DC COMICS – @DCComics
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Mark Russell
ART: Stephen Byrne
COLORS: Stephen Byrne
LETTERS: Dave Sharpe
EDITORS: Mike Cotton and Andy Khouri
COVER: Stephen Byrne
VARIANT COVER: Dustin Nguyen
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (April 2019)
Rated “T” for “Teen”
Wonder Twins created by Hanna-Barbera and Norman Maurer
“It Gets Weirder”
Just in case you, dear reader, do not want to read this entire review, let me say quickly that the first issue of Wonder Twins is not worth your $3.99. It would not be a good deal even at .99¢ for a digital copy.
“The Wonder Twins” were characters that appeared in “The All-New Super Friends Hour” (September 1977 to September 1978). Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions for the ABC television network, “The All-New Super Friends Hour” had a run time of one hour and was composed of about 4 animated shorts per episode. The Wonder Twins debuted in “The Joy Ride” segment of the debut episode of “The All-New Super-Friends Hour” (“The Brain Machine / The Joy Ride / The Invasion of the Earthors / The Whirlpool”).
On the TV series, the Wonder Twins were brother, Zan, and sister, Jayna, extraterrestrials twins from the planet, Exxor. They had shape-shifting powers, with Zan being able to turn into inanimate things (like a bucket of water) and Jayna being able to transform into living creatures (like a camel). Zan and Jayna were being trained as apprentice superheroes by the members of the Super Friends. The siblings also had a pet, Gleek, a blue alien monkey.
The Wonder Twins made their comic book debut in Super Friends #7 (cover dated: October 1977). DC Comics published a comic book version of “Super Friends,” the 1973-74 animated TV series that preceded “The All-New Super Friends Hour.” The comic book ran for 47 issues from 1976 to 1981.
The Wonder Twins return to comics in a new series from DC Comics' young readers imprint, “Wonder Comics.” Entitled Wonder Twins, the six-issue miniseries is written by Mark Russell; drawn and colored by Stephen Byrne; and lettered by Dave Sharpe.
Wonder Twins #1 (“It Gets Weirder”) opens at Morris High School, which extraterrestrial twins, Zan and Jayna, attend. Their classmates know that they are aliens on Earth, and the twins have to deal with the same problems most high school teens usually confront. Zan and Jayna are also more or less apprentices of the Justice League – in large part because of Superman. The rest of the League, however, are wary of the twins. Then, a troublesome, impossible villain starts causing some trouble.
I was a fan of writer Mark Russell's short-lived “DCYou” comic book series, Prez. It was one of the best and smartest comic books that offered political and social satire recently published in the United States. Imaginative and sharp, Prez lampooned corporate culture and interests as much as it savaged American national politics.
Wonder Twins #1 is neither sharp nor funny. If I had to compare it to a flavor, I would say that Wonder Twins #1 is bland, even flavorless. It is more flat and uninspired than it is of poor quality. The art by Stephen Byrne is so monotone that it might have been produced by a clip-art generator rather than by an actual human being. The color is... yeah, you get it... uninspired. Even Dave Sharpe's lettering is not as sharp as usual. And Dustin Nguyen's variant cover art is ugly.
I don't want to give Wonder Twins #1 a failing grade (an “F”) or even a “D.” This comic book reads like filler material, something produced to revive a trademark for business purposes, so it deserves the ultimate average grade...
4 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
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