Black Diamond (1983-84)

Black Diamond (1983-84)

Author: Various | Illustrators: Various | 5 Issues, approx 34 pages each

"Don't panic! I just want your outfit!"

A short-lived comicbook that presents itself as a movie tie-in, albeit one that launched before the movie it's supposed to tie-in with. So far so good, but the onscreen version never happened, so the comic is all we have to give us an idea of what the movie's story might've been like. (I've added a few promo shots of lead actress Sibyl Danning in costume at the post's end, for anyone interested.)

The basic premise is as follows: Tiana Matthews is a successful fashion model for Multmonde, a role that sees her traverse borders for fashion shoots, etc. But secretly, Tiana is also an agent for INFO COM THREE, a role that sees her traverse borders for spy antics and action shootouts, etc. Her code name in the second scenario is Black Diamond. [1]

Her greatest enemy is an international crime cartel known as QUANSA. If you're thinking that sounds kinda like James Bond and SPECTRE, then your thinking is correct. It's spy fiction with gadgets and ridiculous world-domination plans.

However, there's a laudable attempt to present stories that are more than just bitch-fights in high heels, and sometimes it even works. Likewise, the artwork and colouring are all of a higher standard than you may expect to find in a publication that on the surface seems to have been aimed at people who thought the Bond format could work just as well with a sexy female lead.

In addition to Black Diamond herself, the comic had a second strip featuring an equally strong female lead with her own tragic backstory. Titled COLT, it followed the exploits of a skilled weapons mistress named Valencia Kirk, who's like a cross between Zorro and the Lone Ranger.

Supplementary content includes a few interviews with Ms Danning, which was really just promotion for the movie, but they may please fans of the actress on multiple levels.

The Black Diamond comicbook lasted just five issues before getting cancelled. It's never been collected in a TPB, as far as I know. As previously mentioned, the movie never got made.

[1] The most prominent 'diamond' motif when she's in costume is the tit-widow that draws the eye towards her cleavage, which, you'll note, isn't black. The title is instead made relevant by the addition of a small black diamond on her belt. It's a good thing she wasn't Black Triangle.

-Promo / Production pics of the never-finished BD Movie.--