WONDER WOMAN '77 MEETS THE BIONIC WOMAN

Wonder Woman '77 Meets The Bionic Woman

 

WONDER WOMAN '77 MEETS THE BIONIC WOMAN

Writer: Andy Mangels

Artist: Judit Tondora

Colors: Michael Bartolo & Stuart Chaifetz, Roland Pilcz

Letters: Lois Buhalis & Tom Orzechowski, Kathryn S. Renta

Publication Date: 2017

Published by Dynamite Entertainment

 

 

Well, obviously I couldn't let this one slide. Now that the final issue is out, lets take a look at WONDER WOMAN '77 MEETS THE BIONIC WOMAN, shall we?

 

 

Yeah, yeah. I'm a big into THE BIONIC WOMAN. I've made my love of both that and of course THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN plain here many times. No surprise then, I suppose, that I'm also a fan of Lynda Carter and her WONDER WOMAN series.

 

Here we have the latest in current fad of continuing classic TV series in comic form and offering team-ups that were never possible originally for whatever reason. This one is a pretty natural fit, and not just because they both happen to be women. Jaime Sommers was an agent for the OSI, based in California but making many trips to Washington, DC, while Wonder Woman's alter-ego Diana Prince was based in DC but her work for the IADC often sent her to the west coast. They probably passed each other in airports all the time.

 

Writer Andy Mangels has done a great job here, melding the two shows together and keeping everyone in character. And I mean everyone, because he manages appearances from a ton people from both shows. The villains of the piece are all folks who have crossed paths with either Jaime or Diana in the past, and many of our heroes friends and co-workers show up, also. Much like James Kuhoric did in his "Season Six" of THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN, Mangels even brings a character from the Wonder Woman toy line to life in a cool way.

Because of all the characters, there's a bit of slow-down, mainly in issues 3 and 4, where they have to introduce themselves to each other (and any readers who haven't memorized each series for some reason) but it's a necessary evil in an undertaking such as this and is handled pretty well. Readers who are very familiar with the shows will get a kick out of numerous Easter Eggs, some of which even I didn't get at first. Fortunately, there's a series of columns at Comic Book Resources detailing them.

The story is backed up with some really nice art by Judit Tondora, who does a good job with characters likenesses. Not an easy job when so many of them are just middle-aged dudes in '70s era suits.

Roland Pilcz gives the series some nice, bright colors as befits our two shining beacons of hope for most of the series. Michael Bartolo & Stuart Chaifetz handled the first issue, which I hear is being recolored by Pilcz for the trade paperback - due out in October - to keep the look uniform throughout.

 

Overall, I really dug this one. It wouldn't bother me at all if Mangels and the rest returned for a follow-up.

 

And for those wondering if Jaime and Diana would've really gotten along so well, I'll just leave these here....

Lindsay Wagner and Lynda Carter then

Lynda Cater and Lindsay Wagner now