A question about "Isis" from the 70's TV series

[Utility Belt]

The character of Isis was created for the TV series as a companion the the Captain Marvel show of the time. DC published an Isis comic book which got cancelled after 8 issues. I own those 8 issues and believe me, it deserved to be cancelled.
Anyway, my question is: Did this version of Isis (not today's post-crisis one who appeared in the 52 series) ever appear anywhere in the DC Universe interacting with other characters? Maybe as a backup story or as a guest star somewhere?

[celticguy]

i don't think she survived the crisis.

[Eumenides]

Since those issues will never get reprinted, I'd thank you if you took some time sharing your thoughts about them. What was the series about and what was bad about it?

[The Scarlet Sapien]

i don't think she survived the crisis. I didn't know that she had any pre crisis appearances, actually.

[Utility Belt]

Since those issues will never get reprinted, I'd thank you if you took some time sharing your thoughts about them. What was the series about and what was bad about it?

First let me say that I bought those issues on Ebay out of pure nostalgia since I used to watch reruns of the Isis series when I was a kid.
The stories really suffer from "anything goes because Isis has magic powers" kind of storylines. The character was faithful to the TV series but the comic stories never rose above Scooby Doo material.
The last issue in paricular suffers from the most horrible artwork I've ever seen in a comic, an obvious rush job since they knew the series was at an end.

[Retro315]

Isis didn't survive the crISIS?

[Duy]

I'm almost 100% certain that though she was published by DC, she wasn't part of the DC Universe.

[Ontir]

That Isis is different than the one introduced last year. I believe Filmation, who produced the SHAZAM!/Isis Hour owns/owned the character. Several years later they included her in the short-lived series, Defenders of the Earth, IIRC, which also included licensed properties Flash Gordon, the Phantom and Mandrake the Magician.

As a result of this, I don't think she ever appeared in any DC Comic other than the show's tie-in.

[Jeff O.]

Before her self-titled comic book, Isis appeared with Captain Marvel in SHAZAM! No. 25.

http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=30183 (http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=30183)

The story was titled, "Isis...As in Crisis."

Though the SHAZAM! comic became somewhat like the SHAZAM! tv show (Uncle Dudley taking the mentor role that Mentor had on the show; Billy and Dudley traveling around the country), the comic was still set on Earth-S. Therefore, the comic-book version of Isis was a citizen of Earth-S, too.

I always figure there is an untold story from CRISIS where licensed characters who lived on Earth-S (such as Isis (http://www.comics.org/coverview.lasso?id=30183&zoom=4) and Captain Midnight (http://www.comics.org/coverview.lasso?id=2379&zoom=4)) fought bravely one last time before the multiverse collapsed/merged.


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[Utility Belt]

Thank you! This was what I was looking for. This Shazam comic confirms that Isis was part of the DC Universe, even if it was only as part of Earth S.

[celticguy]

I didn't know that she had any pre crisis appearances, actually.

the book he is talking about is pre crisis.Part of the shazam family of books.

[Sean Dulaney]

That Isis is different than the one introduced last year. I believe Filmation, who produced the SHAZAM!/Isis Hour owns/owned the character. Several years later they included her in the short-lived series, Defenders of the Earth, IIRC, which also included licensed properties Flash Gordon, the Phantom and Mandrake the Magician.

As a result of this, I don't think she ever appeared in any DC Comic other than the show's tie-in.

Actually, Defenders of the Earth was produced by Marvel Productions after or around the time Filmation went belly up. Filmation used Isis in (I want to say) the Super 7 along with their blonde teen version of Hercules.

[Ontir]

That's it!

I knew she was in an animated show as well. Web Woman was in there too.

[Bo-Man]

The Group Isis was a part of was called The Freedom Force that was with Filmation's Super 7 series. The Freedom Force members were Isis, Hercules w/ Pegasus, Sinbad w/ Lampri (a sidekick), Merlin, and Super Samurai/ Toshi. Other Filmation superheroes that appeared on the Super Seven show who were a not part of the Freedom Force were Web Woman, Superstretch and Microwoman, Manta and Moray. These heroes were in an action hour type format that featured also Tarzan, Batman ,and a live action sci-fi series Jason of Star Command.
The show started off by calling it Tarzan and The Super 7, then calling it Batman and the Super 7.

[Jeff O.]

While the ISIS comic was still being published by DC, Western Publishing Company published A GOLDEN ALL-STAR BOOK starring ISIS.

http://www.milehighcomics.com/cgi-bin/backissue.cgi?action=fullsize&issue=43087395389%201 (http://www.milehighcomics.com/cgi-bin/backissue.cgi?action=fullsize&issue=43087395389%201)

This was basically comic-book size, but with a sturdier cover than a comic. The contents were text stories illustrated with color, comic-book-like or storybook-like drawings of Isis in action.

[CBikle]

There's also the Captain Marvel- Isis crossover (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2ae8r9rC7g&feature=related) on YouTube.

Their first big meeting involves stopping local hoods and helping a fat girl get over her self-esteem issues.

[Jeff O.]

Technically, I think Isis's first appearance in comic books came in 1975 in this CBS ad for their Saturday Morning lineup.

http://www.toonarific.com/images/lineupads/CBS1975.jpg (http://www.toonarific.com/images/lineupads/CBS1975.jpg)


CBS ad for 1976 -- still with Captain Marvel

http://www.toonarific.com/images/lineupads/CBS1976.jpg (http://www.toonarific.com/images/lineupads/CBS1976.jpg)


CBS ad for 1977 -- Isis as a solo act

http://www.toonarific.com/images/lineupads/CBS1977.jpg (http://www.toonarific.com/images/lineupads/CBS1977.jpg)


CBS ad for 1979 -- Isis with The Freedom Force

http://www.toonarific.com/images/lineupads/CBS1979.jpg (http://www.toonarific.com/images/lineupads/CBS1979.jpg)


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[Jeff O.]

:wink: Although Mego ads are most likely out-of-continuity, the Isis doll was drawn in Superhero Shop / Heroes World ads alongside other DC heroes. (Marvel heroes, even.)

Art by the Joe Kubert School.


http://megomuseum.com/megolibrary/heroesworld/her1.jpg (http://megomuseum.com/megolibrary/heroesworld/her1.jpg) -- Isis seems to be doing synchronized dancing or swimming with Wonder Girl and the Teen Titans here.


http://megomuseum.com/megolibrary/heroesworld/hw06.jpg (http://megomuseum.com/megolibrary/heroesworld/hw06.jpg)


Okay, so the Isis and Wonder Girl dolls debuted at the same time.

But did the Isis doll ever meet the Wonder Woman doll? After all, Isis and WW were both big live-action TV stars.

Looks like these next Mego ads may be the closest the ladies came to meeting.


http://megomuseum.com/megolibrary/heroesworld/hw05.jpg (http://megomuseum.com/megolibrary/heroesworld/hw05.jpg) -- They're in the same room, and Wonder Woman and Isis are only separated by Speedy, but Wonder Woman's back is turned a bit. Was WW upset at the way Isis seemed to be taking Wonder Girl on as a sidekick?!?


And if Isis could be a big hero at 8" tall, why, Wonder Woman would make herself 12" tall to stand out!


http://megomuseum.com/megolibrary/heroesworld/comad2.jpeg (http://megomuseum.com/megolibrary/heroesworld/comad2.jpeg) -- No, there was no rivalry here.



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[Utility Belt]

Technically, I think Isis's first appearance in comic books came in 1975 in this CBS ad for their Saturday Morning lineup.

Whoa, Jeff O.! You certainly know your Isis! Those ads are great, and if I'm not mistaken, the first two TV ads are drawn by the incomparable Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, one of my favorite artists. Oh, if only he had drawn the comic series.

[Jeff O.]

Whoa, Jeff O.! You certainly know your Isis! Those ads are great, and if I'm not mistaken, the first two TV ads are drawn by the incomparable Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, one of my favorite artists. Oh, if only he had drawn the comic series.

Thanks! Yeah, I remember watching a commercial promoting ISIS maybe a week before the show debuted, first run as a kid in grade school, and man, did I think she was beautiful! That was one show I was sure to catch every week -- even though the episode where Bigfoot turned out to be just a tall human that people misunderstood was a real letdown!

I believe those first two CBS ads were drawn (or at least partly drawn) by Neal Adams. The GHOST BUSTERS scene and the ARK II scene especially look like Adams to me, and he was great at drawing celebrities (like Bill Cosby in the FAT ALBERT scenes and the cartoony Bob "Gilligan" Denver in the SPACE NUTS scene).

(In any event, Garcia-Lopez is one of my favorite artists, as well.)


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[RachelRules]

I loved Isis when I was a kid. I couldn't wait for Saturday mornings to watch it. And I rushed right out and bought the series when it came out on DVD. I also own the 8-issue series plus the harder backed comic and the original Shazam issue that the character first appeared in.

I always thought of the character as an Egyptian version of Wonder Woman. I guess that's why I liked it so much being a HUGE Wonder Woman fan. :tongue:

That's why I was so excited to see a new Isis show up. To have her married to Black Adam was a great idea but I was greatly disappointed at her "death" and the death of her brother. Has the character appeared in any other comics after the Black Adam mini? Any rumours on when she'll be back?:confused: