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Comic-book superheroines of the 1940s were brainy, witty, funny and tough, says Mike Madrid, author of “The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy and the History of the Comic Book Heroines.”

University of Oklahoma graduate Lisa Hix interviews comic-book historian Madrid for Collectors Weekly, and gets the lowdown on comic-book superheroines from the 1940s through the 2000s.

Madrid said Wonder Woman, one of the first female superheroes, often contained “bits” of feminist philosophy in her stories.

“For example, she would meet women who were being abused by men or tricked into doing things, and she would always teach them how to stand up for themselves,” he says. “In that way, she was carrying an important message to girl readers.”

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