Comic Review: Wonder Twins #1

Wonder Twins is published by DC Comics under their Wonder Comics imprint. It is written by Mark Russell with art by Stephen Byrne.

Two teenage twins, Jayna and Zan, have been exiled from unknown reasons from their home planet Exxor. Owing their father a favor, Superman decides to take them under his wing and bring them to Earth, where they will attend Metropolis High School as well as work at the Hall of Justice as interns. The twins are navigating not only an entirely new world and job, but are also going through their own changes as teenagers – some changes which those on Earth are not exactly familiar with…like Thunder lust – you’ll see what I mean.

I have an older brother. There’s a point to this, I promise. So I’m a younger sister by 2 years, and despite the age difference, we have always been mistaken for twins. It’s been a joke ever since we were little that we’re twins born two years apart. It’s also been a joke whenever we part ways to put our fists together and shout “WONDER TWIN POWERS, ACTIVATE!” and then proceed to assign a shape to morph in to. Despite the Wonder Twins being campy, they have always been characters I valued and enjoyed. When this comic was announce, I was pumped to read it. I had no idea if it would be good or bad, I just knew I had to read it. Let me tell you, it’s worth the read.

Mark Russell has this way of writing that’s snarky and funny, but it’s not overly campy. Zan has this brash confidence that isn’t like a stereotypical jock type or cocky, he just thinks he’s great and thinks everyone else feels the same way. So he can go through life in this bubble of feeling awesome, but he’s not a jerk about it, it’s just amusing.

Meanwhile, Jayna is much more shy yet still witty and sharp. She’s trying to come out of her shell but can’t help her nature. Of course, this makes their school lives interesting, but it makes working at the Hall of Justice that more intriguing. They interact with a number of characters, mainly Superman, but we also see Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and even some faces that will only be familiar if you watched the 1970s cartoon (definitely spotted El Dorado strutting down the hallway).

Stephen Byrne’s art is a perfect match here as well. It’s not too cartoon-y or comic book-y. It’s just got this good blend, I feel like that’s not the greatest way to explain it but it makes sense to me. I like the way everyone looks. I like that everything is so colorful and that there’s so much reminiscent of the old cartoon but it’s still an updated appearance. Russell and Byrne definitely know how to capture the nostalgia without overdoing it.

OVERALL SCORE: 9 / 10

I genuinely enjoyed this first issue. I found myself chuckling at the jokes, the witty retorts, the jabs at the old campy tv series, it was all done in such a clever way that makes it enjoyable even if you don’t know the old show.

Happy reading!