Suvudu Universe

Honestly, I don't know why I keep requesting digital ARCs of graphic novels. Firstly, I don't find them at all comfortable to read. There's far too much zooming and panning involved to read them comfortably, regardless of the device. Secondly, as much as I understand the need to protect the content, the downgraded quality are a huge distraction. This was better than most, in that the text was rendered crisp and clear, with just the images fuzzy and blurred, but that's a distraction all on its own.

Anyway, I managed to persevere, and even if the reading experience was largely lacking, I thoroughly enjoyed the story behind Six Million Dollar Man: Season 6. It had a very retro 70s look and feel to it that reminded me of the Saturday afternoon sci-fi shows I enjoyed as a kid. This is not a reboot, a rehash, or an update, but a comic book sequel that picks up after the end of the last televised season, as if no time at all had passed. Not only that, but it draws fan favorite action figure Maskatron into the story, with OSI looking to phase out bionics in favor of the new technology.

Yeah, great idea. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

Really, this was just about everything I could have asked for in a continuation of the original series. It has all the glorious cheese of the era (right down to the clothing, the dialogue, and the special effects) and the same kinds of ridiculous plots and monsters, but without the budget constraints of broadcast TV. The Russians are once again the worst enemies American can dream of (especially with their giant robot program), space exploration is still daring and cool (with a dangerous hitchhiker returning on the Venus space probe), and the cool new technology of day (cassette tapes) has already been weaponized.

Revisiting a beloved classic television show is dangerous stuff. I've lost track of how many times Knight Rider has been rebooted now, but none of them were any good. Despite it's geek acclaim, the gritty new Battlestar Galactica didn't work for me at all. I was really looking forward to the reboot of V, but felt it completely missed the point of the original. The A-Team seemed to have the perfect cast, but squandered an opportunity by going for generic action-parody. For that reason alone, Six Million Dollar Man: Season 6 deserves serious kudos. It may not be the greatest comic book series ever written, but it absolutely nails the material, and offers up precisely the dose of nostalgia that I was looking for.

Paperback, 144 pages
Published January 6th 2015 by Dynamite Entertainment