Wonder Woman: Virginia Madsen on Comics, Gender, Parenting

Virginia Madsen

The latest in the series of studio-produced interviews promoting the direct-to-video Wonder Woman animated movie has been released: it’s a conversation with Virginia Madsen, who voices Queen Hippolyta.

Since it’s promotional, there’s not a lot of striking content, although it’s cute to see Madsen talk about her teenage son and his take on things. I did find these two exchanges, near the end, interesting:

Question: Were/are you a comic-book reader?

Madsen: I was not a comic book reader, but my son is. My son wasn’t really interested in reading books, which was hard for me because I love to read. It just didn’t come naturally to my boy. So we kind of found comic books because they were fascinating to him. They were great stories. Of course, I have to read them all first, because now when you get into graphic novels, they are definitely in deep graphic. But the stories and the characters really interest him, so comic books kind of taught him how to read. So we’re really into comic books.

Virginia Madsen

That’s responsible parenting, there, checking out material before letting your child have it. It’s nice to see recognition that just because it’s a comic doesn’t mean it’s ok for kids. I’ve also lost track of how often I’ve heard people talk about how interesting comics are to those who aren’t natural readers, and how they assist in developing a love of reading.

Question: Is there a comic book role that your inner geek covets?

Madsen: Sadly, I really want to be Batman … and I just never will be (laughs). That’s the cross I bear. When I was growing up, the really, really cool super heroes were all male so I wanted to be them. I really didn’t like Batgirl. I was like, “No, if I’m not gonna be Batman, I’m not gonna play.” Maybe they could write an evil female super villain who takes over Batman, and nobody knows. Then I could live my dream (laughs). I think that’s a good idea.

Another call for cool female superheroes!



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