Joye Hummel

Joye Evelyn Hummel (April 4, 1924 – April 5, 2021) was an American comic book author. She is noted for ghost-writing more than 70 Wonder Woman stories between 1944 and 1947.

Hummel was 19 years old when she began as a typist for the comic. She went on to write its scripts after William Moulton Marston fell ill, and stopped authoring the comics in the same year as his death three years later. Her contributions only became well known in 2014 after she was interviewed for Jill Lepore's book The Secret History of Wonder Woman.

Early life Hummel was born on Long Island, New York on April 4, 1924. Her parents were managers of a grocery store chain, and she was their only child. She attended high school in Freeport, New York, before studying at Middlebury College. After one year, she dropped out of college, intending to keep her mother company after her parents divorced. He was swayed by the essays she wrote on a take-home exam, became terminally ill with polio, Hummel took over. Her first story, titled "The Winged Maidens of Venus", appeared in the spring of 1945 in issue 12 of Wonder Woman. Hummel quit authoring Wonder Woman in late 1947 after her honeymoon, ostensibly to spend more time at home and care for her stepdaughter. She later revealed that she was aggrieved by how the comic's new writers eliminated many of the feminist themes championed by Marston, who had died earlier that year. At the time, she did not receive any recognition, since all of the initial comics were published under the pen name "Charles Moulton". This award is conferred on comic book authors who go under the radar at the Eisner Awards, and is managed by Evanier.

Personal life Hummel married her first husband, David W. Murchison, in 1947. Together, they had two children, Robb and David Jr.; the latter predeceased her in 2015. Her husband died in 2000, and she married Jack Kelly two years later. They remained married until her death, and resided in Florida during their later years. She adopted the married name of Joye Murchison Kelly.

Hummel died on April 5, 2021, one day after her 97th birthday, at her home in Winter Haven, Florida.