Joye Hummel: Ghosting Warrior Writer Invisible No More

by Linda Harris Sittig

Ghostwriting is nothing new; it has probably been in practice since the days of ancient history. And the large majority of ghostwriters never receive proper credit for what they wrote because it was often attributed to someone else. In the annals of literature, one writer taking advantage of another writer’s penned, but perhaps unpublished papers is also nothing new. Controversy still lurks about William Shakespeare and John Steinbeck.

So, it did not surprise me years ago when I read about the controversy over the creators of Batman, supposedly created by Bob Kane, but in reality, co-created by fellow comic strip author Bill Finger. Bob Kane went on to earn fortune and fame from Batman, while Bill Finger died in obscurity. Then enter Marc Tyler Nobleman, who, with the urging from the comic book community, researched the life of Bill Finger and then wrote Finger’s biography so the world would finally give him his due.

Today the Bill Finger Award is given annually to two recipients whose work has made a significant contribution to the comic book industry, even if their names are not well known.

JOYE HUMMEL

This is where we pick up the story of Joye Hummel.

Born in April 1924 to middle-class parents on Long Island, NY, Joye attended college for only one year and then enrolled instead in secretarial school in Manhattan. Shortly afterwards, one of her instructors, William M. Marston, pulled her aside and complimented her on her writing style, which had shown through in several of her essays.

He offered her a unique job. In addition to being an instructor at Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School, Mr. Marston ran an art studio where he had previously created a strong female comic book character three years ago. This character, dubbed Wonder Woman, was drawn weekly by artist H.G. Peter. True success seemed imminent when Marston received a contract for Wonder Woman to be featured in a syndicated comic strip.

He needed two things. One, he needed an assistant who could help with the promotion of Wonder Woman; two, he needed a young woman who could write contemporary slang and who also had a vision of what a strong Amazonian woman with supernatural powers could do.

WONDER WOMAN

Joye Hummel was 19, and the job sounded fascinating. She started the next week and soon began writing scripts for the comic. Shortly after her start, William Marston contracted polio, and Joye took on more and more of a share in the writing of the scripts. For the next three plus years, Wonder Woman continued her burst upon the comic book stage as Americans were emerging from World War II. The Wonder Woman comic provided hopeful escape for many readers.

Joye continued writing the script as a ghostwriter, which meant she received a salary but never any recognition as the actual writer. She continued from 1944 until almost 1948 when she gave up her career to stay home and raise her infant daughter.

DC Comics hired other writers to complete the Wonder Woman saga. Eventually, the character of Wonder Woman changed, showcasing less and less of the original idea of a strong, courageous woman not afraid to fight for what she believed in.

It would take until 2018, four years after Joye donated her Wonder Woman archives to the Smithsonian Libraries, for Joye to achieve the public recognition she had never sought but so richly deserved. Joye was the 2018 recipient of the Bill Finger Award. She accepted the award at age 94 for her uncredited body of work on the Wonder Woman comics of the 1940s.

Even today, you have to dig into the research to find out the large part that Joye Hummel played in the success of those early Wonder Woman years.

As Wonder Woman herself might have said, “Believe in yourself. You are stronger than you know.”

And, may I add, wear your silver bracelets on both arms.

I hope you enjoyed hearing Joye Hummel’s story. Until next month you can still catch me on my website, https://www.lindasittig.com. And check out my three novels of strong female protagonists in history and my narrative non-fiction.

CUT FROM STRONG CLOTH, LAST CURTAIN CALL, COUNTING CROWS, and B-52 DOWN are available from your favorite bookstore or on line.

~ linda