Despite all the stereotypes about nerds, and comics nerds in particular, the idea that sexism is endemic and culturally fixed in the comic-book industry is a retrograde idea. The future of comics is inclusive and intersectional, and can been seen in the growing readership of women and the growing pushback by men against sexism and the idea that they require it to keep reading.

So the uproar caused by the new creative team behind Wonder Woman, claiming that their Princess Diana won't necessarily be a feminist, isn't surprising.

After all, Wonder Woman is more than just a comic-book character. She's the three-time cover girl of Ms Magazine; once the star of her own TV show; not just a warrior, but an Amazon Princess; the mythical embodiment of female empowerment and equality. Her background is the reason why, upon hearing the recent Hobby Lobby supreme court decision, artist Pia Guerra posted a drawing of Wonder Woman flipping the Supremes the bird: we all know which side Diana would be on. Wonder Woman would no sooner deny the rights of women than Superman would deny that he's Krypton’s last son.

Alas, David Finch, the new artist for one of DC Comics' flagship title, said in an interview the other day:

We want to make sure it's a book that treats her as a human being first and foremost, but is also respectful of the fact that she represents something more. We want her to be a strong – I don't want to say feminist, but a strong character. Beautiful, but strong.

Finch isn't a bad guy, and neither he nor writer Meredith Finch (who is also his wife) deserve to be completely demonized for a clumsily-worded quote about a new project they probably don't quite have their heads wrapped around yet.

Though: it's Wonder Woman. How does anyone big enough in the comics business get hired to draw her not understand what she means to people, largely because she is (gasp!) a feminist?

Contrast Finch's statement with writer Grant Morrison's recent interview, wherein he claimed to be "working [his] way through the entire history of feminism" in preparation for his upcoming Wonder Woman graphic novel. Morrison, unlike Finch, understands that Wonder Woman isn't just a feminist icon – she's the feminist icon.

It might be less that Finch doesn't understand Wonder Woman than that he fell prey to the cultural perception that feminism itself is divisive (even coming from a feminist character).

Don't get me wrong: feminism does have issues, from including the voices of people of color, trans women and sex workers to major class divisions. But of its 99 problems, intersectionality ain't the one that has the stereotypical comic readers' knickers in a twist. In the monoculture that comics supposedly inhabit, feminism is a pejorative, and it conjures up visions of man-hating womyn who'd love nothing better than to castrate the baby men who live in their mom's basements. There's a persistent, wrong-headed idea that comics are only for The Worst Nerds, guys with retrograde ideas about women – the ones who see ladies as just tits and ass in improbable costumes and poses who are just there to be ogled at between fight scenes.

If you say Wonder Woman is a feminist, you can hear these Don Drapers gasp, clutching their pearls, men 18-24 won't buy the comics!

But the truth is that comics are for everyone. Wonder Woman writers like Greg Rucka and Gail Simone have been successful writing Diana with a strong feminist voice for longer than Meredith Finch has been in the industry. The audiences for other female-led comics, like Captain Marvel (written by Kelly Sue DeConnick) and Ms Marvel (written by G Willow Wilson) keep growing, adding the elusive female readership that comics publishers say they are looking to attract while upping the T&A quotient with every reboot.

Feminism sells t-shirts and books and even has massive worldwide conferences where ladies are sold on the idea of leaning in. If feminism can be re-packaged to sell Sheryl Sandberg's neoliberalism, feminism can remain one of Wonder Woman's heroic traits – and a fight for what is just and fair and right. If the Finches want to reach a mainstream audience, they should embrace the idea that what Wonder Woman readers want to see is a Diana who is strong and then beautiful, and both a hero and a human being – with foibles, failings and a strong feminist core.

