Wonder Woman '77 Meets the Bionic Woman

Wonder Woman '77

by Andy Mangels, Judit Tondora (Artist)

Wonder Woman and the Bionic Woman, the most beloved female icons of 1970s television, come together for globe-trotting action against their worst enemies!

Diana Prince and Jaime Sommers team up to fight a rogue cabal bent on wreaking havoc and stealing deadly weapons. Can CASTRA be stopped before their real targets are revealed and lives are lost? And what three familiar villains threaten the unbeatable combination of bracelets and bionics?

Bestselling author Andy Mangels (Star Trek, Star Wars) and artist Judit Tondora (Grimm Fairy Tales) join forces for a celebration of the original Girl Power!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Dc Comics, Wonder Woman, Superheroes, Comic Book, Science Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 18, 2017

About the author

Andy Mangels is an American science fiction author who has written novels, comics, and magazine articles, and produced DVD collections, mostly focusing on media in popular culture. As an openly-gay man, he has been a longtime advocate for greater visibility of gay and lesbian characters in various media, especially comics, including the coordination and moderation of the annual "Gays in Comics" panel for Comic Con International since it was begun in 1988. He is the founder of an annual "Women of Wonder Day" event, which raises funds for domestic violence shelters and related programs. As of 2011 he has had books on the USA Today "best-selling books" list three times. wikipedia

Reviews

[Norma ~ The Sisters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh wow did this ever bring back some wonderful memories for me! This comic book brings together my two absolute favourite iconic woman that I grew up faithfully watching back in the 70's - Wonder Woman & the Bionic Woman in an interesting story with wonderful illustrations that was absolutely pure joy for me to read!

I received a digital copy from NetGalley.

[Shai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonder Woman and Bionic Woman in one comic series is pure epic. Imagine these legendary female superheroes joining forces to fight villains will undeniably delight comic enthusiasts. I also love how Bionic Woman was turned into a honorary member of the Amazons in the Paradise Island. When the replay of the TV series of Bionic Woman was shown on a local TV channel in my country during the 90's, I had the chance to watched several episodes of. Hence, I also know Bionic Woman's abilities and her origin.

On the other hand, I wasn't able to watched any episode of the Wonder Woman TV series, thus I didn't have any slight idea of who she really is and where she came from. Just recently, I had read a novel about Wonder Woman and thanks to that, I'm no longer ignorant about her.

However, this comic series of Andy Mangels is the second print material that I'd read about Wonder Woman; I also had a great time reading it and would recommend it to anyone.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Holy Captain Exposition Batman! There was so much exposition, this could almost be considered an illustrated novel instead of a graphic novel. Andy Mangels tries to bring any every single character from both shows and reference every episode, instead of just crafting a well told story. He even brings in all the characters from the first season of Wonder Woman which took place 30 years earlier during WWII before the show was retooled for modern (at the time) times.

Judit Tondora does a fabulous job of capturing the actors likenesses. Her art made the mess of a story easier to digest.

Received an advance copy from DC, Dynamite and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 2 favorite superheroine shows of the 70s in one book. How can i not love this! nice art and writing made this a great read. Recommended

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you want a fairly faithful mash-up of the two characters you're going to get it, but it's also a stark reminder that rose-colored glasses are real, neither show was all that good, and to boot the whole mini-series is splashed with intrusive modern politics that add nothing to the tale.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok - two things right off the bat.

Wonder Woman’s bracelets are made of feminum?

And when the Bionic Woman’s parents died, she moved in with her high school boyfriend?

Okay. Just making sure I have the facts right.

Some of it was a bit goofy - like 70s TV. And I like that the art kind of hails back to that time. And the Cat Staggs cover art was pretty fantastic.

Whoa! And the misogyny is rampant in the 70s!

Ha! They even use the Bionic Woman sound effects! I wasn’t even a regular watcher of the Bionic Woman (or Man) and I’ve used those sounds. There were times when I even heard the Wonder Woman music in my head.

Bigfoot reference! I remember commercials for the Bigfoot episodes of Bionic Woman/Man. (It was in both, wasn’t it?)

It’s interesting that it references so many of the old shows. It makes me wish I was more familiar with them. Though I watched Wonder Woman, I don’t really remember specific episodes; and I’m sure I didn’t see all of them. But whenever there is intrigue with too many villains and too many organizations, the story gets convoluted and I start to get lost. Does anyone else have that problem? I’m thinking I would have liked it more if it hadn’t been so tied to so many episodes; or if I had been a bigger fan way back when.

I thought there was a misspelling, but apparently gamey can also be spelled gamy. I love learning stuff from comics!

Favorite quote:

Men do a lot of things that aren’t necessarily helpful.

Yep. Know that from experience.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dynamite Entertainment for a copy in return for an honest review.

[Eric WT · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was great to revisit with two characters I grew up with and loved. So much fun! Thanks Chris 😁

[Critterbee❇ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty awesome crossover series featuring Wonder Woman (drawn as Lynda Carter from the 1970s show) and the Bionic Woman (drawn as Lindsay Wagner from the 1970s show). I like the illustration style fine, and this was so much fun to read! I am approaching this from a being a big Wonder Woman fan (comics, cartoons, TV, movies) so I apologize if any Bionic Woman fans feel this is a skewed review.

I imagine the illustrator having a blast with all the

THUTT BRAKKAMM DEENEENEENEE SMEK TEK TEK FWOOSH KRASH
BREEEEEER KRONK TKKSSSHH WEEEPO WEEPO THUNT VLLLEP
RROOONK SHHHSHHCKK

I know I loved it. Sometimes you just need a good BREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER to cheer your day up!

For every time there was cliched villain dialogue like "our long awaited revenge is close at hand," there was a FOMP, BAWOOP BLATZ or DEENEENEENEENEE to liven things up.

And Drusilla is in the book! At one point, Diana reminds her "I've told you that men do things that aren't necessarily helpful"

This would be great for Wonder Woman or Bionic Woman fans, and overall was an extremely entertaining read. Loved it!


*eARC Netgalley*

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonder Woman, The Bionic Woman and fembots.

[Lanae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I can sum up this book with a line from it:
"They’re fembots, not mere robots! I would think that the difference would not be lost on you."

If you know the original shows (I will admit to knowing Wonder Woman better than I know the Bionic Woman), you know they weren't quite as campy as Adam West's Batman, but also weren't as serious or dark as the comic book shows of today. This book is definitely a treat for those of us who grew up on these shows. How that will translate for younger readers, who are used to darker comics, I don't know.

We find our heroes working together, battling villains that they had previously fought separately. For those who aren't obsessive enough to know every episode or book, they do recap those prior encounters (also an editor's note will tell you which episode or book that encounter took place in).

The artwork is really good, though I found the Wonder Woman / Lynda Carter art just a wee bit more identifiable but that tends to happen in books that base the art on a real people we all "know".

[Xiomara Canizales · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this comic!!!
The main subject is Sisterhood, which is awesome.
It tells the story of how Diana Prince and Jaime Sommers join forces to fight against the evil CASTRA and its members; two strong, beautiful and smart female working together it is really nice to see.
The characters are described so that even a person who has no knowledge of the comic can follow the story but it also made some reference to previous editions.
I was really enthusiastic to read a story of such an strong females written by a male author, is something I haven't read before but when I search for the author bio I discovered that Andy Mangels is homosexual, obviously he sees the woman with a different eye than an heterosexual male. This doesn't take away the greatest of the story obviously.
The illustrations of Judit Tondora, is worth to mention, are really good, I really enjoyed them.
My rating is 4.5/5

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 2 out of 5]

'Wonder Woman '77 Meets the Bionic Woman' by Andy Mangels with art by Judit Tondora is a nostalgia graphic novel with the stars of two different shows of the 1970s.

Diana Prince and Jamie Sommers meet and realize they have some things in common, mainly stopping a group of evildoers. Amongst the villains: the Fembots. With Diana's home at risk, they must act quickly.

The art was pretty good and represented the actresses and actors fairly well.

The problem with a nostalgia book is the need to throw in lots of references. This can work if it's done well, but it really wasn't here. I would have preferred a better crafted story rather than one that served fans of the shows. There is a way to do both and I've seen it done better.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Dynamite Entertainment, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

[Theediscerning · Rating 1 out of 5]

Two gorgeous women fight baddies - and more importantly, sexism - in this naff drama. Their biggest problem is keeping their identities and powers secret - oh, and sexism - so you really get fed up by the time the story turns into the problems of information coming out of Iraq. Oh, sorry - that's IRAC the computer. Yes, there is every scope for revisiting the '70s, but does it have to include all the '70s naffness and '70s cheese? The artwork would certainly deserve many stars, apart from the WonderWetsuit, but the story is just pants. If you want a better discourse on this kind of sexism, watch an Austin Powers title sequence - yes, this is that bad.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely written for the fans. A lot of references to specific episodes of both shows and appearances from a large cast of characters, friend and foe. OSI and the group Diana and Steve work for join forces to go up against evil robot makers (taken from both shows) who are out to take over the world once they can get a certain mineral only found on Paradise Island. Readable, I had fun but I found it both terribly touchy-feely and feminist at the same time, rubbing me the wrong way. The art isn't spectacular but a decent job has been done of drawing the characters similar to their TV versions.

[John Yelverton · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was nice to see these characters back in action again. That being said, you had to be a fan of both series to truly understand what's going on, because they dig deep into the episodic catalog and use extremely obscure references that the author assumes the reader knows.

[Martin Maenza · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great concept but lousy execution. Did not like the story art at all. Best part was the covers.

[Theo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Everything and the kitchen sink isn't always the best way to tell a story, even if you love the worlds.

[Reggie_Love · Rating 2 out of 5]

This did not meet expectations. They writing was off and it was hard to keep track. Parts felt out of place and nothing seemed to flow. I was disappointed because I love both characters

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Wonder Woman '77 Meets The Bionic Woman" by Andy Mangels (writer), Judit Tondora (artist), Michael Bartolo, Stuart Chaifetz, Roland Pilcz (colorists), Tom Orzechowski, Lois Buhalis, Katherine S. Renta (letterer), Cat Staggs (original primary covers artist), Alex Ross (variant original cover and collection cover artist) (Dynamite Entertainment in conjunction with DC Comics, 2017; originally released in single issue format as "Wonder Woman '77 Meets The Bionic Woman" #1-6 (December 2016 to September 2017). Thoughts: Without a doubt, the best of the seven Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman comics trade paperbacks I read this week. Andy Mangels is a recognized Wonder Woman expert and also is really good with the Bionic Woman characters and does a great job of tying this story into what has already happened on both the 1970s "Wonder Woman" and "Bionic Woman" television series. Lots of familiar characters from both shows (Steve Trevor, Wonder Woman's mother and fellow Amazons, Drusilla/Wonder Girl, Oscar Goldman, Rudy Wells, Max the bionic dog, the Fembots and their creator, several enemy robot makers from earlier "Wonder Woman" episodes, etc.). If anything, there may be a bit *too* much in the way of cramming in as many robots related villains from the previous two tv series as Mangels does (I even started to lose track of who some of them were) but it's okay because it's still just such a fun overall experience, this series. The artist is the best (Judit Tondora) is the best of all of the Dynamites mini-series in terms of getting actor resemblances (the drawings looking like the actual actors). And Mangels knows exactly what fans would want to see: Diana doing her "magic spin" to change to Wonder Woman, Diana in her blue scuba diving outfit, Diana and Jaime in the invisible jet, Paradise Island and the Amazons, flashbacks to Jaime's origin with Steve Austin (and addressing how both characters have important relationships with men named Steve!), Diana vs. fembots, Diana being outmaneuvered at a critical moment to prevent her usual way of escaping injury from gun fire, etc. I've heard one peson describe this as primarily a Wonder Woman story guest-starring Jaime Sommers (rather than an equal "team-up"), which is probably a valid observation. But it's still a lot of fun. I gave this four out of five stars on GoodReads.

[Nola Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars - This book marks about 40 years since the Wonder Woman and Bionic Woman series of the 70s, and I really wanted to love it. It compiles a six comic book series, and I'd give it 10 out of 10 for nostalgia value. However, a couple of things let it down for me.

The story brings together a lot of goodies, baddies and storylines from previous episodes of both shows, which is great in one way. Who doesn't love to see the Bionic Woman fighting fembots? However, it led to a number of big story dumps to catch the reader up on what was happening.

The cover art of all six issues, and the bonus alternate covers, were all really good. Some of them were so true to the TV characters that I wondered if they'd used actual photos and digitised some of the graphics. The art throughout was also good, with Wonder Woman and Diana Prince almost always looking like Lynda Carter. But alas, Jaime Sommers could have been any good-looking blonde rather than Lindsay Wagner in most panels. I adored Lindsay as Jaime in the show, and my teenage self wanted Jaime to be my best friend. So the lack of resemblance in a lot of the panels probably annoyed me more than most people. But apart from that, the art is really good.

Even with those couple of hitches, I was glad to see a comic book that combined these two heroines. I hope they can join forces again in the future.

[Adam Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Confession: I've never watched either of the shows this book is based on. Getting into both is on my to-do list and after reading this book, that's even more true.

Prior knowledge of these programs is not required. to enjoy this and I enjoyed quite a lot. I've read a lot of these intercompany crossovers between DC and TV properties from the 1960s and70s.. This, by far, is the story that I enjoyed the most.

It avoids several tropes (no "superhero" battle between our protagonists) and it makes short shrift of Diana Prince's secret identity so that these two character can get to know each other, team up, and kick tale. Both are likable and fun characters to read. The art is gorgeous and vivid providing a nice almost painted feel to it.

The story itself is a typical yarn leading to Diana Prince and Jamie Sommers fictional top secret organizations to pool resources and thus they meet and go off to fight the bad guys, even taking a trip to Paradise Island where Jamie is most welcome.

The book does have a few portions that are backstory and consequently dialog heavy, particularly as the villains lay out who they are, but that's to be expected with these events.

Overall, this was a lot of fun and might even more so for those who are fans of the series.

****I received a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review from Net Galley****

[Andy Hickman · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Wonder Woman '77 Meets the Bionic Woman” by Andy Mangels, Judit Tondora (Artist)
Nostalgic, but rather forgettable otherwise.

#1 – When Diana Met Jaime
“They have NO IDEA the hell that is about to be unleashed.” – Villains
.
#2 – Four Villains and a Funeral
“Is that one of the EXPERIMENTAL MISSILES we’re supposed to retrieve? “ – BW
“This is NOT GOOD.” – WW
.
#3 – The Past Becomes Present
“Oh man .. a FEMBOT?” – BW
.
#4 – Where The Heart Is
“Some may paint us as HEROES, some may paint us VILLAINS .. It’s all in the PERSEPCTIVE of she - or he - who TELLS the tale.” – WW
.
#5 – Attack of the Fembots
“DEFEND!”
“ATTACK!”
.
#6 – Different Flowers From the Same Garden
“SOTERIA was a demi-goddess.”
.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Take two female television shows of the 1970's - Wonder Woman and Bionic Woman - and do a mashup of some of their villains and secret organizations so that they exist in the same universe. Now create a story line that requires that they interact to take down said villains. That is basically the plot of the book. The artists and writers do a good job of creating the feel and look of the shows and bond the two strong female leads while having a new villain masterminding behind the scenes. And that is part of the problem - the look and feel of 1970's TV, not always the greatest time or shows.

[Barb Fischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This totally took me back to my childhood when my favourite TV shows were Wonder Woman and the Bionic Woman (wait….does that age me?) I saw this and knew I had to read it. I mean, Wonder Woman and Jaime Sommers teaming up – this was the crossover episode that I never knew I needed.

As you can tell by the cover, this is a comic book. (Duh!) It was a really fun read.

The art is very impressive. The characters look like they did back in the day. The back story of the characters is explained (for those who didn’t see the original TV shows).

The story was engaging, the graphics were great. This was a delight to read. This will satisfy both old school fans of the shows (like me) and will hopefully engage a new generation of fans.

Full disclosure: I received this eARC from NetGalley for a fair and honest review. (Thanks NetGalley!)

[Stacey Browne · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you REALLY liked Wonder Woman and the Bionic Woman, this is great. I watched both of these so I could follow, but if you didn’t remember all the characters and everything it might not make that much sense. Also, I originally couldn’t tell which Steve was with them. I just figured having Steve Austin there would make no sense since he’s also bionic.
I thought it was cute, I love Jaime and Diana forever and this was really iconic. It felt super long but I’m glad I read it.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel is a trip down memory lane for those who grew up watching Wonder Woman and Jaime Sommers, the Bionic Woman, on television and in comics. This is a full-size graphic novel that does a great job of paying homage to these two superheroes and is chock full of artwork and dialogue. To my eye, the artwork did a great job of bringing out that seventies theme.

[Lois Merritt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not really a fan of the Bionic Woman, but I still had to get this because it has Wonder Woman. And I thought it was pretty darn good. It was a multipart story using people that both women had to fight in their pasts, particularly related to robots and human looking robots - plus Captain Radle from the WWII season of Wonder Woman. A pretty exciting read!

[MK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved seeing these two icons of my childhood together! I enjoyed the story and liked how they brought in stories from both series to bring it all together. It had the feel of the series and really, that's the important thing.

[Len · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bionic power combine with Amazonian forces to defeat a team of villains determined to conquer the world with their robotic army! An entertaining event that brings together the worlds of Jamie Sommers and Diana Prince.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this!! Fans of these 1970's shows would get a kick out of this trip down memory lane, with Wonder Woman and Bionic Woman in one story. The artwork is amazing and the sci-fi story is fabulous!