Liam Sharp: "Wonder Woman fortsätter inspirera generationer"

Även om mycket av diskussionerna kring DC-världen numera kretsar kring Superman och Batman, är Wonder Woman fortfarande en av serievärldens viktigaste och mest inflytelserika karaktärer. Det beror inte bara på att hon utgör den tredje delen av DC:s ikoniska treenighet, utan också på att figuren har fått starkt genomslag hos minoritetsgrupper världen över tack vare sin öppna hållning till sexualitet.

Under vårt senaste besök på Comicon Napoli fick vi möjlighet att tala med tecknaren Liam Sharp om hans arbete med Wonder Woman-serierna tillsammans med författaren Greg Rucka inom Rebirth-satsningen, och han berättade hur han ser på henne:

"Wonder Woman was fascinating for me, in that what I realised drawing her, was that of every character I've ever drawn, she's the one that touches people the most. So she has direct, lasting influence on people. At the time I was drawing her, we lived in America, and when I toured around America doing conventions, I would have people who were from... the LGBTQ community, who maybe lived in areas that were very hardcore Christian and not open to the whole spectrum of human sexuality. They would find themselves oppressed or kicked out or ostracised from their whole families and their whole communities. Sometimes the only thing that kept them alive, madly, was Wonder Woman. Well, understandably now. I understand it, but I didn't know that before. How strong and powerful she was as a sort of gay icon and a trans icon, and how much that character gave strength to people who felt alienated.

So that was, I think that's fundamental to her, I think when Greg Rucka came out, and said no she's a queer character that was a big statement. It should be obvious, she's from the world of Amazons. Anyone who has this notion that they were waiting around for 2000 years for men to come along and save them from themselves is, I think, missing the point of those characters. I think that there was, deeply embedded in that, something pretty profound that people who needed an example, needed a heroic example, they could derive it from them."

Sharp berättade också att Conan the Barbarian fyllde en liknande funktion för honom under uppväxten. Karaktären gav honom styrka och hjälpte honom att utvecklas som person, något han menar är typiskt för seriemediet som helhet och ett bevis på att serier är mycket mer än bara underhållning:

"I think comics have that power and it's really important that people realise that because I think that gets missed sometimes. It's not just entertainment. Characters live with us for our whole lives and affect us and continue to affect us, and continue to inspire us, and I think Wonder Woman will continue to do that, and right now it's probably more important than ever."

Nedan kan du se hela intervjun med Sharp, där vi även pratar om Batman: Reptilian, Green Lantern, Starhenge och mycket mer.