Wonder Woman #113
Wonder Woman #113 (April 1960) sits at the heart of Robert Kanigher's Silver Age experiment with Diana's multiple selves — the same princess rendered simultaneously as adult hero, teenage Wonder Girl, and infant Wonder Tot — a concept that would grow into the full-blown 'Impossible Tales' format by issue #124. The Wonder Girl backup in this issue represents an early, confident expression of that idea: Kanigher gives Diana's younger self her own self-contained comedy-adventure on Paradise Island, distinct from the main Wonder Woman story, proving the concept had legs as a recurring feature. The issue also contributed to what would eventually, and accidentally, become one of DC's most complicated continuity puzzles: when writer Bob Haney borrowed the Wonder Girl name for the founding Teen Titans without realizing she was simply a younger Diana, the chain of events that culminated in Donna Troy's creation was set in motion. That paradox, tracing back to issues like this one, made Wonder Woman #113 a small but real pivot point in DC mythology.
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The issue was produced by the stable creative team that had been defining Wonder Woman's Silver Age identity since 1958: writer-editor Robert Kanigher scripted under the house pseudonym 'Charles Moulton,' with Ross Andru pencilling and Mike Esposito inking, a partnership so consistent that Andru and Esposito are now considered the definitive visual voice of Kanigher's run. Letters were by Ira Schnapp on the cover and Gaspar Saladino on the interior. The GCD's copyright records place the on-sale date at February 9, 1960, giving the issue an April 1960 cover date, and it was published by National Comics Publications under DC's Superman-National brand, approved by the Comics Code Authority.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date April 1960; on-sale date February 9, 1960, per copyright registration (GCD).
- Contains two stories: 'The Invasion of the Sphinx Creatures,' a Wonder Woman/Steve Trevor adventure set near Egypt in which animated sphinx creatures mistake Diana for the ancient Queen Mirka; and 'Wonder Girl's Birthday Party,' a Paradise Island comedy-adventure following the young Diana through a string of cake-destroying birthday disasters.
- Written and edited by Robert Kanigher (credited as Charles Moulton); pencilled by Ross Andru; inked by Mike Esposito — the core Silver Age creative team that had been producing the title continuously since issue #98 (1958).
- The Wonder Girl backup is an early installment of Kanigher's ongoing experiment presenting Diana as her own teenage self in standalone adventures separate from the adult Wonder Woman story — a concept that would formally become the 'Impossible Tales' format from issue #124 onward, eventually incorporating Wonder Tot as well.
- The DC Database's 'Wonder Woman Family' entry credits this issue as the debut of Wonder Tot (Wonder Woman as a toddler); however, multiple marketplace sources and the DCU Guide's character index for this issue do not list Wonder Tot as appearing here, with some sources instead crediting Wonder Woman #122 (1961). This remains contested.
- The issue also includes public service announcement and educational comic strips, typical of DC's Comics Code-era editorial practice.
- Both the lead story and the Wonder Girl backup were reprinted in Showcase Presents: Wonder Woman Vol. 1 (DC, October 2007) and again in Wonder Woman: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 1 (DC, 2022).
- Ross Andru's cover for this issue — featuring a laser-eyed sphinx creature — has been singled out by comics historians and creators, including writer Paul Kupperberg, as one of the standout covers from the Andru-Esposito Wonder Woman run.
Cast · 8 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Wonder Girl reminisces about past birthdays and then a giant Roc steals her birthday cake.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).