| Super Friends | |
|---|---|
1973–1974 season title card | |
| Genre | Superhero |
| Based on | Justice League byGardner Fox |
| Voices of | |
| Theme music composer | Hoyt Curtin Will Schaefer |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 9 |
| No. of episodes | 93 (184 segments)(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Joseph Barbera William Hanna |
| Producers | Lewis Marshall Iwao Takamoto |
| Running time |
|
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | September 8, 1973 (1973-09-08) – October 26, 1985 (1985-10-26) |
| Related | |
| The New Scooby-Doo Movies Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law | |
Super Friends is an Americananimated television series about a team ofsuperheroes which ran from 1973 to 1985[1] onABC as part of itsSaturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced byHanna-Barbera and was based on theJustice League of America and associatedcomic book characters published byDC Comics.[2] The title of the series varied from season to season, as did the superheroes on the team. Nine seasons, comprising a total of 93 episodes, were produced.
Over the years, the show existed under several titles:[3]
| Series | Season | Segments | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||||
| Super Friends (1973) | 1 | — | 16 | September 8, 1973 (1973-09-08) | December 22, 1973 (1973-12-22) | |
| The All-New Super Friends Hour | 1 | 60 | 15 | September 10, 1977 (1977-09-10) | December 10, 1977 (1977-12-10) | |
| Challenge of the Superfriends | 1 | 32 | 16 | September 9, 1978 (1978-09-09) | December 23, 1978 (1978-12-23) | |
| The World's Greatest SuperFriends | 1 | — | 8 | September 22, 1979 (1979-09-22) | November 10, 1979 (1979-11-10) | |
| Super Friends (1980) | 1 | 24 | 8 | September 13, 1980 (1980-09-13) | November 1, 1980 (1980-11-01) | |
| 2 | 18 | 6 | September 26, 1981 (1981-09-26) | October 31, 1981 (1981-10-31) | ||
| 3 | 24 | 8 | September 10, 1983 (1983-09-10) | October 29, 1983 (1983-10-29) | ||
| Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show | 1 | 16 | 8 | September 8, 1984 (1984-09-08) | October 27, 1984 (1984-10-27) | |
| The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians | 1 | 10 | 8 | September 7, 1985 (1985-09-07) | October 26, 1985 (1985-10-26) | |
Plotlines for the later series involved many of the familiarDC Comics super-villains, like the Joker and the Riddler, that the first incarnation of theSuper Friends did not. Instead, like the comic books, they focused on the far-fetched schemes of mad scientists and aliens, who were invariably revealed as being well-intentioned, and simply pursuing their goals through unlawful or disreputable means.[4] Typically, at the end of each story, a peaceful and reasonable discussion would be performed by the heroes to convince the antagonists to adopt more reasonable methods.[5]
The All-New Super Friends Hour departed somewhat from the previous series' formula by featuring villains using more elaborate methods to further their goals; as a rule they could not be reasoned with, requiring the heroes to use direct force to stop them. Beginning withChallenge of the Superfriends, several of the heroes' arch-villains from the comic books (such asLex Luthor and theRiddler) began to feature prominently in comic-style stories. Throughout the series, plots often wrapped themselves up neatly in the final minutes of an episode in the fashion of the typical comic books anddeus ex machina.[4]
In 1973, animation companyHanna-Barbera acquired rights to the DC Comics characters and partnered with theAmerican Broadcasting Company (ABC) to adapt theJustice League of America comic book fortelevision.[6] The network made several changes in the transition including the change of name toSuper Friends to "cut off any accusations of extreme patriotism".[6] Nevertheless, team members sometimes referred to themselves as the Justice League on the show. The violence common in superhero comics was toned down for a younger audience and to adhere to broadcast standards governing violence in 1970schildren's television.
As a DC Comics-based show, theSuper Friends franchise was owned by DC's parent companyWarner Bros., who later put the series into syndication.Cartoon Network, which had the rights to air most of the rest of the Hanna-Barbera library from its inception in 1992, was not able to airSuper Friends until after the merger of Warner Bros.' parent company,Time Warner and Cartoon Network's parent company,Turner Broadcasting System was completed in 1996. This merger also led to Warner Bros. taking control of Hanna-Barbera and all of its other assets as well. The series was owned by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons,DC Comics Entertainment,Warner Bros. Family Entertainment, andWarner Bros. Animation.
Super Friends first aired on ABC on September 8, 1973, featuring well-known DC charactersSuperman,Batman andRobin,Wonder Woman, andAquaman.[7] Superman, Batman and Robin, and Aquaman had each previously appeared in their own animated series produced byFilmation, and voice talent from these prior programs was brought in to work on the new show (with the exception ofMarvin Miller who was replaced byNorman Alden as the voice of Aquaman). Shortly before theSuper Friends series was developed, Superman and Wonder Woman also guest-starred in two episodes ofThe Brady Kids (voiced by Lennie Weinrib and Jane Webb under Filmation), while Batman and Robin appeared in two episodes ofThe New Scooby-Doo Movies.
In addition to the superheroes, a trio of sidekicks was introduced, each of whom were new characters not drawn from the comic books:Wendy and Marvin (voiced bySherry Alberoni andFrank Welker) andWonder Dog (also voiced by Welker), none of whom had any special abilities (save the dog's unexplained ability to reason and talk). The trio—or at least its human members—were depicted as detectives and/or superheroes-in-training; the "teen detectives and their talking animal"cliché, originally popularized byScooby-Doo, was typical in Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the 1970s.
Each episode began with the heroes responding to an emergency detected by the TroubAlert computer in theHall of Justice, which served as the headquarters of the team. Colonel Wilcox (voiced byJohn Stephenson), aU.S. Army official, was a recurring character who would act as a government liaison with the Super Friends during emergencies. Conflicts were usually resolved with the antagonists persuaded to adapt more reasonable methods to achieve their aims (with the assistance of the heroes). Natural disasters triggered by human (or alien) activity were often shown, and environmental themes featured strongly in the program. Three other DC Comics superheroes were featured as guest stars during this season:Flash,Plastic Man, andGreen Arrow; the latter two did not appear in any subsequent episodes of the series.
This first run ofSuper Friends, consisting of 16 one-hour episodes which were rerun several times, concluded on August 24, 1974. At this point, the series was cancelled, but interest in superheroes among ABC's prime-time viewers (with the success ofThe Six Million Dollar Man and the live-actionWonder Woman series) caused the network to reviveSuper Friends.[2] The original 16 episodes of the series were rebroadcast as a mid-season replacement, running from February 7, 1976, to September 3, 1977. These episodes were edited into half-hour versions. At the same time, DC Comics published aSuper Friends comic, which used Wendy and Marvin from issue #1 (November 1976) to #6 (August 1977). In the meantime, Hanna-Barbera began production on a revamped version of the show.
The All-New Super Friends Hour featured four animated shorts per program. Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog were dropped from this and all future TV iterations ofSuper Friends, and were replaced byWonder Twins Zan and Jayna, and their pet monkey,Gleek. Unlike Wendy and Marvin, Zan and Jayna had super powers. A total of 15 episodes were produced.Darrell McNeil of the Hanna-Barbera animation studios later explained the change in cast:
When the decision was made by ABC to renewSuper Friends three years after the first series' 1973 production, ABC and Hanna-Barbera wanted to ramp up (as much as they could) the series' action content. And since we were rampingthat up, that meant making all of our cast a bit more serious, and giving our five leads a bit more backup than three non-powered sidekicks. [New sidekicks] also helped emphasize the 'New' inAll-New Super Friends. [emphasis in original][8]
The show followed a basic format each week. The first segment of every show featured two of the heroes teaming up in a separate mini-story. The second segment featured a story with the Wonder Twins. The third segment was considered the primary adventure of the week, featuring the entire Super Friends roster (including the Wonder Twins) in a longer adventure. The fourth and final segment featured a story with one of the primary lineup and a "special guest star". This segment typically featured a problem that was solved using the guest star's unique abilities. The character ofApache Chief first appeared as a guest star in this series.
Between segments there were short spots with members of the Super Friends giving basic safety lessons, providing first-aid advice, demonstrating magic tricks, creating crafts, and presenting a two-part riddle featuring the week's primary plot line. This was the first season to feature two villains appearing in the comic books,Black Manta andGentleman Ghost. Each appeared in only one episode this season and each was somewhat modified for television.
The next season ofSuper Friends featured two segments:
The first segment of the program featured the established group of heroes: Superman, Batman and Robin, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and the Wonder Twins and Gleek. They were rerun with intro from theAll-New Super Friends Hour when in syndication in the early 1980s, but they are seldom seen in syndication since then.
The second half-hour of the show introduced theLegion of Doom, a team of 13 recurring foes who are the Super Friends' worst enemies. They used a swamp-based mechanical flying headquarters, the Hall of Doom, as a contrast to the Super Friends' gleaming Hall of Justice. A total of 16 episodes were produced.
Additional heroes who had previously appeared as guest stars were added to the roster as well, to make a total of 11. These included The Flash,Green Lantern, andHawkman from DC Comics and three Hanna-Barbera creations to reflect diversity:Black Vulcan,Apache Chief, andSamurai.
TheChallenge of the Superfriends segment was expanded to 90 minutes mid-season, with reruns of earlier episodes filling out the last half-hour.[8]
In the fall of 1979, theSuper Friends returned to their prior format, bringing back the original set of five DC superheroes and Zan, Jayna, and Gleek. Eight half-hour episodes were created for this run, with the majority of the season consisting of rebroadcasts ofThe All-New Super Friends Hour from 1977 to 1978 and The Super Friends segments fromChallenge of the Superfriends from 1978 to 1979. RenamedThe World's Greatest SuperFriends, this series began on September 22, 1979, and ran until September 27, 1980.[9]
RenamedSuperFriends in 1980, the series changed formats again, abandoning the production of half-hour episodes and producing seven-minute shorts. Each episode ofSuperFriends would feature a rerun from one of the previous six years and three new shorts. These new adventures featured appearances by the core group of five Super Friends and Zan, Jayna, and Gleek. There were also guest appearances from members previously depicted inChallenge of the Superfriends and the Hanna-Barbera-created heroEl Dorado, who was added to the show in 1981 to provide additional cultural diversity.
This would prove to be one of the longer-lived incarnations of the series (three years). A total of 22 episodes were produced.
For the 1982–1983 television season ABC ran half-hour reruns of shows from the previous seven seasons, with none of the seven-minute shorts rebroadcast. ABC called the rerun packageThe Best of the Super Friends.
Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros. had created asyndication package of the earlierSuper Friends series (co-distributed byLBS Communications); these were picked up by stations across the United States and typically broadcast on weekday afternoons. Not wishing to compete with the syndication programming, ABC dropped the series from the 1983–1984 Saturday morning television line-up but continued to fund the production of new episodes.[8] In total, 24 "lost episodes" were produced, and were intended to only be broadcast inAustralia. Three of these episodes received American airings whenSuper Friends returned to Saturday-morning ABC television the following year. The remainder aired on the USA Network in 1995, as part of theSuperman/Batman Adventures show. The 1983 Lost Episodes ofSuper Friends were released on DVD byWarner Home Entertainment (via DC Comics Entertainment,Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, and Warner Bros. Family Entertainment) in April 2009.[9]
Super Friends returned to ABC Saturday, September 8, 1984, with a new 30-minute program typically featuring two 11-minute stories per episode. This incarnation featured Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, and the Wonder Twins and Gleek, this time teamed up withFirestorm. In addition to this core group, episodes during this season also featured cameos by old (and new) Super Friends. The series ended August 31, 1985, and featured comic-book villains such asBrainiac,Lex Luthor,Mirror Master,Mr. Mxyzptlk,Darkseid, and his henchmen fromApokolips. This title of this season and the next featured the phrase "Super Powers" to tie in with atoy line produced byKenner.[8][10]
In the fall of 1985, the next version of Hanna-Barbera's depiction of the DC Comics heroes began, although it no longer carried theSuper Friends name. This series returned to a conventional lineup for the team, with a focus on teen membersCyborg and Firestorm. Once again headquartered at the Hall of Justice inMetropolis, the heroes battled such familiar foes as Lex Luthor, Brainiac, theScarecrow, and recurring villain Darkseid. It also contained the only appearances in the series byJoker,Penguin, theRoyal Flush Gang, andFelix Faust.
Notably, it is in this series that Batman's origin is depicted for the first time outside of comics.
The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians lasted one season before being canceled. The final new episode aired was "Escape from Space City" on October 26, 1985. This third cancellation would be the final one, andGalactic Guardians marked the end ofSuper Friends.
The core group of heroes made up the "Super Friends":
Other members and guest stars:
Junior Super Friends:
Supporting characters originally from DC comic books:
Thirteen villains composed theLegion of Doom during theChallenge of the Superfriends season:
Villains appearing independently from the Legion of Doom:
|
Beginning with the originalSuper Friends season, the opening narration describes the team's headquarters as "the great hall of the Justice League". The opening credits ofChallenge of the Superfriends names the Super Friends as theJustice League of America. In addition to the appearance of a JLA emblem on a communicator and a reference to a mission to repair the Justice League satellite, the Super Friends are often linked with the JLA. The Justice League satellite is the same design as the Justice League Satellite that appeared in the comics at the time, but is smaller than its comic book counterpart.
In January 2009,IGN listedSuper Friends as the 50th best animated television series.[11]
| Season | Episodes | Season premiere | Season finale | DVD title/volume | DVD release date and ASIN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | ASIN Number | |||||||
| 1 | 16 | September 8, 1973 | August 24, 1974 | Super Friends - Season 1: Volume 1 Super Friends - Season 1: Volume 2 | January 5, 2010 July 20, 2010 | B002S3Y1LQ B003F3NE4S | |||
| 2 | 15 | September 10, 1977 | September 2, 1978 | Super Friends - Season 2: The All-New Super Friends Hour, Volume 1 Super Friends - Season 2: The All-New Super Friends Hour, Volume 2 | January 8, 2008 January 27, 2009 | B000W2C28Y B001HRS8HW | |||
| 3 | 16 | September 9, 1978 | September 3, 1979 | Super Friends - Season 3: Challenge of the Superfriends, The First Season Super Friends - Season 3, Volume 2 | July 6, 2004 May 24, 2005 | B00023E88U B0007XFZMS | |||
| 4 | 8 | September 22, 1979 | September 27, 1980 | Super Friends - Season 4: The World's Greatest Super Friends, The Complete Series | April 23, 2013 | B00CREAO9O | |||
| 5 | 24 | September 13, 1980 | September 1, 1981 | Super Friends - Season 5: A Dangerous Fate, The Complete Series | July 23, 2013 | B00CM0DIT6 | |||
| 6 | 18 | September 26, 1981 | October 31, 1982 | Super Friends - Season 6: Super Friends! Legacy Of Super Powers, The Complete Season Six (6 on DVD label) | October 8, 2013 | B00DVKKWFE | |||
| 7 | 8 | September 10, 1983 | September 8, 1984 | Super Friends - Season 7: Super Friends The Lost Episodes | August 11, 2009 | B0027WNRV8 | |||
| 8 | 16 | September 8, 1984 | August 31, 1985 | Super Friends - Season 8: The Legendary Super Powers Show, The Complete Series | August 7, 2007 | B000PC8AKK | |||
| 9 | 10 | September 11, 1985 | November 6, 1986 | Super Friends - Season 9: The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians, The Complete Series | October 23, 2007 | B000TSTEJG | |||
On January 18 and 25, 1979, Hanna-Barbera ran two one-hour live-action specials under the umbrella titleLegends of the Superheroes. The first special, "The Challenge", was loosely based on the Super Friends and the 1960sBatman series and included several other DC characters who replaced Samurai, Black Vulcan, and Apache Chief:Black Canary,Huntress, andCaptain Marvel. The second special, "The Roast", featuredEd McMahon as emcee of the roast, along the lines ofThe Dean Martin Celebrity Roast specials. Due to Warner Bros.' contracts on Wonder Woman and Superman, the characters were unable to be featured on the specials.
Plastic Man appeared in the first season ofSuper Friends, in one episode. Later,Ruby-Spears Productions released a series starring the character in his own solo adventures.
A Batman animated series was also considered in the mid-1980s, presumably withAdam West reprising his role as the voice of Batman.[citation needed] "The Fear" was written as a pilot episode for the series, but was instead adapted into an episode ofThe Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians.
In 1983, a cartoon based uponThe New Teen Titans comics began development. It was created as a companion for theSuper Friends, to be set in the same continuity. Robin was not going to be featured in the cartoon though, at least not as a regular, since in theSuper Friends universe, he was a member of the Justice League. LikeSuper Friends, the show was to be developed by Hanna-Barbera for ABC, but since shows likeThe Smurfs (airing onNBC) were so popular at the time, this show was never picked up by the network. The show would have featuredWonder Girl as the leader, along withCyborg,Kid Flash,Changeling,Raven, andStarfire. Although the show failed to get picked up, a television commercial with a substance abuse theme did feature the Titans, as they would have appeared in the animated series, along with a new superhero named theProtector who would have been the replacement character for Robin. A Teen Titans animated TV program was eventuallyproduced, adding Robin and removing Wonder Girl, Kid Flash and Protector.
Fisher-Price developed a toy line named DC Super Friends featuring DC Comics characters as toys for young children. A comic book series and direct-to-video original animation calledThe Joker's Playhouse (2010) was developed to tie-in. The video features the World's Greatest Super Friends theme, allusions to the Legion of Doom, and the Super Friends and their Hall of Justice.
The first use of theSuper Friends name on aDC Comics publication was inLimited Collectors' Edition #C-41 (December 1975-January 1976) which reprinted stories fromJustice League of America #36 and 61 and featured a new framing sequence by writerE. Nelson Bridwell and artistAlex Toth.[12][13] DC published acomic book version of theSuper Friends from November 1976 to August 1981. The comic book series was launched by Bridwell and artistRic Estrada.[14] Zan and Jayna were given back stories and secret identities as a pair of blond-haired high school kids; they were more competent heroes than their animated counterparts.
While the television cartoons were not part of the same fictional universe as the DC comic books, Bridwell made the comic book accord with the other DC titles viafootnotes.
In 2008, DC began publishing a newSuper Friends comic book starring Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash (Wally West) and Green Lantern (John Stewart). Based on the eponymousImaginext toyline, it is aimed at children (being part of theJohnny DC imprint), with an art style reminiscent to that of Marvel'sSuper Hero Squad. Written by Sholly Fisch with art mainly from Dario Brizuela,Stewart McKenny andJ. Bone (who was cover artist throughout the series), it ran for 29 issues, from May 2008 to September 2010.
In the comics, the Wonder Twins were members of the short-livedJLI offshootExtreme Justice.
Young Justice follows the adventures of a group composed of teenage heroesRobin,Superboy,Impulse, andWonder Girl. Towards the end of the run, Young Justice was involved in a mission which required them to invade an island whose population was made up of super-villains. The core team recruits various other teenage heroes, including the Wonder Twins, to attack the island.
The lighthearted nature ofSuper Friends was spoofed in the 2000s with two DCminiseries,Formerly Known as the Justice League andI Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League!. In these miniseries the group is known as the "Super Buddies", and consists of a team of ex-Justice League members. A television advertisement for the team shows them posing in the postures of the originalSuper Friends title card.
InTeen Titans #34 (2006), Wendy and Marvin are introduced into the mainline DC continuity. They are depicted asfraternal twins, and are employed atTitans Tower as maintenance crew and mechanical troubleshooters. Wonder Dog was also introduced into the series, depicted as a demon who was sent to Titans Tower to kill the team. Wonder Dog kills Marvin and cripples Wendy, leaving herparaplegic. Wendy is a supporting character in theBatgirl series, where she receives help accepting her disabilities from former BatgirlBarbara Gordon.
During the events of the 2005 company-wideInfinite Crisis crossover theJustice League Watchtower was destroyed bySuperboy-Prime, leaving the JLA without a base of operations. To that end, the team established the Hall of Justice in Washington, D.C. to act as an embassy for the team and an emergency base of operations if needed. In the continuity of the comics, the Hall was designed byGreen Lantern and Wonder Woman. InJustice League of America #46 (2010)Samurai made his first appearance in theDC Universe, where he was shown as one of the heroes driven temporarily insane byAlan Scott's power.
Issue #77 ofWizard magazine parodied the Super Friends; the JLA was sent through a dimensional rift and met some of the Super Friends. AfterMartian Manhunter used his Martian vision to melt the villain and his machine, the Super Friends decided to send the Justice Leaguers back to their own dimension. As a jest, the magazine also ran anApril Fool's promotion for a Wonder Twins special byAlex Ross. The book, entitledWonder Twins: Form of Water, was to be one of Ross' oversized books chronicling the Justice League. The plot would see Zan and Jayna using their powers for charity efforts after Gleek contracts rabies from severe dehydration.
In theElseworldsone-shotSuperman and Batman: World's Funnest,Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk travel to different worlds within the DC Universe. On one of them, they encounter the Super Friends.
TheUltimen, loosely based on characters created for the Super Friends, appear in theJustice League Unlimited episode "Ultimatum", as allies and later antagonists to the League. The Ultimen consisted ofLong Shadow (based onApache Chief),Juice (based onBlack Vulcan),Wind Dragon (based onSamurai), andDownpour and Shifter (based on theWonder Twins). They are a group of superheroes created byProject Cadmus to be loyal to the government, withMaxwell Lord as their manager. Additionally, they are genetically unstable and have short lifespans, being continuously cloned and implanted with false memories.
The Wonder Twins appear in theSmallville episode "Idol", with Zan portrayed byDavid Gallagher and Jayna byAllison Scagliotti.
The Hall of Justice appears inYoung Justice as a decoy base that hides the existence of theWatchtower. Additionally, Wendy and Marvin appear as classmates ofConner Kent andMegan Morse.
In the second season, approximations of the minority members created forSuper Friends are introduced as teenagers who had theirmetahuman abilities activated by theReach. The group consists ofTye Longshadow (Apache Chief),AsamiKoizumi (Samurai), andEduardo "Ed" Dorado Jr. (El Dorado). The exception is Black Vulcan, whose place is taken byStatic.
The Wonder Twins appear in theTeen Titans Go! episode "You're Fired!", where they apply to replaceBeast Boy after he is fired from the Teen Titans.
InThe Lego Batman Movie, the cast of theSuper Friends are seen celebrating an anniversary party in the Fortress of Solitude, which Batman was not invited to, featuring characters like El Dorado, the Wonder Twins, Gleek, and Wonder Dog.
The Super Friends make a minor appearance inTeen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse, consisting of Superman, Batman, Robin (Dick Grayson), Wonder Woman, and Aquaman.
The All-New Super Friends Hour incarnation of the Super Friends make a cameo appearance inJustice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, consisting of Superman, Batman, Robin (Dick Grayson), Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and the Wonder Twins.
The Hall of Justice appears as a stage inInjustice: Gods Among Us.
The Hall of Justice and the Hall of Doom appear as stages inLego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.
The Super Powers toy line (and associated tie-in merchandise) was based on the final two seasons ofSuper Friends. Samurai, an original character from the show, and the Hall of Justice were both released. Plans for future waves from Super Powers would have also included Apache Chief, El Dorado, Black Vulcan and the Wonder Twins.
The toy line based onJustice League Unlimited released a three pack of figures from characters created forSuper Friends, namely Black Vulcan, Apache Chief and Samurai. They were chosen over the Ultimen characters that actually appeared in the JLU animated series: Juice, Long Shadow, and Wind Dragon.
Fisher-Price began to produce DC Comics characters in a kid-friendly toyline named after theSuper Friends.
Paying homage to Super Powers, DC Universe Classics produced originalSuper Friends characters such as Apache Chief, Black Vulcan, El Dorado, Samurai and the Wonder Twins.
Hanna-Barbera's animatedSuper Friends proved so successful that DC brought the concept full circle, adapting the show into a comic. Scribe E. Nelson Bridwell and artist Ric Estrada crafted the inaugural issue.