The Six Million Dollar Man Season 6 Review
Dynamite Comics has been the go-to place for new bionic adventures for the last two years. While the effort was appreciated, it wasn't very good. The Bionic Man, after the initial run of Kevin Smith's original idea for a movie version, never seemed to have an idea of where it was going. it was bogged down with the weird continuity of The Bionic Woman that made absolutely no sense. I saw the beginnings of some good ideas that were never fleshed out correctly and may have seemed way too confusing to the average reader. Considering the reaction to both series, it came as some surprise to me that Dynamite was going back into the bionic waters with a series picking up after the original television show ended its run in 1978. We're talking about continuing the story of a show that is forty years old. The last recorded story was 1994!
And then along comes The Six Million Dollar Man Season 6. I must admit, I was a bit skeptical about it, but after reading the first issue and talking with writer James Kuhoric on our Critical Assignment episode, my fears have been allayed. This is a fun, nostalgic trip into the past without pointing at the time period and going, "See, see, it's 1978!" Kuhoric is weaving quite a bit of the Six Million Dollar Man mythology together right from the start and that includes what looks like a possible new retcon for Steve's origins as we see the return of Oliver Spencer, Steve's old boss from the pilot movie. There haven't been a lot of explanations yet, but I'm curious to see where that will go.
The story involves the recovery of an American craft sent to Venus to study the planet and any activity from foreign powers. It was thought lost, but it suddenly returned to Earth. Steve and Rudy (yeah!) are sent to investigate.
Along the way, we get hints to little things from the series past, either as nods or as something tied into the current story arc. Some have argued that the first issue comes across as too fanwankery. Others have complained that the comic doesn't bare any resemblance to the show what with Callahan and Spencer looking different. I refer you to the before mentioned interview where James talked about what he and the artist Juanan Ramirez had to work with in terms of likenesses. Oscar, Steve, and Rudy are pretty good in terms of comic book likenesses. It's not perfect, and frankly I'm glad that they went with the early series hair styles for Steve rather than his season five wavy cut.
The one thing I was concerned about this series, which I addressed with James, was voice. Will these comic book images sound like our characters? As James clearly explained in the interview, he gave a lot of thought to who Steve Austin is and how he approaches things. He doesn't say a lot, but speaks volumes with a look or an action. The comic book nicely reflects this.
Like James, I'm not going to go into detail about what was great and what was wrong with the book. I say read it and judge it on your own. Every bionic fan comes to the table with his or her own memories, baggage, and problems with the series - whether it's early vs. later seasons, Steve's mustache, the real Rudy Wells, or just how lame the robot stories really are. This series cannot possibly please everyone if we try to look at it too closely. As long as James and the artists tell a good story and the characters sound like our heroes, I'm along for the ride and if this first issue is any indication, it looks like I'll be visiting my local comic store monthly, something I haven't done in twenty years.
All right, if we're going to be picky. Two things - Oscar's command desk. It needs monitors and buttons and more phones. And Steve's belt buckle and standard beige clothing. Yeah, it's minor, but it would be the icing on the cake for me. ;)
- John S. Drew
