Category: DC Superhero

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Legion of Super-Heroes: Archive Edition Volume 4


By Jerry Siegel, Edmond Hamilton, Otto Binder, Jim Mooney, John Forte, George Papp & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 1-56389-123-9

Once upon a time, in the far future, a band of super-powered kids from a multitude of worlds took inspiration from the greatest legend of all time and formed a club of heroes. One day those Children of Tomorrow came back in time and invited their inspiration to join them…

And thus began the vast and epic saga of the Legion of Super-Heroes, as first envisioned by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino in early 1958, just as the revived comicbook genre of superheroes was gathering an inexorable head of steam. Since that time the fortunes and popularity of the Legion have perpetually waxed and waned, with their future history tweaked and rebooted, retconned and overwritten over and again to comply with editorial diktat and popular whim.

This sturdy, charm-soaked, action packed fourth full-colour deluxe hardback collection continues to re-present those early tales from the disparate Superman Family titles in chronological order: the sagas from their own feature spanning Adventure Comics #329-339, plus Legion-starring tales from Superboy #124 and 125, covering February to December 1965 cover-dates.

This period began the Tomorrow Team’s slow transformation from wholesome, imaginative, humorous and generally safe science fiction strip to a more dramatic and even grittily realistic combat force in constant peril and, after an informative Foreword from sometime Legion Editor KC Carlson, one of the last truly whimsical cases opens this collection.

The madcap merriment occurred when the heroes had to confront and outwit the topsy-turvy threat of their own imperfect doppelgangers in Adventure Comics #329’s ‘The Bizarro Legion!’ (by Jerry Siegel & Jim Mooney) after which a nefarious juvenile criminal infiltrated the LSH intending to destroy them all from within in ‘Secret of the Mystery Legionnaire!’ by the same creative team.

The dastardly plans proceeded without a hitch until the victorious Dynamo-Boy recruited the malevolent adult meta-criminals Lightning Lord, Cosmic King and Saturn Queen, consequently falling victim to ‘The Triumph of the Legion of Super-Villains!’ in #331.

Rescued and restored, the valiant young heroes were back in Adventure #332 to face ‘The Super-Moby Dick of Space!’ (Edmond Hamilton & John Forte) wherein the recently resurrected Lightning Lad suffered crippling injuries and an imminent nervous breakdown…

‘The War Between Krypton and Earth!’ in #333, (Hamilton, Forte & George Klein), had the time-travelling team flung far back into the our world’s antediluvian past and split into internecine factions on opposite sides of a conflict forgotten by history, after which ‘The Unknown Legionnaire!’ (Hamilton, Forte & Sheldon Moldoff) posed a perilous puzzle with an inadvertently oppressed and overlooked race’s entire future at stake…

The same creative team then introduced deadly super-villain ‘Starfinger!’ in #335 who framed a luckless Legionnaire for his incredible crimes before ‘The True Identity of Starfinger!’ (inked by Klein) was revealed, allowing the entire squad to focus on the real menace.

Superboy #124 (October 1965, by Otto Binder & George Papp) featured Lana Lang as ‘The Insect Queen of Smallville!’ who was rewarded with a shape-changing ring after rescuing a trapped alien. Naturally she used her new abilities to ferret out Clark Kent’s secrets…

Adventure #337 highlighted ‘The Weddings that Wrecked the Legion!’ by Hamilton, Forte & Moldoff as two couples resigned to marry. However, there was serious method in the seeming marital madness…

Long absent Bête Noir the Time Trapper at last returned in #338 when Siegel & Forte revealed ‘The Menace of the Sinister Super-Babies!’ with sultry Glorith of Baaldur using the Chronal Conqueror’s devices to turn everybody but Superboy and Brainiac 5 into mewling infants. When they turned the tables on the villains a new era dawned for the valiant Tomorrow Teens…

Superboy #125 (November 1965) signalled darker days ahead by introducing a legion reservist with a tragic secret in ‘The Sacrifice of Kid Psycho!’ (Binder & Papp), after which Hamilton, Forte & Moldoff told the bittersweet tale of disaffected and tormented Lallorian hero Beast Boy who turned against humanity in Adventure Comics #339’s ‘Hunters of the Super-Beasts!’ to bring this sterling collection to a solidly entertaining end.

The slow death of whimsy and move from light-hearted escapades to daily life and death struggles would culminate in tragedy and triumph in the next edition…

The Legion is undoubtedly one of the most beloved and bewildering creations in comicbook history and largely responsible for the growth of the groundswell movement that became American Comics Fandom.

Moreover, these sparkling, simplistic and devastatingly addictive stories – with full creator biographies and a glorious gallery of covers from the sublime art-team of Curt Swan & George Klein – as much as Julie Schwartz’s Justice League fired up the interest and imaginations of a generation of young readers and underpinned the industry we all know today.

These naive, silly, joyous, stirring and utterly compelling yarns are precious and fun beyond any ability to explain. If you love comics and haven’t read this stuff, you are the poorer for it and need to enrich your future life as soon as possible.
© 1964, 1965, 1992, 1993, 1994 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Outsiders volume 2: Sum of All Evil


By Judd Winick, Tom Raney, Will Conrad, Tom Derenick & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-0243-8

Once upon a time superheroes, like firemen, sat around their assorted lairs or went about their civilian pursuits until the call of duty summoned them to deal with a breaking emergency. In the grim and gritty world after Crisis on Infinite Earths, the concept evolved with a number of costumed adventurers evolving into pre-emptive strikers…

After the deaths of a number of Teen Titan comrades, Arsenal convinced the heartbroken Nightwing to run a covert and pre-emptive pack of professed “hunters” to seek out and take down metahuman threats and extraordinary criminals before they could harm innocent lives or create chaos…

This second compendium collects issues #8-15 of the compelling and controversial Outsiders comicbook, ramping up the action and alienation even further as disaster and the tensions of living life outside the rules begins to take its inevitable toll…

This volume eschews individual issue titles but for your convenience and mine I’ve supplied them when applicable. The drama commences with the three-part ‘Devil’s Work’ by Judd Winick, Tom Raney & Sean Parsons as Arsenal, recovering from multiple gunshot wounds, calls in brutal vigilante The Huntress to bolster the team over the strident objections of Nightwing. Meanwhile Russian mobster Ishmael Gregor slaughters a bus full of people as the opening gambit in his scheme to steal the demonic powers of one-time super-villain Sabbac and bring about Hell on Earth…

The action continues in ‘Lightning from Above and Below’ (inked by Scott Hanna) as the new Sabbac (a supernatural super-being sponsored by devil-lords Satan, Any, Belial, Beeelzebub, Asmodeus and Craeteis in the way the ancient gods empowered Captain Marvel) trounces and severely wounds Jade, Thunder and especially Grace, prompting veteran hero Black Lightning to step in. Even with his aid the heroes are hard-pressed to stop Gregor and turn back an invasion of demons until Captain Marvel Jr. shows up in the concluding ‘A Family Matter’…

A dark change of pace is offered with ‘Scream without Raising Your Voice’ illustrated by Will Conrad & Sean Parsons, as Arsenal comes to terms with the psychological trauma of taking a machine-gun burst to the chest helped by different kinds of tough love from Grace and Nightwing…

The remainder of the book is taken up with a spectacular battle with a resurgent Fearsome Five beginning with the prologue ‘Out with the New, In with the Old’ (Winick, Tom Derenick & Kevin Conrad) as fugitive mad scientist Dr. Sivana recruits and manipulates murderous metahuman Gizmo, Psimon, Jinx and Mammoth by promising to resurrect their dead comrade Shimmer, whilst the Outsiders’ solidarity and resolve begins to crumble after Huntress quits.

‘Five by Five’ opens with ‘New Business’ (art by Raney) as the restored Fearsome Five begin raiding numerous LexCorp holdings for Sivana, forcing the heroes to break into smaller teams and chase them down.

‘Strength in Numbers’ sees the Outsiders thoroughly beaten and only narrowly escaping with their lives prompting the quintet of super-psychopaths to turn on their boss. Going their own way the manic villains concoct a plan to gain global respect by nuking Canada with twenty-three stolen nuclear missiles.

As the battered Outsiders race to stop them, neither side is aware that the whole thing is a warped, Byzantine plan by an outside party to make a real killing…

Razor-sharp, rocket-paced, action-packed and edgily affecting, Outsiders was one of the very best series pursuing the “strike first and strike hard” hero-concept, generating some of the most compelling Fights ‘n’ Tights action of the last decade. Still punchy, evocative and extremely readable, these thrillers will delight older fans of the genre.
© 2004 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Showcase Presents Martian Manhunter volume 1


By Jack Miller, Joe Samachson, Joe Certa & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-1368-8

As the 1950’s opened, comicbook superheroes were in a steep decline, giving way to a steady stream of genre-based he-men and “Ordinary Joes” in extraordinary circumstances.

By the time the “Red-baiting”, witch-hunting Senate hearings and media investigations into causes of juvenile delinquency had finished, the industry was further depleted by the excision of any sort of mature content or themes.

The self-imposed Comics Code Authority took all the hard edges out of the industry, banning horror and crime comics whilst leaving their ghostly, sanitised anodyne shades to inhabit the remaining adventure, western, war and fantasy titles that remained.

American comics could have the bowdlerised concept of evil and felonious conduct but not the simplest kind of repercussion: a world where mad scientists plotted to conquer humanity without killing anybody and cowboys shot guns out of opponents’ hands and severed gun-belts with a well-aimed bullet without ever drawing blood…

Moreover no civil or government official or public servant could be depicted as anything other than a saint…

With corruption, venality and menace removed from the equation, comics were forced to supply punch and tension to their works via mystery and imagination – but only as long as it all had a rational, non-supernatural explanation…

Arguably the first superhero of the Silver Age, beating by a year the new Flash (who launched in Showcase #4 cover-dated October 1956) the series depicting the clandestine adventures of stranded alien scientist J’onn J’onzz was initially entitled John Jones, Manhunter from Mars; a decent being unwillingly trapped on Earth who fought crime secretly using his incredible powers, knowledge and abilities with no human even aware of his existence.

However even before that low key debut Batman #78 trialled the concept in ‘The Manhunter From Mars!’ (August/September 1953) wherein Edmund Hamilton, Bob Kane, Lew Sayre Schwartz & Charlie Paris told the tales of Roh Kar, a lawman from the Fourth Planet who assisted the Dynamic Duo in capturing a Martian bandit plundering Gotham City. That stirring yarn opens this first magnificent monochrome compendium which also includes the eccentric and often formulaic but never disappointing back-up series from Detective Comics #225 to 304, covering November 1955 – June 1962.

In one of the longest tenures in DC comics’ history, all the art for the series was by veteran illustrator Joe Certa (1919-1986), who had previously worked for the Funnies Incorporated comics “Shop”. His credits included work on Captain Marvel Junior and assorted genre titles for Magazine Enterprises (Dan’l Boone, Durango Kid), Lev Gleason’s crime comics, Harvey romance titles, whilst for DC he drew nautical sleuth Captain Compass and many anthology tales for such titles as Gang Busters and House of Mystery. Certa also drew the newspaper strip Straight Arrow and ghosted the long-lived boxing strip Joe Palooka. In the 1970s he moved to Gold Key, working on TV adaptations, mystery tales and all-ages horror stories.

At the height of US Flying Saucer fever John Jones, Manhunter from Mars debuted in Detective Comics #225, November 1955, as ‘The Strange Experiment of Dr. Erdel’ (written by Joe Samachson) described how a reclusive genius built a robot-brain which could access Time, Space and the Fourth Dimension, accidentally plucking an alien scientist from his home on Mars. After a brief conversation with his unfortunate guest, Erdel succumbed to a heart attack whilst attempting to return the incredible J’onn J’onzz to his point of origin.

Marooned on Earth the Martian realises his new home is riddled with the primitive cancer of Crime and determines to use his natural abilities (which included telepathy, mind-over-matter psychokinesis, shape-shifting, invisibility, intangibility, super-strength, speed, flight, vision, invulnerability and many others) to eradicate the evil, working clandestinely disguised as a human policeman. His only concern is the commonplace chemical reaction of fire which saps Martians of all their mighty powers…

With his name Americanised to John Jones he enlisted as a Police Detective and with #226’s ‘The Case of the Magic Baseball’ began a long and peril-fraught career tackling a variety of Earthly thugs and mobsters, beginning with the sordid case of Big Bob Michaels – a reformed ex-con and baseball player blackmailed into throwing games by a gang of crooked gamblers – and continuing in ‘The Man with 20 Lives’ where the mind-reading cop impersonated a ghost to force a confession from a hard-bitten killer.

The tantalising prospect of a return to Mars confronted Jones in the Dave Wood scripted ‘Escape to the Stars’ (issue #228) when criminal scientist Alex Dunster cracked the secret of Erdel’s Robot Brain, but duty overruled selfish desire and the mastermind destroyed his stolen super-machine when Jones arrested him…

With Detective #229 Jack Miller took over as series writer with ‘The Phantom Bodyguard’ as the Hidden Hero signed on to protect a businessman from his murderous partner and discovered a far more complex plot unfolding, whilst #230’s ‘The Sleuth Without a Clue’ found the Covert Cop battling a deadline to get the goods on a vicious gang just as a wandering comet was causing his powers to malfunction…

Detective Comics #231 saw the series shift towards its sci fi roots in ‘The Thief who had Super Powers!’ as an impossible bandit proved to be another refugee from the Fourth Planet after which ‘The Dog with a Martian Master’ proved to be another delightful if fanciful animal champion before Jones returned to crime-busting and clandestine cops and robbers capers by becoming ‘The Ghost From Outer Space’ in #233.

The cop went undercover in a prison to thwart a smart operator in #234’s ‘The Martian Convict’, infiltrated a circus as ‘The World’s Greatest Magician’ to catch a Phantom Thief and finally re-established contact with his distant family to solve ‘The Great Earth-Mars Mystery’ in #236 and saw out 1956 as ‘The Sleuth Who went to Jail’ – this time one operated by crooks – and lost his powers becoming ‘Earth Detective for a Day’ in #238.

In Detective #239 (January 1957) ‘Ordeal By Fire!’ found the Anonymous Avenger transferred to the Fire Department to track down an arson ring whilst in ‘The Hero Maker’ Jones surreptitiously used his powers to help a retiring cop go out on a high before another firebug targeting historical treasures provided ‘The Impossible Manhunt’ in #241.

Jones thought he’d be safe as a underwater officer in ‘The Thirty Fathom Sleuth’ but even there flame found a way to menace him after which he battled legendary Martian robot Tor in #243’s ‘The Criminal from Outer Space’ before doubling for an endangered actor in ‘The Four Stunts of Doom’ and busting a clever racket utilising ‘The Phantom Fire Alarms’ in #245.

As a back-up feature expectations were never particularly high but occasionally all the formula elements gelled together to produce exemplary and even superb adventure tales such as #246’s ‘John Jones’ Female Nemesis’ which introduced in the pert, perky and pestiferous form of trainee policewoman Diane Meade who, being a 1950’s woman, naturally had romance in mind, but was absent for the next equally engaging thriller wherein the indomitable cop puzzled over ‘The Impossible Messages’ of scurrilous smugglers and the marvellous tales of ‘The Martian Without a Memory’ in #248. Struck by lightning, Jones used deductive skill to discern his lost identity and almost exposed his own extraterrestrial secret in the process…

In Detective #249 ‘Target for a Day’ the Martian disguised himself as the State Governor marked for death by a brutal gang whilst as ‘The Stymied Sleuth!’ in #250 he was forced to stay in hospital to protect his alien identity as radium thieves ran amok in town, after which he seemingly became a brilliant crook himself… ‘Alias Mr. Zero’.

Issue #252 saw Jones battle a scientific super-criminal in ‘The Menace of the Super-Weapons’ before infiltrating a highly suspicious newspaper as ‘The Super Reporter!’ and invisibly battling rogue soldiers as ‘The One-Man Army’ in #254.

The Hidden Hero attempted to foil an audacious murder-plot that encompassed the four corners of the Earth in the ‘World-Wide Manhunt!’ after which #256’s ‘The Carnival of Doom’ pitted him against canny crooks whilst babysitting a VIP kid and #257 found the Starborn Sleuth committing spectacular crimes to trap the ‘King of the Underworld!’

In Detective #258 Jones took an unexpectedly dangerous vacation cruise on ‘The Jinxed Ship’ and returned to tackle another criminal genius in ‘The Getaway King’ before helping a desolate and failing fellow cop in the heart-warming tale of ‘John Jones’ Super-Secret’, after which a shrink ray reduced him to ‘The Midget Manhunter!’ in #261.

An evil mastermind used beasts for banditry in ‘The Animal Crime Kingdom’ whilst a sinister stage magician tested the Manhunter’s mettle and wits in #263’s ‘The Crime Conjurer!’ before the hero’s hidden powers were almost exposed when cheap hoods found a crashed capsule and unleashed ‘The Menace of the Martian Weapons!’

Masked and costumed villains were still a rarity when J’onzz tackled ‘The Fantastic Human Falcon’ in #265 whilst ‘The Challenge of the Masked Avenger’ was the only case for a new – and inept – wannabe hero, after which the Martian’s sense of duty and justice forced him to forego a chance to return home in #267’s ‘John Jones’ Farewell to Earth’…

Another menacing fallen meteor resulted in ‘The Mixed-Up Martian Powers’ whilst a blackmailing reporter almost became ‘The Man who Exposed John Jones’ in Detective #269, after which a trip escorting an extradited felon from Africa resulted in J’onzz becoming ‘The Hunted Martian’.

The Manhunter’s origin was revisited in #271 when Erdel’s robot-brain accidentally froze his powers and resulted in ‘The Lost Identity’ before death threats compelled Jones’ boss to appoint a well-meaning hindrance in the form of ‘The Super-Sleuth’s Bodyguard’…

By the time Detective Comics #273 was released (November 1959) the Silver Age superhero revival was in full swing and with a plethora of new costumed characters catching the public imagination old survivors like Green Arrow, Aquaman and others were given a thorough makeover. Perhaps the boldest was the new direction taken by the Manhunter from Mars as his existence on Earth was revealed to all mankind when he very publicly battled and defeated a criminal from his home world in ‘The Unmasking of J’onn J’onzz’.

As part of the revamp J’onzz had lost the ability to use his powers whilst invisible and perforce became a very high-profile superhero. At least his vulnerability to common flame was still a closely guarded secret…

This tale was promptly followed by the debut of incendiary villain ‘The Human Flame’ in #274 and the introduction of a secret identity-hunting romantic interest as policewoman Diane Meade returned in ‘John Jones’ Pesky Partner’ in #275.

‘The Crimes of John Jones’ found the new champion an amnesiac pawn of mere bank robbers but another fantastic foe debuted in #277 with ‘The Menace of Mr. Moth’ after which invading Venusians almost caused ‘The Defeat of J’onn J’onzz’ and a hapless millionaire inventor almost wrecked the city by accident with ‘The Impossible Inventions’…

Advance word of an underworld plot forced the Manhunter to become ‘Bodyguard to a Bandit’ and keep a crook out of prison, whilst ‘The Menace of Marsville’ in #281 inadvertently gave criminals powers to equal his and a fallen meteorite temporarily turned Diane into ‘The Girl with the Martian Powers’ – or did it…?

To help out an imperilled ship captain J’onzz became ‘The Amazing One-Man Crew’ whilst in #284 Diane tried to seduce her partner in ‘The Courtship of J’onn J’onzz’ unaware of his extraterrestrial origins after which monster apes tore up the city in ‘The Menace of the Martian Mandrills!’

Detective #286 saw ‘His Majesty, John Jones’ stand in for an endangered Prince in a take on The Prisoner of Zenda before ‘J’onn J’onzz’s Kid Brother’ T’omm was briefly stranded on Earth. Only one of the siblings could return…

‘The Case of the Honest Swindler’ in #288 found a well-meaning man accidentally endangering the populace with magical artefacts after which a quick trip to Asia pitted the Martian against a cunning jungle conman in ‘J’onn J’onzz – Witch Doctor’.

When a movie was being sabotaged Diane took over for the lead stunt-girl with some assistance from the Manhunter in ‘Lights, Camera – and Doom!’ whilst a lovesick suitor masqueraded as ‘The Second Martian Manhunter’ to win his bride in #291 and ‘The Ex-Convicts Club’ almost foundered before it began when someone began impersonating the reformed criminals and pulling new jobs. Luckily J’onzz was more trusting than most…

Diane found herself with a rival in policewoman Sally Winters and their enmity could only be resolved with ‘The Girl-Hero Contest’ after which the Manhunter pursued crooks into another dimension and became ‘The Martian Weakling’ in #294, before becoming ‘The Martian Show-Off’ to inexplicably deprive a fellow cop of his 1000th arrest and ‘The Alien Bodyguard’ for Diane who was unaware that she had been marked for death…

In #297’s ‘J’onn J’onzz vs. the Vigilantes’ the Green Guardian exposed the secret agenda of a committee of wealthy “concerned citizens” before coming to the aid of a stage performer who was ‘The Man Who Impersonated J’onn J’onzz’ and then almost failed as a ‘Bodyguard for a Spy’ because Diane was jealous of the beautiful Princess in his charge…

Detective #300 unveiled ‘The J’onn J’onzz Museum’ – a canny ploy by a master criminal who believed he had uncovered the Martian’s secret weakness, whilst ‘The Mystery of the Martian Marauders’ found the hero battling impossible odds when an army of his fellows invaded Earth…

‘The Crime King of Mount Olympus’ pitted the Manhunter against a pantheon of Hellenic super-criminals to save Diane’s life whilst more standard thugs attempted to reveal his secret identity in ‘The Great J’onn J’onzz Hunt’ before this first beguiling compendium concludes with #304’s stirring tale of an academy of scientific lawbreaking infiltrated by John Jones in ‘The Crime College’…

Although certainly dated, and definitely formulaic, these complex yet uncomplicated adventures are drenched in charm and still sparkle with innocent wit and wonder. Perhaps not to everyone’s taste nowadays, these exploits of the Manhunter from Mars are still an all-ages buffet of fun, thrills and action no fan should miss.
© 1953, 1955-1962, 2007 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Batman: the Dark Knight Archives volume 5


By Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Jerry Robinson, Jack Burnley, Dick Sprang & various (DC)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-0778-6

War always seems to stimulate creativity and advancement and these sublime adventures of Batman and Robin more than prove that axiom as the growing band of creators responsible for producing the bi-monthly adventures of the Dark Knight hit an artistic peak which only stellar stable-mate Superman and Fawcett’s Captain Marvel were able to equal or even approach…

Following an introduction by newspaper journalist and fan Michelle Nolan, this fantastic fifth edition (collecting Batman #17-20 and spanning June/July 1943 to December 1943/January 1944) opens with the gloriously human story of B. Boswell Brown, a lonely and self-important old man who claimed to be ‘The Batman’s Biographer!’ Unfortunately ruthless robber The Conjurer gave the claim far more credence than most in a this tense thriller by Don Cameron, Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson & George Roussos…

This was counterbalanced by ‘The Penguin Goes A-Hunting’ (Cameron again with art by Jack & Ray Burnley), a wild romp wherein the Perfidious Popinjay went on a hubris-fuelled crime-spree after being left off a “Batman’s Most Dangerous Foes” list.

The same creative team concocted ‘Rogues Pageant!’ when murderous thieves in Western city Santo Pablo inexplicably disrupt the towns historical Anniversary celebrations after which Joe Greene, Kane & Robinson detail the Dynamic Duo’s brutal battle with a deadly gang of maritime marauders in the unique ‘Adventure of the Vitamin Vandals!’

Batman #18 opened with a spectacular and visually stunning crime-caper as the Gotham Gangbusters clashed again with dastardly bandits Tweedledum and Tweedledee whilst solving ‘The Secret of Hunter’s Inn!’ by Joe Samachson & Robinson, after which ‘Robin Studies his Lessons!’ (Samachson, Kane & Robinson) saw the Boy Wonder grounded from all crime-busting duties until his school work improved – even if it meant Batman dying for want of his astounding assistance!

Bill Finger and Burnley brothers crafted ‘The Good Samaritan Cops’; another brilliant human interest drama focused on the tense but unglamorous work of the Police Emergency Squad and this issue concluded with a shocking and powerful return engagement for manic physician and felonious mastermind ‘The Crime Surgeon!’ (Finger, Kane & Robinson),

The writers of the first and third stories in Batman #19 are sadly unknown to us (perhaps William Woolfolk?) but there’s no doubting the magnificent artwork of rising star Dick Sprang who pencilled every tale in this blockbusting issue, beginning with ‘Batman Makes a Deadline!’ wherein the Dark Knight investigated skulduggery and attempted murder at the City’s biggest newspaper after which Don Cameron authored the breathtaking fantasy masterpiece ‘Atlantis Goes to War!’ with the Dynamic Duo rescuing that fabled submerged city from Nazi assault.

The Joker reared his garish head again in the anonymously penned thriller ‘The Case of the Timid Lion!’ with the Clown Prince enraged and lethal whilst tracking down an impostor committing crime capers in his name before Samachson, Sprang and inker Norman Fallon unmasked the ‘Collector of Millionaires’ with Dick Grayson investigating his wealthy mentor’s bewildering replacement by a cunning doppelganger…

Batman #20 featured the Mountebank of Mirth in ‘The Centuries of Crime!’ (Cameron & the Burnleys) with The Joker claiming to have discovered a nefariously profitable method of time-travelling, whilst ‘The Trial of Titus Keyes!’ (Finger, Kane & Robinson) offered a masterful courtroom drama of injustice amended, focussing on the inefficacy of witness statements…

‘The Lawmen of the Sea!’ by Finger & the Burnleys found the Dynamic Duo again working with a lesser known Police Division as they joined the Harbor Patrol in their daily duties and uncovered a modern day piracy ring before the volume ends on a dramatic high with ‘Bruce Wayne Loses Guardianship of Dick Grayson!’ wherein a couple of fraudsters claiming to be the boy’s last remaining relatives petition to adopt him.

A melodramatic triumph by Finger, Kane & Robinson, there’s still plenty of action, especially after the grifters try to sell Dick back to Bruce Wayne…

With an expansive biographies section and glorious covers from Robinson, Ed Kressy and Sprang this gloriously indulgent deluxe hardback compendium is another irresistible box of classic delights that no fan of the medium can afford to miss.

© 1943, 1944, 2006 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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DC Comics: the 75th Anniversary Poster Book


By various, compiled and with commentary by Robert Schnakenberg & Paul Levitz (Quirk Books)
ISBN: 978-1-59474-462-4

Here’s another poster-sized (a colossal 282 by 356mm) full-colour art-book, this time with material far more familiar to comics fans. Beautiful, captivating and still readily available, this tremendous tome was released in 2010 to celebrate America’s premier funnybook publisher in their 75th year of continuous existence.

This 208 page compendium, devised with 100 whole-page images – suitable and intended for framing – with background information and a couple of equally vibrant and chronologically pertinent cover contenders on each reverse side, charts all the breakthroughs, major debuts and key events of the companies (initially National Periodical Publications and All-American imprints) which merged to become DC, and includes the fruits of other publishers like Fawcett, Quality and Charlton Comics whose creative successes were later acquired and assimilated by the unstoppable corporate colossus which forms today’s universally recognised multi-media phenomenon.

The obvious candidates are all there and of course the vast majority of these stunning illustrations are superhero themed, but there are also fine examples of the bizarre fads, eccentric mores and mind-boggling concepts that were simply part-and-parcel of comics from the last eight decades.

The four-colour graphic parade begins with New Fun Comics #1 (February 1935 and with issues #2 and 3 decorating the potted history of the company on the back) and follows with the obvious landmarks  such as Action Comics #1, Detective Comics #27, Superman #1 and 14, Flash Comics #1, Batman #1 and Sensation Comics #1 but also finds space for equally evocative but less well-used covers as Detective #11, Adventure #40, Action #19, Green Lantern #1 and Sensation #38.

From the almost superhero-free 1950s come such eccentric treats as Mr. District Attorney #12, Our Army at War #20, Mystery in Space #22, Strange Adventures #79 and 100, Showcase #12, Leave it to Binky #60, Adventure Comics #247, Detective #275 (“The Zebra Batman!”) and many more, whilst the tumultuous 1960s offers such treasures as Flash #123, Showcase #34, Brave and the Bold #42 & 58 and Justice League of America #21 as well as practically unseen treasures like Falling in Love #62, Heart Throbs #93, Girls’ Love #127 among others…

The 1970s through to today are represented by such examples as Wonder Woman #205, Shazam! #3, Prez #3, Detective #475, Weird Western Tales, #53, Weird War #89, New Teen Titans #1, Ronin #1, Swamp Thing #34, Crisis on Infinite Earths #7, the first issues of  The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, Hellblazer, Sandman, The Killing Joke, V for Vendetta and Preacher, Wonder Woman #0, Superman #75, Cat Woman #2, New Frontiers #6, Arkham Asylum Anniversary Edition, Batman: Year 100 #1, All-Star Superman #10 Batman #679 and others. All these covers can of course be viewed online through numerous database sites – but those aren’t crisply printed on high-grade card and ready to frame…

The artists include Lyman Anderson, Joe Shuster, Bob Kane, Creig Flessel, Gil Kane, Joe Kubert, Carmine Infantino, John Romita Sr., Ramona Fradon, Neal Adams, Joe Orlando, Berni Wrightson, Steve Ditko, Mike Sekowsky, Bob Oksner, Curt Swan, Nick Cardy, Jack Kirby, Brian Bolland, Dave Gibbons, David Lloyd, Dave McKean, Michael Golden, Darwyn Cooke, Dave Johnson, Adam Hughes, Jim Lee, James Jean, Tim Sale, Paul Pope, Frank Quitely, Alex Ross and a myriad of others…

For my rarefied tastes there are too few of the company’s superb young kids and funny animal titles and not enough of their genre successes, as exemplified by the War, Western, Romance, Science Fiction, Jungle Action, Sword & Sorcery and mystery/horror titles which kept the company afloat when mystery men periodically palled on the public’s palate, but this book is nevertheless a splendid catalogue of DC’s contribution to global culture and an overwhelming celebration of the unique glory of comics.

Even better; there are still thousands of covers left to shove into follow-up volumes…

Art and compilation © 2010 DC Comics. All rights Reserved.

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Batman: the Dark Knight Archives volume 4


By Bob Kane, Don Cameron, Bill Finger, Jack Schiff, Jerry Robinson, George Roussos, Jack & Ray Burnley (DC Comics)
ISBN: 1-56389-983-3

This fourth captivating deluxe hardback chronicle of yarns from the dawn of his career encompasses Batman #13-16 (October/November 1942- April/May 1943) and again features adventures produced during the scariest days of World War II which helped to the gladden the young hearts of overseas and home-front heroes alike.

The feature had grown into a media sensation and pocket industry and just as with predecessor and trendsetter Superman had necessitated an expansion of dedicated creative staff.

It’s certainly no coincidence that many of these Golden Age treasures are also some of the best beloved tales in the Batman canon, as co-creator and lead writer Bill Finger was increasingly supplemented by the talents of Don Cameron, Jack Schiff and others as the Dynamic Duo became a hugely successful franchise. The war seemed to stimulate a peak of creativity and production, with everybody on the Home Front keen to do their bit – even if that was simply making kids of all ages forget their troubles for a brief while…

After a comprehensive overview in the Foreword from professional fan and historian Bill Schelly the contents of Batman #13 opened with ‘The Batman Plays a Lone Hand’ (Cameron, Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson & George Roussos) tugging heartstrings as the Dark Knight fired Robin, kicked out Dick Grayson and returned to his anti-crime campaign as a solo act. Of course there was a perfectly logical reason…

They were back together again and on more traditional ground when the Joker caught the acting bug and organised a ‘Comedy of Tears’ (Schiff, Kane, Robinson & Roussos), after which ‘The Story of the Seventeen Stones!’ (scripted by Finger, drawn by Jack Burnley & inked by brother Ray) presented a deliciously experimental murder-mystery and the  heroes slipped into more comfortable Agatha Christie – or perhaps Alfred Hitchcock – territory when they tackled a portmanteau of crimes on a train in ‘Destination: Unknown!’ by Cameron, Kane, Robinson & Roussos.

Cameron wrote all four stories in Batman #14 beginning with ‘The Case Batman Failed to Solve’, (illustrated by Jerry Robinson) – a superb example of the sheer decency of the Caped Crusader as he fudged a mystery for the best possible reason, whilst ‘Prescription for Happiness’ (with art from Kane, Robinson & Roussos) is a classic example of the human interest drama that used to typify Batman tales as a poor doctor discovered his own true worth, and ‘Swastika Over the White House!’ (Jack & Ray Burnley) was typical of the blistering spy-busting action yarns readers were lapping up at the time. The final story ‘Bargains in Banditry!’ – also by the Burnley boys – was another canny crime caper featuring the Penguin wherein the Wily Old Bird stopped committing crimes and began selling the plans for his convoluted capers to other crooks…

Batman #15 led with Schiff, Kane, Robinson & Roussos’s Catwoman romp ‘Your Face is your Fortune!’ with the Feline Fury taking on a job at a swanky Beauty Parlour to gain info for her crimes and inadvertently falling for Society Batchelor Bruce Wayne, whilst Cameron and those Burnley boys introduced plucky homeless boy Bobby Deen ‘The Boy Who Wanted to be Robin!’ and proved he had what it takes to do the job.

The same team created the powerful propaganda tale ‘The Two Futures’, which examined what America would be like under Nazi subjugation and ‘The Loneliest Men in the World’ (Cameron, Kane, Robinson & Roussos) was – and still is – one of the very best Seasonal Batman tales ever created; full of pathos, drama, fellow-feeling and action as the Dynamic Duo brought Christmas to a selection of dedicated but overlooked workers and public servants …

The landmark Batman #16 (April/May 1943) opened with one of three tales by Cameron ‘The Joker Reforms!’ (Kane, Robinson & Roussos) wherein the Clown Prince suffers a blow to the head and a complete personality shift, but not for long – after which Ruth “Bunny Lyons” Kaufman scripted a bold and fascinating black market milk caper in ‘The Grade A Crimes!’ for Ray & Jack Burney to dynamically delineate.

‘The Adventure of the Branded Tree’ (Cameron and the Burnleys) saw the Gotham Gangbusters head to lumberjack country for a vacation and become embroiled in big city banditry before the issue and the action conclude with the hilarious thriller-comedy ‘Here Comes Alfred!’ (Cameron, Kane, Robinson & Roussos) which foisted a rotund, unwelcome and staggeringly faux-English manservant upon the Masked Manhunters to finally complete the classic core cast of the series in a brilliantly fast-paced spy-drama with loads of laughs and buckets of tension.

These torrid tales from creators at their absolute peak and heroes at their most primal are even more readable now that I don’t have to worry about damaging an historical treasure simply by turning a page. This is perhaps the only way to truly savour these Golden Age greats and perhaps one day all ancient comics will be preserved this way…
© 1942, 1943, 2003 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Superman Archives volume 4


By Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, Fred Ray John Sikela & Leo Nowak (DC Comics)
ISBN: 1-56389-107-7

By the middle of 1942 fresh and vibrant young superstar Superman had been thoroughly embraced by the panting public, rapidly evolving into a patriotic tonic for the troops and the ones they had left behind. This fourth classic hardcover compendium (collecting Superman #13-16 November-December 1941 to May/June 1942) shows the Man of Steel in all his morale-boosting glory as America shifted onto a war-footing and crooks and master-criminals were slowly superseded by sinister spies and vicious invaders… at least on all the rousing, iconic covers by master artist Fred Ray.

Following a Foreword by film critic Leonard Maltin the action begins with a stunning Nazi-busting example up front on #13 after which artist Leo Nowak illustrated three captivating yarns beginning with ‘The Light’ wherein an implacable old foe tried in a new super-scientific guise and gimmick, whilst ‘The Archer’ pitted the Metropolis Marvel against his first true costumed villain, a psychopathic killer with a self-evident murderous modus operandi…

Scripter Jerry Siegel was on top form throughout this period and ‘Baby on the Doorstep’ offered him  a rare opportunity for foolish fun and the feel-good factor as Clark Kent became a temporary and unwilling parent in a tale involving stolen military battle plans before ‘The City Beneath the Earth’ (illustrated by John Sikela) returned to the serious business of blockbuster adventure and sheer spectacle as the Action Ace discovered a subterranean kingdom hidden since the hoary height of the Ice Age.

Superman #14 (January/February 1942) was again primarily a Nowak art affair beginning with ‘Concerts of Doom’ wherein a master pianist discovered just how mesmerising his recitals were and joined forces with unpatriotic thieves and dastardly  saboteurs, after which the tireless Man of Tomorrow was hard-pressed to cope with the reign of destruction caused by ‘The Invention Thief’.

John Sikela inked Nowak’s pencils in the frantic high fantasy romp when the Man of Steel discovered a friendly mermaid and malevolent fishmen living in ‘The Undersea City’ before more high tension and catastrophic graphic destruction signalled Superman’s epic clash with sinister electrical savant ‘The Lightning Master’.

Issue #15 ‘The Cop who was Ruined’ (illustrated by Nowak) found the Metropolis Marvel clearing the name of framed detective Bob Branigan – a man who believed himself guilty – whilst scurvy Orientals menaced the nation’s Pacific fleet in ‘Saboteurs from Napkan’ with Sikela again lending his pens and brushes to Nowak’s pencil art. Thinly veiled fascist oppression and expansion was spectacularly nipped in the bud in ‘Superman in Oxnalia’ – an all-Sikela art job, but Nowak was back on pencils for a concluding science fiction thriller ‘The Evolution King’ with a malignant mastermind artificially aging his wealthy, prominent victims until the invulnerable Action Ace stepped in…

Sikela flew solo on all of Superman #16, beginning with ‘The World’s Meanest Man’ as a mobster attempted to fleece a scheme to give deprived slum-kids a holiday in the countryside, then moved on to depict the Man of Tomorrow’s battle with an astrologer happy to murder his clients to prove his predictions in ‘Terror from the Stars’, after which ‘The Case of the Runaway Skyscrapers’ pitted the Caped Kryptonian against Mister Sinister, a trans-dimensional tyrant who could make buildings vanish.

The power-packed perilous periodical then concluded with a deeply satisfying and classic war on organised crime as Superman crushed the ‘Racket on Delivery’.

Endlessly re-readable, these epic hardback DC Archive Editions fabulously frame some of the greatest and most influential comics stories ever created, and taken in unison form a perfect permanent record of breathtaking wonder and groundbreaking excitement, which no dedicated fan could afford to do without
© 1942, 2000 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Showcase Presents Superman volume 2


By Otto Binder, Jerry Siegel, Jerry Coleman, Bill Finger, Wayne Boring, Al Plastino, Curt Swan & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-1041-0

Although we all think of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s iconic creation as the epitome of comicbook creation, the truth is that very soon after his launch in Action Comics #1 Superman became a fictional multimedia star in the same league as Mickey Mouse, Popeye, Tarzan and Sherlock Holmes.

Far more people have seen or heard the Man of Steel than have ever read him – and yes, that does include the globally syndicated newspaper strips. By the time his 20th anniversary rolled around he had been a regular on radio, starred in a series of astounding animated cartoons, a novel by George Lowther and two movies, He was a perennial success for toy and puzzle manufacturers and had just ended his first smash live-action television serial. In his future were three more (Superboy, Lois & Clark and Smallville), a stage musical, a franchise of stellar movies and an almost seamless succession of games, bubblegum cards and TV cartoons beginning with The New Adventures of Superman in 1966 and continuing ever since. Even Krypto got in on the small-screen act…

However, that’s not all there is to these gloriously engaging super-sagas culled from the Metropolis Marvel’s lead feature in Action Comics #258-277 and the all-star sagas from Superman #134-145 (reliving the period November 1959 to May 1961 and including selected snippets from Superman Annuals #1& 2) presented in crisp, clean black and white for this sterling second Showcase Presents collection.

During the 1950s, even as his back-story was expanded and elaborated, Superman had settled into an ordered existence. Nothing could really hurt him, nothing ever changed, and pure thrills seemed in short supply. With the TV show concentrating on the action, the Comics-Code-hamstrung funnybook writers increasingly concentrated on supplying wonder, intrigue, imagination and, whenever possible, a few laughs as well…

The wholesome intrigue and breathtaking fantasy commence here with Action Comics #258’s ‘The Menace of Cosmic Man’ a sharp mystery written by Bill Finger and illustrated by Wayne Boring & Stan Kaye, wherein an impoverished European dictatorship suddenly announced it had its own all-powerful costumed champion; drawing Lois Lane and Clark Kent into a potentially deadly investigation, whilst #259 featured the hallucinogenic thriller ‘The Revenge of Luthor!’ by Jerry Siegel & Al Plastino with a seemingly impossible clash between the Man of Tomorrow and his own younger self which almost led to certain death for Lois and school sweetheart Lana Lang…

Superman #134 (January 1960) was a full-length epic from Binder, Boring & Kaye as ‘The Super-Menace of Metropolis’ saw the Caped Kryptonian apparently undertake a concerted attack upon humanity, leading to shocking revelations in ‘The Revenge Against Jor-El!’ before a blockbusting final battle against an unsuspected Kandorian foe in ‘Duel of the Supermen!’

There was the usual heartbreak for Lois when Superman and Supergirl perpetrated a romantic hoax on the world to thwart a potential alien attack in ‘Mighty Maid!’ (Action #260, Binder & Plastino), whilst Superman #135 offered three Siegel stories beginning with the Untold Tale ‘When Lois First Suspected Clark was Superman!’, illustrated by Plastino, after which ‘Superman’s Mermaid Sweetheart!’ (Boring & Kaye) reintroduced Clark Kent’s college love Lori Lemaris in another superbly effective, bittersweet tear-jerker and ‘The Trio of Steel!’ found the Man of Steel again battling his most impossible foe in a classy conundrum (art by Plastino again).

Action #261 revealed the secret history of ‘Superman’s Fortress of Solitude!‘ by unravelling a cunning criminal plot against the indomitable hero in a clever yarn from Siegel, Boring & Kaye after which ‘When Superman Lost his Powers!’ (#262, Robert Bernstein, Boring & Kaye) saw the Daily Planet staff trapped in another dimension where the Man of Tomorrow was merely mortal and Lois’ suspicions were again aroused…

Superman #136 began with ‘The Man who Married Lois Lane!’ by Bernstein, Boring & Kaye wherein the frustrated reporter finally gave in and settled for a superman from the future – with tragic results – after which another Untold Tale revealed how the World first learned ‘The Secret of Kryptonite!’ (Jerry Coleman & Plastino) and how, as ‘The Super-Clown of Metropolis!’, Superman was blackmailed into attempting to make a millionaire misanthrope laugh in a smart character-driven yarn from Siegel & Plastino.

Action #263 introduced ‘The World of Bizarros!’ (Binder, Boring & Kaye) wherein the ghastly doppelganger used an imperfect duplicator machine to create an entire race in his broken image, whilst Superman #137, ‘The Super-Brat from Krypton!’, (Siegel, Curt Swan & John Forte) revealed how an energy duplicate of baby Kal-El was raised by criminals to become ‘The Young Super-Bully’ before finally confronting his noble counterpart in ‘Superman vs. Super-Menace!’

In Action Comics #264 a clash with the newly-minted artificial race culminated in the Caped Kryptonian almost becoming ‘The Superman Bizarro!’ in a tense thriller from Binder, Boring & Kaye whilst ‘The “Superman” from Outer Space!’ in #265 (Binder, Swan & Forte) recounted the tragically short career of Hyper-Man, planetary champion of Earth-like world Oceania, after which Superman #138 debuted ‘Titano the Super-Ape!’: a chimpanzee mutated into a Kryptonite-empowered King Kong clone with a devotion to Lois and big hatred for the Man of Steel: a beloved masterpiece by Binder, Boring & Kaye combining action, pathos and drama to superb effect.

‘Superman’s Black Magic!’ (Siegel & Plastino) balanced that epic tear-jerker with a clever yarn wherein the Action Ace instigated a devilish sting to catch superstitious crooks whilst ‘The Mermaid from Atlantis!’ by Siegel Boring & Kaye, saw the newlywed Lori Lemaris attempt to trick Superman into finally proposing to Lois.

Action #266 found the heroic hunk trapped on another world, ‘The Captive of the Amazons.’ Their queen wanted the Man of Tomorrow for her sixth husband and was prepared to destroy Earth to make her dreams come true…

Superman #139 began with ‘The New Life of Super-Merman!’ as the Caped Kryptonian and Lori schemed to marry Lois off to a nice, safe multi-millionaire who really loved her in a rather dated and potentially offensive tale from Siegel, Boring & Kaye, whereas ‘The Jolly Jailhouse!’ (Coleman & Plastino) is safe and solid entertainment, providing a light-hearted clash between a would-be dictator and the World’s Most Uncooperative political prisoner Clark Kent; after which ‘The Untold Story of Red Kryptonite!’ (Binder, Boring & Kaye) offered a dramatic dilemma, a redefinition of the parameters of the deadly crimson mineral, and plenty of thrills with the Man of Steel forced to risk deadly danger and lots of informative flashbacks to rescue a sunken submarine…

Binder, Boring & Kaye produced the spectacular two-part clash ‘Hercules in the 20th Century!’ and ‘Superman’s Battle with Hercules!’ (Action #267-268, and separated here by the cover of Superman Annual #1) as Luthor brought the Hellenic demi-god to Metropolis to battle the “evil king” Superman. Events turned even more serious when the legendary warrior fell for Lois and marshalled all the magical powers of the Olympians to destroy his unwitting rival…

Although later played for laughs, most of the earlier appearances of Superman‘s warped double were generally moving comi-tragedies, such as issue #140 which featured Binder, Boring & Kaye’s ‘The Son of Bizarro!’ wherein the fractured facsimile and his wife Bizarro-Lois had a perfect, human baby. The fast growing tyke had super-powers but was shunned by the populace of the world of monsters.

His simple-minded, heartbroken father had no choice but to exile his son in space where chance brought the lad crashing to Earth as ‘The Orphan Bizarro!’. Sent to the same institution where Supergirl resided, “Baby Buster” soon became a permanent headache for the Girl of Steel until a tragic accident seemingly mutated him and his distraught father came looking for him at the head of an angry army of enraged Superman duplicates. A devastating battle was narrowly avoided and a happy ending only materialised with the introduction of ‘The Bizarro Supergirl!’…

Action Comics #269 told a clever tale of identity-saving when Lois tricked Clark into standing before ‘The Truth Mirror!’ (Siegel, Swan & George Klein), whilst Superman #141 again showed the writer’s winning form in ‘Superman’s Return to Krypton!’ Illustrated by Boring & Kaye the epic Grand Tragedy revealed in ‘Superman Meets Jor-El and Lara Again!’ how an accident marooned the adoptive Earth hero in the past on his doomed home-world. Reconciled to dying there with his people, in ‘Superman’s Kryptonian Romance’ Kal-El found love with his ideal soul-mate Lyla Lerrol, only to be torn from her side and returned to Earth against his will in concluding chapter ‘The Surprise of Fate!’

This bold saga was a fan favourite for decades thereafter, and remains one of the very best stories of the period.

In Action #270 Binder, Swan, Forte provided a whimsical interlude in ‘The Old Man of Metropolis!’ as the Metropolis Marvel glimpsed his own twilight years whilst ‘Voyage to Dimension X!’ by Binder & Plastino in #271 saw him narrowly escape his greatest foe’s latest diabolical plot.

Superman #142 opened with ‘Lois Lane’s Secret Helper!’ by Binder & Kurt Schaffenberger, as faithful Krypto tried to play matchmaker whereas ‘Superman Meets Al Capone!’ saw the time-lost Man of Tomorrow clash with the legendary mobster (Binder, Boring & Kaye) before battling a wandering ‘Flame-Dragon from Krypton!’ with some helpful assistance from his best super-buddies in a sharp yarn from Siegel, Boring & Kaye.

Another prototype team-up featured in Action #272’s ‘Superman’s Rival, Mental Man!’ a clever criminal-sting caper by Siegel, Swan & Kaye, which centred around Lois’ unsuspected talents as comic strip creator, whilst over in Superman #143 ‘The Great Superman Hoax!’ (Bernstein, Boring & Kaye) saw a criminal try to convince Lois that he was actually the Man of Might. ‘Lois Lane’s Lucky Day!’ (Siegel & Forte) found the daring reporter busting a crooked carnival – with a little covert Kryptonian help – before ‘Bizarro Meets Frankenstein!’ by Binder, Boring & Kaye saw the befuddled duplicate invade Earth to prove he was the scariest monster of all time…

Action #273 had Superman turn the table on the pestiferous 5th Dimensional pixie by invading ‘The World of Mxyzptlk!’ in a light-hearted romp from Siegel & Plastino and next issue lose his abilities to Lois in ‘The Reversed Super-Powers!’ (Siegel & Schaffenberger.

Superman #144 led with the combative thriller ‘The Super-Weapon!’ by Siegel, Swan & Kaye, after which Siegel & Plastino revealed the Untold Tale of ‘Superboy’s First Public Appearance!’ before going on to describe the terrifying plight of Superman, Supergirl and Krypto as ‘The Orphans of Space!’

Action #275 saw a classic clash with alien marauder Brainiac whose latest weapon was ‘The Menace of Red-Green Kryptonite!’ (Coleman, Boring & Kaye) after which Superman #145 opened with a salutary fable by Siegel, Swan & Kaye proving why Lois couldn’t be trusted with ‘The Secret Identity of Superman!’ ‘The Interplanetary Circus!’, by Bernstein & Plastino, then held Earth hostage until the Man of Steel agreed to join them, but even after outwitting those scoundrels Superman was utterly flummoxed by the incredible events of ‘The Night of March 31st!’ – a deliciously surreal, whimsical and bizarre mystery-puzzle from Siegel, Swan & Sheldon Moldoff.

This second superb collection concludes with the stirring cover of Superman Annual #2 and the scintillating double-page Map of Krypton by Siegel & Plastino which enflamed the imagination of every kid who ever saw it…

Superman has proven to be all things to all fans over his decades of existence, and with the character undergoing another radical overhaul at this time, these timeless tales of charm and joy and wholesome wit are more necessary than ever: not just as a reminder of great tales of the past but as an all-ages primer of the wonders still to come…

© 1959, 1960, 1961, 2006 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Outsiders volume 1: Looking for Trouble


By Judd Winick, Tom Raney, ChrisCross, Ivan Reis, & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-0211-8

Once upon a time superheroes sat around their assorted lairs or went about their civilian pursuits until the call of duty summoned them like firemen – or Thunderbirds – to deal with a breaking emergency. In the grim and gritty world after Crisis on Infinite Earths, the concept changed with a number of costumed adventurers evolving into pre-emptive strikers – as best exemplified by the covert penal battalion the Suicide Squad. Soon the philosophy had spread far and wide…

Following the break-up of Young Justice and the – temporary – death of founding Teen Titan Donna Troy (see Teen Titans/Outsiders: The Death and Return of Donna Troy) a number of her grief-stricken comrades also changed from First Responders to dedicated if morally dubious hunters tracking down threats and menaces before they attacked – or indeed committed crimes at all…

This volume collects the initial storyline which introduced Judd Winick’s aggressive new take on edgy team-concept the Outsiders, compiling material from Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files 2003 and issues #1-7 of the compelling and much-missed monthly comicbook.

In the aftermath of a deadly battle wherein a sexy robot arrived from the future and precipitated a mini robot rebellion, costing the lives of psychic heroine Omen and the much beloved Troy, the surviving champions reformed the Teen Titans as a group dedicated to better training the heroes of tomorrow.

However, CIA trained ex-Green Arrow sidekick Arsenal felt that it was not enough and convinced the heartbroken Nightwing to help devise a covert and pre-emptive pack of professions to take out perceived threats before innocent lives were endangered. ‘A Day After…’ by Winick, Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis & Mark Campos set the scene, after which the series proper began with the three-part ‘Roll Call’ illustrated by Tom Raney & Scott Hanna.

‘Opening Offers’ introduced new characters Thunder (daughter of original Outsider Black Lightning) and enigmatic super girl Grace, established player Jade, recently resurrected and amnesiac Rex Metamorpho Mason and, in a not particularly welcome, wise or team-building move, the futuristic fem-bot who had started the whole mess. With her memory-banks scrubbed and keen to redeem herself, Indigo added eagerness and innocence to an embittered but highly motivated and very determined team…

Their first mission caught them off-guard and began when a cruise ship was hijacked and an army of talking gorillas invaded New York under the command of super-ape Grodd, but the devastating action of ‘Lawyers, Guns and Monkeys’ was quickly revealed to be no more than a sinister diversion as the Joker used the chaos to abduct new American President Lex Luthor, leaving the team with the unwelcome task of rescuing one of the people they would most like to take out…

ChrisCross & Sean Parsons depicted the Outsiders’ first true hunting party in ‘Brothers in Blood’: part 1 ‘Small Potatoes’ as, after a series of small time busts (acting on information from a mysterious and secret source), the squad uncovered a diabolical scheme by religious maniac Brother Blood to steal one million babies…

The cult leader activated hypnotised deep-cover agents in ‘Finders Sleepers’ and almost murdered Arsenal, but even as the hero was undergoing life-saving surgery the Outsiders, assisted by two vengeful generations of Green Arrow, rocketed to Antarctica where Blood was attempting to free and recruit 1,600 metahuman villains incarcerated in the maximum security super-prison the Slab.

As the battle raged and casualties mounted, Nightwing was forced to choose between saving the infants or allowing Blood and an army of criminals to escape…

This first collection ends on a powerfully poignant and personal note as Metamorpho at last discovered the shocking reason for his lack of memories and faced ultimate dissolution in the superbly downbeat ‘Oedipus Rex’ (Raney & Hanna)…

Fast-paced, action-packed, cynically sharp and edgily effective Outsiders was one of the very best series pursuing the “take-’em out first” concept and resulted in some of the very best Fights ‘n’ Tights action of the last ten years. Still punchy, evocative and highly effective, these thrillers will delight older fans of the genre.
© 2003, 2004 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Showcase Presents World’s Finest volume 2


By Jerry Coleman, Bill Finger, Edmond Hamilton, Jim Mooney, Curt Swan, Dick Sprang & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-84856-053-6

For decades Superman and Batman were the quintessential superhero partners: the “World’s Finest” team. They were friends as well as colleagues and the pairing made sound financial sense since DC’s top heroes could cross-pollinate and cross-sell their combined readerships.

This most inevitable of Paladin Pairings first occurred on the Superman radio show in the early 1940s, whilst in comics the pair had only briefly met whilst on a Justice Society of America adventure in All-Star Comics #36 (August-September 1947) – and perhaps even there they missed each other in the gaudy hubbub…

Of course they had shared the covers on World’s Finest Comics from the outset, but never crossed paths inside; sticking firmly to their specified solo adventures within. However once that Rubicon was crossed thanks to spiralling costs and dwindling page-counts the industry never looked back…

This second blockbusting black and white chronicle gathers their cataclysmic collaborations from World’s Finest Comics #112-145, spanning September 1960 to November 1964, just as the entire planet was about to go superhero crazy and especially Batman mad…

Issue #112 by Jerry Coleman, Dick Sprang & Sheldon Moldoff featured a unique and tragic warning in ‘The Menace of Superman’s Pet’ as a phenomenally cute teddy bear from space proved to be an unbelievably dangerous menace and unforgettable true friend. Bring tissues you big baby…

In an era when disturbing menace was frowned upon, many tales featured intellectual dilemmas and unavoidable pests. Both Gotham Guardian and Man of Steel had their own magical 5th dimensional gadflies and it was therefore only a matter of time until ‘Bat-Mite Meets Mr. Mxyzptlk’ in a madcap duel to see whose hero was best… with America caught in the metamorphic middle.

WF #114 found Superman, Batman and Robin shanghaied to the distant world of Zoron as ‘Captives of the Space Globes’ where their abilities were reversed but justice was still served in the end, after which ‘The Curse that Doomed Superman’ saw the Action Ace consistently outfoxed by a scurrilous Swami with Batman helpless to assist him…

Curt Swan & Stan Kaye illustrated #116’s thrilling monster mash ‘The Creature From Beyond’ as a criminal alien out-powered Superman whilst concealing an incredible secret, and all the formula bases were covered as Lex Luthor used ‘Super-Batwoman and the Super-Creature’ to execute his most sinister scheme against the World’s Finest heroes.

In #118 Sprang & Moldoff illustrated ‘The Creature that was Exchanged for Superman’ as the Man of Tomorrow was hijacked to another world so that a transplanted monster could undertake a sinister search and leaving the Dynamic Duo to fight a desperate holding action whilst ‘The Secret of Tigerman’ in #119 (and inked by Stan Kaye) found a dashing new hero in charge as the valiant trio attempted to outwit a sinister new criminal mastermind.

Veteran artist Jim Mooney began illustrating Coleman’s scripts in #120 starting with ‘The Challenge of the Faceless Creatures’ as amorphous monsters repeatedly siphoned off Superman’s powers for nefarious purposes after which the Gotham Gangbuster was eerily transformed into a destructive horror in the trans-dimensional thriller ‘The Mirror Batman’ and #122 (inked by Kaye) saw an alien lawman cause a seeming betrayal by the Dark Knight, leading to ‘The Capture of Superman’…

Zany frustration and magical pranks were the order of the day in #123 as ‘The Incredible Team of Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk’ (Sprang & Moldoff) returned to again determine whose hero was greatest, whilst ‘The Mystery of the Alien Super-Boy’ (#124, illustrated by Swan & Moldoff) pitted the heroes against a titanic teenager with awesome powers and a deadly hidden agenda whilst ‘The Hostages of the Island of Doom’ (Mooney & John Forte) saw Batman & Robin used as pawns to compel Superman’s assistance in a fantastic criminal’s play for ultimate power…

Luthor’s eternal vendetta inadvertently created an immensely destructive threat in ‘The Negative Superman’ (#126, scripted by Ed Herron for Mooney & Moldoff) which stretched Batman and Robin’s ingenuity to the limit before ‘The Sorcerer From the Stars’ (by Coleman) challenged the heroes to stop his plundering of Earth’s mystic secrets whilst ‘The Power that Transformed Batman’ (#128, Coleman & Mooney) temporarily made the Caped Crusader an unstoppable menace.

Dave Wood, Mooney & Moldoff pitted the World’s Finest team against their greatest enemies in #129’s ‘Joker-Luthor, Incorporated!’ whilst Coleman & Mooney posed an intergalactic puzzle with devastating consequences for the heroes in ‘Riddle of the Four Planets!’ and Bill Finger, Sprang & Moldoff presented a stirring action thriller when the team inexplicably added a surplus and incompetent fourth hero to the partnership in ‘The Mystery of the Crimson Avenger’ from #131.

With Finger the new regular scripter, tense mysteries played a stronger part in the dramas, such as when Superman was forced to travel back in time to rescue ‘Batman and Robin, Medieval Bandits’ (art by Mooney) and clear their names of historical ignominy, whilst #133 found ‘The Beasts of the Supernatural’ (Mooney & Moldoff) leeching the Man of Steel’s power and the Gotham Guardians hard-pressed to fool the mastermind behind the attacks after which the heroes battled for their lives against an alien dictator and ‘The Band of Super-Villains’ (Mooney)

World’s Finest Comics #135 (August 1963, inked by Moldoff) was Dick Sprang’s last pencil job on the series and a great swansong as ‘Menace of the Future Man’ saw the heroes valiantly and vainly battling a time-tossed foe who knew their every tactic and secret, after which ‘The Batman Nobody Remembered’ (Mooney & Moldoff) offered a paranoid nightmare wherein the Dark Detective faced a hostile world which thought him mad, whilst ‘Superman’s Secret Master!’ (#137, Finger & Mooney) seemingly turned the Action Ace into a servant of crime until Batman deduced the true state of affairs…

Finger bowed out in #138 with ‘Secret of the Captive Cavemen’ as an alien spy’s suicide led the heroes back 50,000 years to stop a plot to conquer Earth after which Dave Wood provided an eerie sci fi thriller in ‘The Ghost of Batman’ (Mooney & Moldoff) and a classic clash of powers in #140’s ‘The Clayface Superman!’ (Mooney) as the shape-shifting bandit duplicated the Metropolis Marvel’s unstoppable abilities…

A new era dawned in World’s Finest Comics #141 (May 1964) as author Edmond Hamilton and artists Curt Swan & George Klein ushered in a more realistic and less whimsical tone in ‘The Olsen-Robin Team vs. “the Superman-Batman Team!”’ wherein the junior partners rebelled and set up their own crime-fighting enterprise: however there was a hidden meaning to their increasingly wild escapades…

In #142 an embittered janitor suddenly gained all the powers of the Legion of Super-Heroes and attacked the heroes out of frustration and jealousy in ‘The Composite Superman!’ after which the Dark Knight suffered a near fatal wound and nervous breakdown in ‘The Feud Between Batman and Superman!’ a condition cured only after a deadly and disastrous recuperative trip to the Bottle City of Kandor.

Super-villains were becoming more popular and #144 highlighted two of the worst when ‘The 1,000 Tricks of Clayface and Brainiac!’ almost destroyed the World’s Finest team forever and this stellar second collection ends on an enthralling high note when Batman was press-ganged to an alien ‘Prison For Heroes!’: not as a cell-mate for Superman and other interplanetary champions, but as their sadistic jailer…

These are gloriously clever yet uncomplicated tales whose dazzling style has returned to inform if not dictate the form for much of DC’s modern television animation – especially the fabulous Batman: the Brave and the Bold series – and the contents of this tome are a veritable feast of witty, charming thrillers packing as much punch and wonder now as they always have.
© 1960-1964, 2008 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.