Artist Liam Sharp talks about how Wonder Woman inspires generations and "will continue to do that"

While much of the conversation surrounding the world of DC often is levied at Superman and Batman these days, Wonder Woman is still one of the most important and impactful characters the comic world has to offer, not just because how she acts the third part of the trifecta of DC's leading figures, but because the character resonates with minority groups all over the world for her open stance on sexuality.

To this end, during our recent trip to Comicon Napoli, we had the luxury of speaking with artist Liam Sharp, all to pick his mind about his time creating Wonder Woman stories alongside writer Greg Rucka as part of the Rebirth series.

"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 also went on to explain that Conan the Barbarian acted similarly for him during his youth, as the character gave him strength and allowed him to grow and blossom as a person, an experience he attributes to comics as a whole and how are more than just an entertainment medium.

"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."

You can see the full interview with Sharp below, where we also touch upon Batman: Reptilian, Green Lantern, Starhenge, and more.