250's for America's 250 · Day 9: Wonder Woman #250

Publishing: Friday, June 19, 2026 · DC Comics · Cover date: December 1978

Cover art by Rich Buckler (with interior artists José Delbo and Joe Giella)

See full issue details on the Grand Comics Database →

Another quiet key — and one with a direct line to a fan-favorite '90s character.

The issue

This is the first appearance of Orana, a red-haired Amazon who challenges Princess Diana's right to be Wonder Woman. In a grueling tournament on Paradise Island, Orana defeats Diana, claims the title and costume, and sets off for the outside world declaring herself the new Wonder Woman. Her tenure is short-lived — but she's historically important as the conceptual forerunner of the later red-haired Wonder Woman, Artemis.

Who's in it

• Wonder Woman (Princess Diana) — defeated in fair competition and forced to watch someone else claim her mantle.
• Orana — making her first appearance: an ambitious Amazon warrior who wins the right to become Wonder Woman, foreshadowing Artemis two decades later.
• Queen Hippolyta — Diana's mother and ruler of the Amazons, presiding over the contest.
• The Amazons of Paradise Island — the tournament's spectators and the community whose champion is being decided.

Behind the book (creators)

• Writer: Jack C. Harris
• Pencils: José Delbo · Inks: Joe Giella
• Cover: Rich Buckler (with Delbo/Giella)

Meet the creators

José Delbo was a Buenos Aires–born artist who became one of DC's steadiest Bronze Age pencillers, drawing a long run on Wonder Woman in the late 1970s alongside work on licensed titles for the Six Million Dollar Man and other properties. His storytelling emphasized clear, kinetic action, well suited to the era's tournament-and-battle plots like this one.

Joe Giella was a mainstay DC inker from the 1950s onward, closely associated with the Silver Age Batman and Flash before continuing into the Bronze Age on books like Wonder Woman. He later spent decades as the artist on the newspaper strip Mary Worth, giving him one of the more varied careers of his generation.

What it's worth

A minor key with a modest price. Current tracking shows roughly: VF (8.0) around $42, NM- (9.2) around $71, and CGC 9.8 around $320 (extrapolated — there's little recorded 9.8 sales data, so treat it as an estimate). Raw copies routinely sell $2–$25. The whole value story rests on "first Orana / Artemis precursor."

Where to read it (collected edition)

A trade or omnibus reprinting Wonder Woman #250 could not be confirmed. Treat as not currently collected pending verification.

Part of "250's for America's 250" — counting 24 milestone #250 comics down to the U.S. 250th on July 4, 2026.