Sci-Fi Bulletin: Exploring the Universes of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Spy-fi!

Written by Andy Mangels

Art by Judit Tondora

Dynamite/DC, out now

Only the best of the best have a hope of saving the world…

As someone who was in their early teens at the time that this story is set (1977 – the clue’s in the title!), I remember watching both the series upon which it’s based, and thoroughly enjoying them – and the best recommendation that I can give for Andy Mangels’ new comic is that it feels like the team-up/crossover episode that we should have had at the time. As the recent DC-universe four-way crossover proved, it’s a hard balancing act to combine two or more series’ individual styles and still serve a new story but Mangels manages it here. Even when the art isn’t as strong as it could be, there’s never any doubt that this is Lynda Carter and Lyndsay Wagner’s characters teaming up. (Someone on Supergirl really does have to work in a reference to this comic into an upcoming episode that both ladies feature in!)

Mangels sows multiple Easter eggs into the script – the Cramer building, for instance, named after the Wonder Woman producer – and my only real criticism of the storyline is that it feels as if a bit too much has been crammed in: I understand the need to get the story to the crunch point on the final page, but there’s a heck of a lot of words in this! There are also a lot of spot-on sound effects that feel very series-appropriate, and Mangels makes some sensible character decisions, in particular Jaime’s recognition of Diana.

Judit Tondora’s art grows on you as the book progresses – at times it feels too busy (possibly a sideproduct of the length of the script!) but the action sequences are well told in particular, and the look emulates the feel of the shows.

Verdict: A fun glimpse at what should have been. 8/10

Paul Simpson