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iowasjoe's review
3.0
Enjoyable tome of all ages adventures. Though it does Mary Sue the Wonder Twins a bit, I did think it a worthwhile read
birdmanseven's review
3.0
This loses a star for the black and white presentation. While I typically can roll with the Showcase format, this is all wrong for Super Friends. The show was all about splashy color and without that it just feels like low watt silver age fluff.
I will say, I enjoyed the care the writers took in streamlining some of the goofiness of the show. I appreciated them establishing that the Hall of Justice was a training center as well as explaining the transition from Wendy and Marvin to the Wonder Twins.
The stories are great to revisit, but hold out for color!
We discussed this more over on Comic Book Coffee Break: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW-r_gb8e98
I will say, I enjoyed the care the writers took in streamlining some of the goofiness of the show. I appreciated them establishing that the Hall of Justice was a training center as well as explaining the transition from Wendy and Marvin to the Wonder Twins.
The stories are great to revisit, but hold out for color!
We discussed this more over on Comic Book Coffee Break: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW-r_gb8e98
mizzelle's review
4.0
Not sure how to review this. I have memories of watching the later seasons of the Super Friends when I was younger. The cartoon and this comic were some of my earliest introductions to the DC Universe. To me, it was a natural progression of wanting more of the characters I'd grown to like, particularly Wonder Woman. I didn't appreciate how great this book was until much later. Ramona Fradon's art is still so classic. And for ostensibly what we'd call a tie-in book now it was clearly part of the 1970s era DCU with references to the satellite JLA and Steve Howard. I was really pleasantly surprised how good the continuity was.
skjam's review
3.0
Back in the 1970s, there was a Saturday morning cartoon titled Superfriends. It featured several superheroes from DC Comics,, plus “Junior Super Friends” Wendy and Marvin, trainee superheroes with their pet Wonderdog. Each episode taught valuable life lessons to kids across America. While reruns of the cartoon continue even today, younger fans may not be aware there used to be a tie-in comic book as well.
Because the Comics Code of the time was surprisingly less restrictive than the Standards & Practices Board that governed children’s broadcasting, the writers of the comic book had more flexibility to put in story elements that explained how the team worked, and the full range of the heroes’ powers. The book took place in a close parallel of the DC universe, so other superheroes could guest star.
Now, I said the writers could be more flexible than the TV show, but I am still amazed that they got away with mass murder as a plot point in the third issue. Some of the deaths even happened on panel! And they weren’t even reversed by the end of the story. To explain, a mad scientist captures over a hundred supervillains (none of whom were established characters) and disintegrates them to create the World-Beater, which has all their powers combined.
After a few issues, the comic book explained (as the show never did) the change from the first season’s Marvin and Wendy, to the later Wonder Twins, aliens named Jan and Zayna. This was a truly epic plot which also introduced a slew of international superheroes who later joined the mainstream DCU as the Global Guardians. (It also gave the comic some much-needed ethnic diversity.)
Many creators worked on the series, but the distinctive art of Ramona Fradon is perhaps most representative.
Aside from the mass murder, this is a kid-friendly title; there are some dated attitudes that parents might want to discuss with their children. The writing is typical for the time period, and certainly better than the television show.
Recommended for fans of the Superfriends cartoon and nostalgic comics fans.
Because the Comics Code of the time was surprisingly less restrictive than the Standards & Practices Board that governed children’s broadcasting, the writers of the comic book had more flexibility to put in story elements that explained how the team worked, and the full range of the heroes’ powers. The book took place in a close parallel of the DC universe, so other superheroes could guest star.
Now, I said the writers could be more flexible than the TV show, but I am still amazed that they got away with mass murder as a plot point in the third issue. Some of the deaths even happened on panel! And they weren’t even reversed by the end of the story. To explain, a mad scientist captures over a hundred supervillains (none of whom were established characters) and disintegrates them to create the World-Beater, which has all their powers combined.
After a few issues, the comic book explained (as the show never did) the change from the first season’s Marvin and Wendy, to the later Wonder Twins, aliens named Jan and Zayna. This was a truly epic plot which also introduced a slew of international superheroes who later joined the mainstream DCU as the Global Guardians. (It also gave the comic some much-needed ethnic diversity.)
Many creators worked on the series, but the distinctive art of Ramona Fradon is perhaps most representative.
Aside from the mass murder, this is a kid-friendly title; there are some dated attitudes that parents might want to discuss with their children. The writing is typical for the time period, and certainly better than the television show.
Recommended for fans of the Superfriends cartoon and nostalgic comics fans.
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