DC will also thrill Wonder Woman fans with a 100-page spectacular, a commemorative hardcover and multiple brand-new series, all to pegged to the global celebration of Wonder Woman Day on October 21.

Plus, fans can delve into the history and enduring influence of the iconic character this October with the “Wonder Woman Authors & Talent Panel” on DC Community.

WONDERFUL WOMEN OF THE WORLD - On Sale September 28, 2021

DC brings together a collection of talented writers and artists to celebrate international role models for teens and kids with a new young adult anthology. Standing for truth, justice and equality, Wonder Woman serves as inspiration for the profiles and portraits of 23 pioneering women from around the globe. Tales of the real-world heroes who take up Princess Diana of Themyscira’s mantle and work in the fields of science, sports, activism, diplomacy, and more include Beyoncé, Serena Williams, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Greta Thunberg, and Malala Yousafzai, amongst others. Featuring a cover illustrated by acclaimed Wonder Woman artist Nicola Scott and spearheaded by The New York Times bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson (Speak, Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed) who serves as editor, the young adult anthology will hit shelves pegged to the milestone 80th anniversary celebration of Wonder Woman.

WONDER WOMAN 80TH ANNIVERSARY 100-PAGE SUPER SPECTACULAR - On Sale October 5, 2021

An oversize super spectacular featuring new stories that capture timeless messages of hope and empowerment are presented together in this gorgeous keepsake issue. With new adventures from acclaimed DC talent including writers Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad, Jordie Bellaire, Mark Waid, Tom King, Steve Orlando, G. Willow Wilson, Amy Reeder, Vita Ayala and Stephanie Phillips, and artists Jim Cheung, Paulina Ganucheau, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Joe Prado, Amy Reeder, Evan “Doc” Shaner, Isaac Goodhart, Laura Braga, Marcio Takara, and Meghan Hetrick, this one-of-a-kind special will showcase Diana’s past, present, and future to celebrate Wonder Woman’s legacy. This keepsake collection will also be available with variant covers spotlighting Wonder Woman across different incarnations including the Golden, Silver, Bronze and Modern Ages along with cover artwork inspired by her big and small-screen incarnations, from artists Will Murai, Cat Staggs, Bruce Timm, Jen Bartel, Amy Reeder, Michael Cho, Travis Moore and Cliff Chiang.

NUBIA AND THE AMAZONS - Series Launch October 5, 2021

The world will know her name! Follow the ongoing adventures of Nubia with this unforgettable miniseries written by Vita Ayala and Stephanie Williams with art from all-star artist Alitha Martinez (Future State) . After the thrilling events of Infinite Frontier, Nubia becomes queen of Themyscira, but the new title also brings challenges. With the unexpected arrival of new Amazons, our hero is forced to reckon with her past and forge a new path forward for her sisters. Little does she know, a great evil grows beneath the island and it’s up to this former guardian of Doom’s Doorway to unite her tribe before paradise is lost forever!

WONDER WOMAN: ADVENTURES OF YOUNG DIANA SPECIAL - On Sale October 12, 2021

Collected together for the first time, these backup stories by Eisner Award-winner Jordie Bellaire and rising star Paulina Ganucheau provide an intimate look into Wonder Woman’s upbringing and the dangerous secrets of her past. The  young princess of Themyscira struggled to find her place on an island deemed paradise by many, but which is, to her, a prison. Trapped in her role as a royal and shielded from the harsh realities of Man’s World, Diana yearned for adventure, or at least a purpose. When ancient texts portraying her home’s history go missing, she gets both. How far will our hero go to find the texts and the truths they’re hiding?

WONDER WOMAN #780 - On Sale October 12, 2021

The iconic Super Hero returns in the ongoing WONDER WOMAN series featuring writers Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad and art by Travis Moore. After the events of Death Metal, Diana finally makes it back from her unforgettable odyssey through the Sphere of the Gods! Has the world moved on without her? This special oversize story paves the way into an exciting new future for the greatest hero of them all.

WONDER WOMAN HISTORIA: THE AMAZONS - Series Launch October 19, 2021

Best-selling DC talent Kelly Sue DeConnick (Aquaman) and Phil Jimenez (Wonder Woman By Phil Jimenez Omnibus) launches one of the most highly-anticipated releases of the year. Millennia ago, Queen Hera and the goddesses of the Olympian pantheon grew greatly dissatisfied with their male counterparts… and far from their sight, they put a plan into action. A new society was born, one never before seen on Earth, capable of wondrous and terrible things, but their existence could not stay secret for long. When a despairing woman named Hippolyta crossed the Amazons’ path, a series of events was set in motion that would lead to an outright war in heaven—and the creation of the Earth’s greatest guardian! One of the most unforgettable DC tales of all time begins here, with subsequent issues featuring art by modern masters Gene Ha and Nicola Scott releasing in the spring and autumn of 2022.

DIANA PRINCESS OF THE AMAZONS - Free Special Edition Out October 19, 2021

From The New York Times bestselling authors Shannon and Dean Hale comes a story about making mistakes, learning the hard way, and becoming a hero. Eleven-year-old Diana is the only child on the island of Themyscira. Wanting someone her own age to talk to, she takes matters into her own hands and creates a playmate out of clay. But things quickly get out of control and Diana must decide whether she’s made a new friend…or a monster! This special edition features an extended sample from the full-length graphic novel with art from Victoria Ying.

WONDER WOMAN #1 - Free Special Edition Out October 19, 2021

Celebrate 80 years of the Amazon Warrior with this special edition of the first issue of the acclaimed series by DC superstars Greg Rucka and Liam Sharp, kicking off the epic storyline, “The Lies.” Why has the lasso of truth stopped working? Start down the rabbit hole as dark secrets from Wonder Woman's past unravel her present!

WONDER WOMAN: TEMPEST TOSSED - Free Special Edition Out October 19, 2021

The New York Times bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson reimagines Wonder Woman’s origin in this timely story about the refugee experience, teenage activism, and finding the love and strength to create change. This special edition features an extended sample from the full-length graphic novel, with art by Leila Del Duca.

WONDER GIRL #6 - On Sale October 26, 2021

In the latest issue written by Joëlle Jones with art by Leila del Duca, after encountering Wonder Girl and Artemis, Yara believes now more than ever that she needs to find her lost sisters. Only they hold the answers to the trauma of her past and fear of the future. Is Yara a hero? Or is she a weapon of the gods wielded to destroy all Amazons?

WONDER WOMAN BLACK & GOLD #5 - On Sale October 26, 2021

Prepare to be whisked away with an Amazon fairy tale, flown back to World War II, swept up in a nautical ghost story, and blasted by a bitter space princess! Don’t miss the penultimate issue of this golden moment for Diana and her legacy written by Peter J. Tomasi, Kurt Busiek, Sanya Anwar, Trung Le Nguyen, and Josie Campbell, with art by Christian Alamy, Ben Dewey, Sanya Anwar, Trung Le Nguyen, and Carlos D’anda.

Not long after that you took over Wonder Woman and you said that making Tempest, you were left alone to do your thing, and I feel like Wonder Woman was the opposite. Which may be unfair.

It is not unfair. From the very first issue, it was a fight. It was a fight with the same person who I was fighting with on Team Titans. [laughs] It reads that way in the pages, but looking back, there’s enough stuff in there that makes me go, that’s pretty good, but the struggle I was having with the company was clear from the first few pages.

In those couple years there’s a lot of crossovers and she’s neck deep in continuity and stories keep getting disrupted.

Part of that was that at the time, she was not considered an A-list character. She was more of a burden than anything else. Nobody could figure out how to get her sales up. When I came in, I pitched a 12 issue maxi-series. I didn’t want to be on the regular book. I’d had success with Tempest and I knew the story I wanted to tell and I wanted to be isolated a little bit, but then they put me on the regular book. On some level that’s why I got into comics – to write and draw Wonder Woman – so this was a dream come true. I’d just turned 30, I think. Of course it was a nightmare from page one. The funny thing is, I kept thinking, this is never going to happen again, so do what you can to make the best of it. There was an enormous amount of conflict and crossover and I had to truncate stories and elongate stories and kill off a supporting character and 9/11 happened. I look back on it and there was a lot of shell shock.

My original pitch would have been so simple. Twelve issues and four stories and each one did a different thing. I’m always amazed at how difficult we make it on ourselves – partly me, partly the publisher – because again, we’re a reactive industry. You hired me so let’s do this. I’m not here to sabotage your company. I will give you something that is good. But again – and I’ve told this story so many times – I had to kill off her mother and her mother was a major part of my 12 issues so I had to truncate all these stories because I was losing a character halfway in. Then they weren’t going to let me kill her off. She was going to die in a Superman event and it would happen in Superman. What was amazing was that all of the Superman creators were fighting for me saying, shouldn’t her only supporting character die in her own book? The Editor in Chief finally conceded, not happy about it at all, and it ended up being one of my most successful issues. It’s funny because I still look back on it and don’t understand the fight we had about that. Or the fact that we fought about every issue. I don’t know what was happening above him or around him, but boy was that a constant struggle. That having been said, I did get some good material out of it. I read an issue and I was making some smart observations back then about stuff I still believe in and somehow I got it in print. It’s kind of messy and paced strangely, but it’s there. Clearly it touched certain people in the way that I hoped it would. So in that weird way it was successful.

Were those four stories you had about different aspects of who she is?

I just read an academic essay about how the tenor of Wonder Woman had been changing. Post-George Perez, DC wanted something almost anti-Perez. They were very clear, don’t do what he did. They wanted her integrated into the DC Universe more. They wanted less mythology. She wasn’t seen as a particularly valuable asset and they were highly Superman and Batman focused, so I think she was the ugly stepsister – and treated as such. Editorial at the time didn’t have a point of view about the character. So I came on with a distinct point of view. I said, she forgot what her mission was. I wanted to remind her who her villains were. One story was about her relationship with her mother, which is such a crazy relationship. I forget what the fourth idea was. It was very specifically to get the character realigned so people would stop asking, who is she? Because every creator who came on that book took her in a different direction. Often in an attempt to either explore the political nature of the character or eschew it entirely. I think Mark Waid is on record as saying when you strip the character of her politics, she’s really boring. She’s most interesting when she’s most political. She changes radically decade to decade because ideologies about what she stands for change. Creators try to figure out how they feel about it, but still make her a salable property for Warner Brothers. I think that remains the longstanding conflict with that character.

So often she’s portrayed as a warrior first and foremost.

I think that’s because it’s a very commercially viable iteration. Dudes like chicks with swords and shields and metal bikinis fighting monsters. I say that not to disparage. I think there’s truth to that. There are certainly some women who find empowerment in that idea and that imagery. That imagery is something that is familiar and easy to digest. It’s not a challenging iteration. It’s the default.

Default is a good way to describe it. And what was so interesting about Perez trying to incorporate mythology is that in the myths characters had so many facets. Athena wasn’t just the goddess of war but of wisdom and handicrafts.

She’s also the goddess of cities and politics. Part of the thing people forget – again because of imagery – is that very early in his run, the Amazons gave up their armor. They melted it down because the only reason they had it was to protect the Gates of Tartarus and keep the monsters from escaping. Once they were defeated, the Amazons had no reason to be warriors and so they melted down their swords and shields and said, now we can live in paradise. They did for years until War of the Gods. Then they all disappeared when Bill Messner-Loebs wrote the book because he didn’t want to write them. What’s interesting to me is that everyone seems to forget that for several years of Perez’s run, the Amazons did not use armor or swords or shields. They were not warriors. And they were happy about it! There’s that famous image of Wonder Woman in the gatefold cover and that’s the image that many people associate with that run, but for most of that run, there is no armor. There’s very little weaponry. And the Amazons are good with that.

One of my favorite things that ever happened to me was I reinvented Paradise Island during my run and it became a sort of cosmic United Nations and a school. George Perez called me and said, I have to tell you, that is the perfect culmination of everything that I wanted to do with the Amazons. That it was now this peaceful place. He was raving about this decision I made which was inspired by the roots he’d laid down in his run. I was just using what he’d established and building what made sense to me. He and I have less militarized versions of those characters in our heads, which again, is not always commercial and a different take from most people’s. Most people think to make them soldiers – not even warriors, but soldiers.