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Wonder Woman Reading Order

Princess Diana of Themyscira is Wonder Woman, the most famous female superhero in the Patriarch’s World, and a feminist icon. Sometimes known under her civilian identity as Diana Prince, she’s an Amazon from the island nation of Themyscira and a founding member of the Justice League.

With the help of her Lasso of Truth, her indestructible bracelets, and her tiara, she fights deities, mythical monsters, and other creatures—most frequently Ares, Cheetah, Doctor Poison, Circe, Doctor Psycho, or Giganta…

Created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (inspired by his wife, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne) and artist Harry G. Peter, Wonder Woman made her first appearance in All-Star Comics #8—released on October 21, 1941.

Her origin story has been rewritten multiple times, but it’s always about fighting for justice and treating others with compassion, even her enemies.

Everything usually starts when Captain Steve Trevor’s plane crashes on the island of Themyscira, then Diana won the right to bring him back to the Patriarch’s World. She is awarded a special uniform made by her mother for her new role as Wonder Woman.

She’s a princess, a warrior, and an ambassador. Beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, stronger than Hercules, swifter than Mercury … she is Wonder Woman!

Where to start with Wonder Woman?

Wonder Woman made her first appearance 80 years ago. So to help you find your path in this rich history, we made a short listing of books that can serve as a sort of entry point in the universe:

  • Wonder Woman: A Celebration of 75 Years – A collection of the iconic heroine’s best stories, from her first appearance by William Moulton Marston and H.G. Peter, to her mod ’60s redesign by Denny O’Neil and Mike Sekowsky, to her present-day adventures by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang. Other legendary talents featured include George Pérez, Darwyn Cooke, Robert Kanigher, Gene Colan, Phil Jimenez, Mike Deodato, Greg Rucka, Gail Simone, and more.
  • Wonder Woman Through the Years – Another collection of the iconic heroine’s best stories to celebrate the many colorful eras of Wonder Woman through the decades, with stories ranging from formative Golden Age tales to her current adventures, including Diana taking on spies in the 1950s, Silver Swan in the 1980s, and teaming with Batman and Superman in the 1990s.
  • Wonder Woman by George Perez – The introduction Post-Crisis of a Wonder Woman for the Modern Era. Princess Diana was reshaped by George Pérez and returned to the public eye in 1986. She was met with such acclaim that Pérez’s original commitment of six months was extended, and extended, until almost five years had passed.
  • Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia – The most celebrated run on the character (with Pérez’s), I’m talking about Greg Rucka’s, started with this celebrated Graphic Novel in which Wonder Woman must go against Batman.
  • Wonder Woman: Year One – Greg Rucka came back and wrote a new origin story for the Rebirth Era.
  • Wonder Woman: Earth One – An out-of-continuity story by Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette, another retelling of Diana’s origin. A three-book story.
  • Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons – An Exploration of the History of the Amazons, from their inception to the creation of Earth’s greatest guardian!
  • Wonder Woman: Black and Gold – An anthology series celebrating Wonder Woman’s 80th anniversary with stories by Mariko Tamaki, Tillie Walden, Jamie McKelvie, Marguerite Sauvage, and more

Wonder Woman Comics Reading Order

This reading order focuses mostly on Wonder Woman’s solo series taking place inside the main continuity, meaning I didn’t list every Justice League/Society book she’s in or the out-of-continuity miniseries.

Wonder Woman during the Pre-Crisis Era (1941-1986)

Today, the Pre-Crisis era is pretty much discarded. Wonder Woman has been “rebooted” multiple times, a lot is not really canon anymore in the contemporary DC Universe. But you can still read those old books in their own continuity. Even if a lot is dated. If you are new to this, I would not recommend you to start here though. You better jump at least to the post-crisis George Perez run, even if it can also feel a bit dated now (it’s still good).

Wonder Woman: The Golden Age

The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. At first, Diana had to fight crime and the evil of the Nazis, it was WWII. Also, Wonder Woman quickly joined the Justice Society of America as the team’s secretary (because she had her own title, she couldn’t become an active member, it was the rule at that time).

Also available in (slimmer) paperback editions:

Wonder Woman #48-97 are not collected.
For now, at least…

Wonder Woman: The Silver Age

The Silver Age of Comic Books describes an era of American comic books from 1956 to 1970. Writer Robert Kanigher took over and Wonder Woman’s origin was revamped with more mythological roots. Being a founding member, Wonder Woman also appeared in the Justice League of America (#1-261 +Annual 1-3) during that period of time, and even after.

Previously available in the Showcase Presents collection, a black-and-white reprint on newsprint stock paper:

The depowered Wonder Woman

The transition between the Silver Age and The Bronze Age of Comic Books (1970 to 1987) was not an easy one for Wonder Woman as she surrendered her powers in order to remain in Man’s World rather than travel with the other Amazons to another dimension. She began using the alias Diana Prince and opened a mod boutique. Also, she learned martial arts and acquired weapons skills with the help of a Chinese mentor named I Ching, because she stopped using her powers. This version of the character was inspired by Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) from the iconic British TV series The Avengers.

With Wonder Woman (vol. 1) #204, the plain-clothed era had ended with the help of Gloria Steinem. Wonder Woman regained her classic look. The character of Nubia (see her reading order) was also introduced. A bit later, Wonder Woman joined the Super Friends (#1-47) connected to the revival of the Children animated cartoon.

In 1974, in order to help boost the sales, Len Wein took over the title with a storyline exploring Wonder Woman’s memory loss (she forgot her plain-clothed years!). The title uses her JLA friends to monitor her work. It was:

After that, Wonder Woman rejoined the JLA (she left the team when she was depowered). She also joined the All-Star Squadron (#1-4, 13-60 + Annual 1-3), a new team introduced in Justice League of America #193.

In 1976, the Wonder Woman TV set during WWII show started and the comic book version—in issue #228—found a way to send Wonder Woman in 1943 (well, on Earth-Two 1943). It will last until #243.

Wonder Woman #205-211, 223-329 are not collected. There is not a lot available from this era.
For now at least…

Crisis on Infinite Earths: The event that changed the DC Universe forever had a massive impact on Wonder Woman. It’s the end of an Era. To read this huge event and find more information, go to the page dedicated to it.

Wonder Woman during the Post-Crisis era (1987-2011)

Also known as the Modern Age, the post-Crisis Wonder Woman series was developed by George Pérez, Len Wein, and Greg Potter. They started by rewriting Diana’s origin story. Wonder Woman became Themyscira’s ambassador to Patriarch’s World. Famously, George Pérez gained full creative control of the series (writing and art) and introduced a lot of elements from Greek mythology. It’s a good entry point in the series.

Event: Invasion! (1989)

The George Perez run is also available in Omnibus edition:

Once George Pérez left the title, William Messner-Loebs took over (except for the introduction of Artemis of Bana Mighdall, his run is not notable), then it was John Byrne’s run in which he introduced Cassie Sandsmark. He also gave Donna new origins and sent Hippolyta back in time, making her the Wonder Woman of World War II.

During that period, Wonder Woman made more and more apparitions in the Justice League America series, some are not collected, but you can find her in Superman & Justice League America Vol. 1 & Vol. 2, then Wonder Woman & Justice League America & Vol. 2.

After Byrne, Christopher Priest wrote issues, then Eric Luke became the man writer from Wonder Woman #139 to #159 (plus Annual #7 & 8). Those are not collected. For now at least… Also, taking place after Wonder Woman #150, came the Day of Judgment crossover.

  • Batman by Brian K. Vaughan
    Collects Batman #588-590, Detective Comics #787, Batman: Gotham City Secret Files and Origins #1 and Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #160-161.

Brian K. Vaughan only wrote two issues, and they are collected in his Batman book. After that, Ben Raab also wrote two issues, not collected, then Phil Jimenez’s run started, and then Walt Simonson & Jerry Ordway took over for a while.

One of the most popular run on Wonder Woman was written by Greg Rucka. It’s also the end of volume 2 of the series, which was connected to the Infinite Crisis event. During that period, Wonder Woman appeared in JLA Classified.

Alert Event! OMAC robots are rampaging, magic is dying, villains are uniting, and a war is raging in space. And in the middle of it all, a critical moment has divided Earth’s three greatest heroes: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. For more information about Infinite Crisis, go to the dedicated reading order.

Once the Crisis was completed, DC used the “One Year Later” event to move the narratives of most of its DC Universe series forward. During that missing year, Wonder Woman teamed up with Batman and Superman to face off against an intergalactic threat no one saw coming! This took place in the Trinity series by Kurt Busiek, at the same time that the ’52’ series about what happened when the Trinity was missing during that year.

With the “One Year Later” time jump came a new creative team: Allan Heinberg with art by Terry Dodson. They reintroduced Diana in a new role because Donna Troy has taken up the mantle of Wonder Woman in her absence. This situation didn’t last long. In fact, the run only last 14 issues, then Gail Simone took over. Also, post-Infinite Crisis, Wonder Woman was part of the Justice League of America (2006) series and appeared in JLA Classified.

The Gail Simone era is also collected in paperback editions. First, the new DC Finest collection (incomplete for now):

Then the original trade paperback collection (complete).

After Gail Simone left, J. Michael Straczynski took over as the series return to its original numbering just in time to celebrate the #600. This was a soft reboot that only lasted a year as the DC Universe was hit by another redefining event, Flashpoint.

Alert Event! Flashpoint details an altered DC Universe in which only Barry Allen seems to be aware of significant differences between the regular timeline and the altered one, including a war between Wonder Woman and Aquaman that has decimated western Europe. For more information, go to the full reading order of the event.

Wonder Woman during the New 52 era (2011-2016)

After Flashpoint, volume 4 of Wonder Woman written by Brian Azzarello and drawn by Cliff Chiang was launched. In this new continuity, Wonder Woman’s origin story was rewritten. Now, she is the natural-born daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus. As usual, Wonder Woman is also part of the Justice League team.

Now available in a hardcover Deluxe edition: Wonder Woman: Blood and Guts. new!

Superman and Wonder Woman started a romance following events in Justice League (Vol. 2) #12. The Superman/Wonder Woman series explored the relationship.

Event Alert! The Justice League, Justice League of America and Justice League Dark take it to the next level! And so are DC’s Trinity; Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman as they fight to find the truth of who could pit them against one another in this lead-up to a bigger event known as Forever Evil. For more information, see our reading Order.

Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang’s run is also collected in the Absolute collection…

… as well as in an Omnibus:

With #36, writer Meredith Finch and artist David Finch took over the main Wonder Woman series.

Alert Event! Where do worlds go when they die? It’s a question DC wants to answer in Convergence. The reading order is here.

Wonder Woman during the Rebirth era (2016-2020)

Greg Rucka was supposed to come back to Wonder Woman with the book Wonder Woman: Earth One that Grant Morrison ended up writing. He finally found his way back to the series at the beginning of the Rebirth era with an ambitious story told with two timelines, jumping from one to the other with each issue (with artists Liam Sharp, Matthew Clark, and Nicola Scott). As always, you can follow the adventures of Wonder Woman in the Justice League series, but also in the second volume of Trinity that featured Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman working together aside from their duties with the Justice League. 

Greg Rucka’s run ended with #25. Shea Fontana wrote the next 5-issue storyarc, but only that.

Greg Rucka’s run (and Shea Fontana’s) is also available in Deluxe Edition.

Written James A. Robinson and artist Stephen Segovia took charge of the Wonder Woman series from here to the Dark Nights: Metal event.

Alert Event! Beyond our universe, there is the Multiverse … and beneath the Multiverse is a nightmare realm where every fear that has ever been felt on our Earth becomes reality. Now an evil force as old as time wants to drag us down into the shadows, into the realm of never-ending terror. You can find Dark Nights: Metal reading order here.

After Dark Nights Metal and No Justice, Wonder Woman joined the Justice League Dark, go here for the full reading order of the series. As for the main Wonder Woman series, G. Willow Wilson became the main writer (with art by Cary Nord), before Steve Orlando and artists led by Jesús Merino and Vicente Cifuentes took over as the series returned once more to its original numbering.

Alert Event! When the DC Universe is enveloped by the Dark Multiverse, the Justice League is at the mercy of the Batman Who Laughs. Humanity struggles to survive in a hellish landscape twisted beyond recognition, while Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman have all been separated and must fight to survive. You can find Dark Nights: Death Metal reading order here.

Wonder Woman during the Infinite Frontier/Dawn of DC era (2021-2023)

After the events of the Dark Nights: Death Metal event, the DC Universe went through another soft reboot. But first, came Future State, a “possible future” of the DC Universe (go here for more information). It’s mostly optional, except if you want to read the introduction of Yara Flor, the new Wonder Girl.

  • Future State: Wonder Woman
    Collects Future State: Wonder Woman #1-2, Future State: Superman/Wonder Woman #1-2, and Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman #1-2.

Then, the new Infinite Frontier really started. Now, the DC Multiverse has expanded into a larger “Omniverse” where everything is canon and it will still deal with the repercussions of DC Rebirth. The new Wonder Woman series is written by Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad, and Jordie Bellaire, with art by Travis Moore and Paulina Ganucheau.

  • Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Afterworlds
    Collects Wonder Woman #770-779.
  • Wonder Woman Vol. 2: Through A Glass Darkly
    Collects Wonder Woman #780-784, Wonder Woman 2021 Annual #1, and a story from Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1. 
  • Also available in Hardcover in Tales of the Amazons collecting Artemis: Wanted #1, Olympus: Rebirth #1, and Nubia: Coronation Special #1 along with stories from Wonder Woman #781-784 and Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1.

The Trial of the Amazons starts here!

The DC Universe faced a Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths. It’s the End of the Justice League! It was not a big event for Diana, but it led to another event, Lazarus Planet.

Following the events of Lazarus Planet, the gods of the Multiverse have decided to take down the heroes they once called champions and the world they’ve sworn to protect. Only Wonder Woman and Shazam stand in their way, but will their combined powers be enough? See our Lazarus Planet reading order for more information and an issue-by-issue reading guide.

During the summer of 2023, now in the Dawn of DC era, the heroes and villains of the DC Universe were victims of Knight Terrors! Visit our guide to learn more about it.

  • Knight Terrors
    Collects Knight Terrors First Blood, Knight Terrors #1-4, Knight Terrors: Night’s End.
  • Knight Terrors: Knightmare League
    Collects Knight Terrors: Action Comics #1-2, Knight Terrors: Green Lantern #1-2, Knight Terrors: Superman #1-2, Knight Terrors: The Flash #1-2, and Knight Terrors: Wonder Woman #1-2.

Tom King’s Wonder Woman

As part of the Dawn of DC publication initiative, writer Tom King and artist Daniel Sampere took over the Wonder Woman series and it started when the U.S. Congress passed The Amazon Safety Act, barring all Amazons from American soil. To carry out its new law, the government sets up the Amazon Extradition Entity (AXE) task force to remove those who don’t comply by any means necessary.

More to come as Wonder Woman’s adventures continue…

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