Category: Jimmy Olsen

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DC Finest: Supergirl – The Girl of Steel


By Otto Binder & Jim Mooney, Jerry Seigel, Robert Bernstein, Leo Dorfman, Al Plastino, Curt Swan, Wayne Boring, Stan Kaye, John Forte, George Klein & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-8131-1 (TPB/Digital edition)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

This epic compilation is another DC Finest edition: full colour continuations of their chronolgically curated monochrome Showcase Presents line, all delivering “affordably priced, large-size paperback collections”. Whilst primarily concentrating on superheroes, later releases will also cover genre selections like horror and war books, and themed compendia. Sadly, they’re not yet available digitally, as were the last decade’s Bronze, Silver & Golden Age collections, but we live in hope…

Superhero comics seldom do sweet or charming anymore. Narrative focus nowadays concentrates on turmoil, angst and spectacle and – although there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with that – sometimes the palate just craves a different flavour.

Such was not always the case, as this superb compendium of the early career of Superman’s cousin Kara Zor-El of Argo City joyously proves. Gathering here is pertinent material from Action Comics #252-288, Adventure Comics #278, Superman #139, 140 & 144, Superboy #80, Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane #14 & 20 and Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #40, 46, 51 & 57 collectively spanning cover-dates May 1959 to May 1962.

Kicking off proceedings is the delightful DC House Ad advertising the imminent arrival of a new “Girl of Steel”. Sadly missing, however, is the try-out story ‘The Three Magic Wishes’ by Otto Binder, Dick Sprang & Stan Kaye from Superman #123 (August 1958) which told how a mystic totem briefly conjured up a young girl with superpowers as one of three wishes made by Jimmy Olsen. Such was the reaction to the plucky distaff hero that within a year a new, permanent (ish) version joined the Superman Family…

Here, then, after that promo, the drama commences with ‘The Supergirl from Krypton!’, the third story from Action Comics #252 introducing Superman’s cousin Kara, who had been born on a city-sized fragment of Krypton, which was somehow hurled intact into space when the planet exploded. Eventually Argo City turned to Kryptonite like the rest of the giant world’s debris, and Kara’s dying parents, having observed Earth through their scanners and scopes, sent their daughter to safety as they perished. Crashed on Earth, she’s met by Superman, who creates the cover-identity of Linda Lee whilst hiding her in an orphanage in rural small town Midvale, allowing the newcomer to learn about her new world and powers in secrecy and safety. This groundbreaking tale was also written by Binder and drawn by the hugely talented, vastly underrated Al Plastino.

Once the formula was established Supergirl became a regular feature in Action Comics (from #253), a residency that lasted until 1969 when she graduated to the lead spot in Adventure Comics. Then ‘The Secret of the Super-Orphan!’ sees her at orphanage, befriending fellow orphan Dick Wilson (eventually Malverne) who would become her personal gadfly – much as Lois Lane then was to Superman – a recurring romantic entanglement who suspects she has a secret. As a young girl in even less egalitarian times than ours, romance featured heavily in our neophyte star’s thoughts and she frequently met other potential boyfriends: including alien heroes and even a Merboy from Atlantis. Many early exploits involved keeping her presence concealed, even whilst practising and performing super-feats. Jim Mooney became regular artist whilst Binder remained chief scripter for the early run.

In Action #254, ‘Supergirl’s Foster-Parents!’ sees an unscrupulous couple of grifters adopt her in the belief she uses a “power tonic” to gain mighty abilities. They are easily foiled and sent packing, after which Linda meets a mystery DC hero after ‘Supergirl Visits the 21st Century!’ in #255 (Spoilers!: it’s World’s Finest Comics B-feature star Tommy Tomorrow – who you’ve never heard of or cared about…).

Linda’s secret is nearly exposed again in ‘The Great Supergirl Mirage!’ but she covers her tracks expertly before meeting a fellow associate of her cousin in ‘Jimmy Olsen, Supergirl’s Pal!’ by Binder, Curt Swan & John Forte from Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #40 (October 1959). Here the Maid of Might repeatedly saves the temporarily blind cub reporter from a murderous conman, but cannot convince him that she is a Kryptonian and Superman’s secret weapon. Back in Action, she then grants ‘The Three Magic Wishes!’ to despondent youngsters and teaches a mean bully a much-needed lesson.

The Man of Steel often came off rather poorly when dealing with women in those unenlightened days, always under the guise of “teaching a lesson” or “testing” someone. When she ignores his secrecy decree by playing with superdog Krypto, cousin Kal-El banishes the lonely youngster to an asteroid in ‘Supergirl’s Farewell to Earth!’ – but of course there’s paternalistic method in the madness. Next, ‘The Cave-Girl of Steel!’ sees her voyage to Earth’s primordial past and become a palaeolithic legend before Jerry Siegel & Kurt Schaffenberger share ‘Lois Lane’s Secret Romance!’ (Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane #14, January 1960) as Linda plays matchmaker in a scheme to get Clark Kent and Lois hitched and eligible to adopt her…

Action Comics #260 does double duty next as the lead Superman – cowritten by Binder & Siegel and limned by Plastino – feature delivers more heartbreak for Lois after Superman & Supergirl perpetrate a very public romantic hoax on the world to thwart a potential alien attack in ‘Mighty Maid!’ In her own slot, the mystical Fountain of Youth transforms Supergirl into ‘The Girl Superbaby!’, eventually recovering for a tale introducing feline fan-favourite Streaky the Super-Cat as ‘Supergirl’s Super Pet!’ – with an attempt to cure kryptonite poisoning imbuing a mischievous stray kitty with on-again-off-again superpowers – after which ‘Supergirl’s Greatest Victory!’ supplies a salutary lesson in humility to the Girl of Steel as a second anti-K attempt almost kills cousin Kal-El…

Over in Superboy #80 (April 1960), Siegel, Swan & Forte detail a bittersweet encounter as Kara time travels to the recent past to alleviate the Boy of Steel’s loneliness and isolation on a star spanning playdate in ‘Superboy meets… Supergirl’s Darkest Day!’ only to realise to late that he must lose those precious memories or risk wrecking the course of history…

In Action Comics Binder moved on after scripting ‘Supergirl’s Darkest Day!’ – in which the Maid of Might rescues an alien prince – whilst incoming Jerry Siegel began his own tenure with ‘Supergirl Gets Adopted!’: a traumatic yet sentimental tale which ends with the lonely lass stuck back at Midvale orphanage.

I’ve restrained myself so please do likewise and act your age when I say the next story isn’t what you think. ‘When Supergirl Revealed Herself!’ (Siegel & Mooney, Action #265) is another story about nearly finding a family, after which Siegel, Swan & Forte’s ‘Jimmy Olsen, Orphan!’ (Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #46) reveals how an accident gives the cub reporter amnesia and he ends up in Midvale where Linda Lee  is hiding whilst learning how to be a Supergirl…

Streaky returns in Siegel & Mooney’s ‘The World’s Mightiest Cat!’, straightening out a lost kid in the process of going bad, before Superman #139 (August 1960, by Binder, Swan & Forte) delivers 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 whilst offering cousin Kara a lesson on ‘The Untold Story of Red Kryptonite!’

Courtesy of Siegel & Mooney Supergirl finally finds fantastic fellow super-kids in Action #267’s ‘The Three Super-Heroes!’ but narrowly fails to qualify for the Legion of Super Heroes through the cruellest quirk of fortune. After emotionally picking herself up she then exposes ‘The Mystery Supergirl!’ as a movie PR stunt prior to Superman #140 introducing the Maid of Might to her cousin’s unliving opposite.

Although later played for laughs, most early appearances of the warped duplicate were moving comic-tragedies, here as Binder, Wayne Boring & Stan Kaye debuted ‘The Son of Bizarro!’ When the fractured facsimile and wife Bizarro-Lois have a baby, it is fast-growing super-powered and human looking, causing the first couple of Htrae to be shunned by the populace of their square world of monsters.

The simple-minded, heartbroken father has no choice but to exile his son into space where chance brings the tyke crashing to Earth as ‘The Orphan Bizarro!’ Despatched to the same institution where Supergirl resides, “Baby Buster” becomes a permanent headache for the undercover Girl of Steel until a tragic accident seemingly mutates him. Eventually, distraught dad comes looking for him at the head of an angry army of enraged Superman duplicates and a devastating battle is narrowly avoided, with a happy ending only materialising due to the introduction of ‘The Bizarro Supergirl!’, after which ‘Lois Lane’s Super-Daughter!’ (by Siegel & Schaffenberger from SGLL #20) revisits the Imaginary Mr. & Mrs. Superman scenario wherein Lois & Clark Lane-Kent’s attempts to adopt Linda Lee lead to heartbreak and disaster…

Back in Action #369, Siegel & Mooney introduce fish-tailed Mer-boy Jerro as ‘Supergirl’s First Romance!’ in a charming comedy of manners and errors, whilst #270 provides a double bill beginning with Binder, Swan & Forte’s whimsical delight ‘The Old Man of Metropolis!’ as the Metropolis Marvel glimpses his own twilight years with Kara as Superwoman tending to an increasingly doddery and troublesome dotard of Steel before ‘Supergirl’s Busiest Day!’ by Siegel & Mooney sees her celebrating a very special occasion, accompanied by a cameo packed guest cast including Batman & Robin, Krypto and Superman’s Atlantean ex Lori Lemaris, after which Adventure Comics #278 (November 1960, by Binder & Plastino) sees Linda head to the days of Superboy in ‘Supergirl in Smallville!’ with the intention of proving to herself that she’s ready for adoption. It does not go well and crestfallen Linda heads back to the orphanage…

In Action #271 Siegel & Mooney host another bombastic appearance for Streaky as the wonder child builds ‘Supergirl’s Fortress of Solitude!’ and Binder wrote ‘The Second Supergirl!’ – a parallel world tale too big for one issue. Sequel ‘The Supergirl of Two Worlds!’ came in Action #273 – as did a novel piece of market research. ‘Pick a New Hairstyle for Linda (Supergirl) Lee!’ involved eager readers in the actual physical appearance of their heroine and provided editors valuable input into who was actually reading the series. It’s followed by another guest appearance (in Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #51) where Binder Swan & Forte introduce ‘The Girl with Green Hair!’: a sultry superpowered alien who takes an unlikely shine to the lad. Unfortunately, she’s utterly bogus, a sham by a well-meaning Kara Zor-El to get Lucy Lane to be nicer to her supposed boyfriend. It all goes painfully, horribly wrong…

Siegel & Mooney soundly demonstrated DC’s dictum that “history cannot be changed” in ‘Supergirl’s Three Time Trips!’ – to meet Annie Oakley, Betsy Ross and Pocahontas – before Siegel & Plastino describe the terrifying plight of Superman, Supergirl and Krypto as ‘The Orphans of Space!’ (Superman #144) after the Man of Steel seemingly blows up Earth! ‘Ma and Pa Kent Adopt Supergirl!’ then offers a truly nightmarish scenario as Linda Lee experiences what might have been had she reached Earth before baby Kal-El…

Action Comics #276 delivers another double bill beginning with ‘The War Between Supergirl and the Superman Emergency Squad’ (Robert Bernstein, Wayne Boring & Stan Kaye) as Superman is conned into revealing his secret identity and must resort to incredible measures to make a swindler disbelieve his eyes, after which Siegel & Mooney’s ‘Supergirl’s Three Super Girl-Friends!’ offers a return visit with  the Legion of Super Heroes whilst in Action #277 an amazing animal epic ensues in ‘The Battle of the Super-Pets!’ as Streaky & Krypto compete for the attention and approval of their biped bosses…

Siegel & Mooney’s next five Action efforts comprise an extended saga, taking the Girl of Steel in completely new directions. On the eve of Superman announcing her existence to the world, Supergirl loses her powers and – resigned to a normal life – is adopted by childless couple Fred and Edna Danvers. Sadly, it’s all a cruel, deadly plot by wicked Lesla-Lar, Kara’s identical double from the Bottle City of Kandor. This evil genius wants to replace Supergirl… and conquer Earth. Mini-epic ‘The Unknown Supergirl!’, ‘Supergirl’s Secret Enemy!’, ‘Trapped in Kandor!’, ‘The Secret of the Time-Barrier!’ and – following the results of the Hair Style competition –‘The Supergirl of Tomorrow!’ ran in Action Comics#278-282: solidly repositioning the character for a more positive, effective and fully public role in the DC universe. The saga also hinted of a more dramatic, less paternalistic, parochial and even reduced-sexist future for the most powerful girl in the world, over the months to come; although the young hero is still very much a student-in-training, her existence still kept from the general public as she lives with adoptive parents who are completely unaware the orphan they have adopted is a Kryptonian super-being.

Its back to silliness first though as Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #57 (Siegel, Swan & Kaye) offers an Imaginary story in which Linda loses her powers and memories. Through a cascade of coincidences ‘Jimmy Olsen Marries Supergirl!’. However when she returns to normal, newlywed Linda Olsen faces a dilemma that is only further fouled up by ‘Jimmy Olsen’s Two Brides!’

The accent on all these stories generally revolves around problem-solving, identity-saving and loneliness, with both good taste and the Comics Code ensuring readers weren’t traumatised by unsavoury or excessively violent tales. Plots akin to situation comedies often pertained, as in Action #283’s ‘The Six Red “K” Perils of Supergirl!’ Weird transformations were a mainstay at this time, and although post-modern interpretations might discern some metaphor for puberty or girls “becoming” women, I rather suspect the true answer is author Seigel’s love of comedy and an editorial belief that fighting was simply unladylike…

Red Kryptonite, a cosmically-altered isotope of the radioactive element left when Krypton exploded, caused temporary physical and sometimes mental mutations in the survivors of that doomed world. It was a godsend to writers in need of a challenging visual element when writing characters with the power to drop-kick planets. Here as limned by Mooney, the wonder-stuff generates a circus of horrors, transforming Supergirl into a werewolf, shrinking her to microscopic size and making her fat. I’m not going to say a single bloody word…

The drama continues with ‘The Strange Bodies of Supergirl!’ wherein Linda Lee Danvers’ travails escalate after she grows a second head, gains death-ray vision (ostensibly!) and morphs into a mermaid. This daffy holdover was actually more madcappery by Mr. Mxyzptlk, a shout out to simpler times in the face of a major change in the Girl of Steel’s status…

Hogging the cover (by Super-stalwarts Swan & George Klein) the simpler times ended as a major change in the Maid of Might’s status finally occurred. When her parents learn of their new daughter’s true origins, Superman allows his cousin to announce her existence to the world in 2-chapter saga ‘The World’s Greatest Heroine!’ concluding with a monumental battle against ‘The Infinite Monster!’ Here Siegel & Mooney detail how Supergirl becomes the darling of the universe: openly saving planet Earth and finally getting all the credit for it.

Action Comics #286 then pits her against her cousin’s greatest foe in ‘The Death of Luthor!’, prior to ‘Supergirl’s Greatest Challenge!’ seeing her visit the Legion of Super-Heroes to save future Earth from invasion. She also meets the telepathic descendent of her cat Streaky. His name is Whizzy – I could have left that out but chose not to – one more blow for smug, comedic effect…

Ending this epic compilation is ‘The Man who Made Supergirl Cry!’, signalling the beginning of Leo Dorfman’s contributions as scripter. Hugely prolific, he worked from the 1950s for Fawcett, on all Superman Family titles, Batman, DC’s horror line, Dell/Gold Key’s M.A.R.S. Patrol Total War and mystery anthologies including The Twilight Zone, Ripley’s Believe it or Not!, Boris Karloff Mystery and Grimm’s Ghost Stories under his own byline, as Geoff Brown or David George – and probably others – generating quality material continuously from the Golden Age until his death in 1974.

In this tight little closer thriller, Phantom Zone villains mentally control Supergirl’s new dad in a plot to escape their ethereal dungeon dimension… until she stops them with the help of fellow Legionnaire Mon-El…

Possibly the last time a female super-character’s sexual allure and sales potential wasn’t freely and gratuitously exploited, these tales are a link and window to a far less crass time, celebrating one of the few strong female characters parents can still happily share with their youngest girl children. I’m certainly not embarrassed to let any women see this volume, unlike most modern “Bad-Girl” books or male public figures you could possibly name.
© 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 2024 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Superman: The Golden Age Dailies 1944 to 1947 (volume 2)


By Alvin Schwartz, Wayne Boring & the Superman Studio (IDW/Library of American Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-68405-197-7 (HB)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

The American comic book industry – if it still existed at all – would be utterly unrecognisable without Superman. Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster’s unprecedented invention was first fervidly adopted by a desperate and joy-starved generation, and gave birth to a genre if not an actual art form. Spawning an army of imitators and variations within three years of his 1938 debut, the intoxicating blend of breakneck, breathtaking action and wish-fulfilment epitomising the early Man of Steel grew to encompass cops-&-robbers crimebusting, socially reforming dramas, sci fi fantasy, whimsical comedy and, once the war in Europe and the East sucked in America, patriotic relevance for a host of gods, heroes and monsters, all dedicated to profit through exuberant, eye-popping excess and vigorous, dashing derring-do.

From the outset, in comic book terms Superman was master of the world. Moreover, whilst transforming the shape of the fledgling funnybook biz, the Man of Tomorrow irresistibly expanded into all areas of the entertainment media. Although we all think of the Cleveland boys’ iconic invention as epitome and acme of comics creation, the truth is that very soon after his springtime debut in Action Comics #1 the Man of Steel was a fictional multimedia monolith in the same league as Popeye, Tarzan, Sherlock Holmes and Mickey Mouse. We parochial and possessive comics fans too often regard our purest and most powerful icons in purely graphic narrative terms, but the likes of Batman, Spider-Man, Avengers and their hyperkinetic kind long ago outgrew four-colour origins to become fully mythologized modern media creatures familiar in mass markets, across all platforms and age ranges…

In the last century and even more so in this one, far more people have seen and heard the Man of Steel than have ever read his comic books. These globally syndicated newspaper strips alone were enjoyed by countless millions, and by the time his 20th anniversary rolled around, at the very start of what we call the Silver Age of Comics, he had been a thrice-weekly radio serial star, headlined 17 astounding animated cartoons, become a novel attraction (written by George Lowther) and helmed two feature films. He had then seamlessly segued into the next Big Thing – television. His first smash 8-season live-action show was but the first of many, making Superman a perennial sure-fire success for toys, games, food, puzzle and apparel manufacturers all over the planet.

Although pretty much a spent force these days, for the majority of the previous century the newspaper comic strip was the Holy Grail all American cartoonists and graphic narrative storytellers hungered for. Syndicated across the country – and often the world – a strip feature could be seen by millions if not billions of readers and was generally accepted as a more mature and sophisticated form of literature than comic books. It also – at the start! – paid better, and rightly so. Some of the most enduring, entertaining characters and concepts of all time were devised to lure readers from one particular paper to another and many of the best became cornerstones of a global culture. Mutt and Jeff, Flash Gordon, Dick Tracy, Buck Rogers, Charlie Brown and so many more escaped humble, tawdry newsprint origins to become meta-real: existing in the minds of earthlings from Albuquerque to Zanzibar. Most still do…

The daily Superman newspaper strip launched on 16th January 1939, swiftly augmented by a full-colour Sunday page from November 5th of that year. Originally crafted by luminaries like Siegel & Shuster and their studio (Paul Cassidy, Leo Nowak, Dennis Neville, John Sikela, Ed Dobrotka, Paul J. Lauretta & Wayne Boring), the mammoth task soon required additional talents like strip veteran Jack Burnley and writers including Whitney Ellsworth, Jack Schiff & Alvin Schwartz. The McClure Syndicate feature ran continuously until May 1966, appearing, at its peak, in over 300 daily and 90 Sunday newspapers: a combined average readership of more than 20 million. Eventually, Win Mortimer & Curt Swan joined the unflagging Boring & Stan Kaye, whilst Bill Finger and Siegel also provided stories, telling serial tales largely divorced from comic book continuity throughout years when superheroes were scarcely seen.

This second volume of the Library of American Comics collection continues the vast reprint program begun in the Sterling/Kitchen Sink softcover editions which ceased production in 1999. All of that material – and these books too – are long overdue for re-release and digital editions. Here, however, the never-ending battle resumes with Siegel & Shuster and their helpers ceding control to new creators, but still addressing the World War the USA was close to ending. These sorties in “the never-ending battle” occur over episodes #31-46, pages #1815 through 2594, and publication dates October 30th 1944 to April 26 1947.

We open with an Introduction by Sidney Friefertig, discussing the changes from conflict to reconstruction and sharing why and how the strip aroused the ire of military intelligence and the FBI after casually stepping on the toes of the ultra-top-secret Manhattan Project. All they had wanted was to explore how atomic energy might affect the Action Ace. Also in review is the Man of Tomorrow’s post-war evolution via new scribe (and later poet, novelist and essayist) Alvin Schwartz (1916-2011) in the ever-evolving social stewpot of Metropolis and an increasingly smaller world.

With the majority of material credited to Schwartz (Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Tomahawk, Newsboy Legion, Slam Bradley, House of Mystery, A Date With Judy, Buzzy, Bizarro) and increasingly the sole province of artist Wayne Boring, the compilation kicks off with Episode 31 (strips #1815-1844 as seen between October 30th and December 2nd 1944) and the dilemma of ‘Superman’s Secret Revealed!’ as “World’s Richest Girl” Aline Wail announces her betrothal to the Man of Steel. Nobody is more despondent than Lois Lane or more surprised than Clark Kent, but by the time this genuine teletype typo is spotted, the story has gone global and Aline’s actual fiancé Aubrey Jones has been outed by frantic reporters – including Lois – as the superhero; thanks to a concatenation of accidents and misconceptions…

Sadly, inveterate gambler Aubrey needs to keep the deception going if he’s to pay off his bookies, and plans to cash in by suing Lois and the Daily Planet, until the real Superman steps in to divert and dispel the mounting media madness…

‘Lois Lane, Millionaire’ (strips #1845-1904, December 4th 1944 – February 10th 1945) then details how a murderous lawyer Homer G. Clutch and his virtual slave Mortimer attempt to procure the feisty journalist’s unsuspected inheritance of $3,000,000 from recently departed Grand-uncle Phineas Lane. Of course, to get the cash, Lois must marry within 10 days of receiving the official letter of notification, and account executor Clutch has many ways of intercepting the pay-out. Moreover, when Clark breaks the story, his scoop makes Lois the target of every other chancer and ne’er-do-well in town. They also all make it onto Clutch’s to-do list before Superman – and ironical fate – end Lane’s dreams of idle indolence…

Mundane crime gives way to wild fantasy next as ‘The Obnoxious Ogies’ (#1905-1946, February 12th – March 31st 1945) are annoying heard but not seen. When the invisible fairy pranksters attach themselves to Superman they make his life – and Clark’s – a cacophony of chaos until the Metropolis Marvel concocts something even these puckish pranksters cannot cope with…

Spanning April 2nd to June 23rd, strips #1947-2018 reveal ‘The Science of Superman’ as intractable intransigent physics Professor Ebenezer Duste refuses student Gil Gilmore his degree because the callow youth used clearly fictious examples of a Man of Tomorrow’s power set in his thesis. With his future career and current romance endangered the kid enlists Superman himself but even he cannot convince the sage of his authenticity, until at the height of a spiralling campaign of bizarre stunts, Duste finally finds his opinions shaken by attentive widow Prunella Busby who has her own way of winning an argument…

When a Daily Planet cooking contest prize goes to elderly spinsters Annabelle and Amelia, they parlay the reception into a longed-for meeting with Superman, inadvertently drawing the cataclysmic attention of Extra-Dimensional prankster Mr. Mxyztplk in ‘A Recipe for Disaster’ (June 25th – August 25th, strips #2019-2072)

Eager to impress, the sprite embarks on a career as a chef to win their attention/annoy the pants off his arch enemy and scare all Metropolis witless. It takes all Superman’s ingenuity and large helping of cunning from the old biddies before the Myxy can be convinced to go home again…

Lois finally finds herself ‘Engaged to Superman’ (#2073-2138, August 27th – November 10th) but when she insists that Clark be Best Man it triggers a wave of popular resentment among the city’s women, who protest in the streets and literally strike a blow for romance. As if that weren’t bad enough, mob chief Gaunt suspends all operations until after the wedding, planning to curb Superman’s anti-crime activities by threatening his bride. First, though, he has to marry Lois and the unhappy couple keep postponing the big day…

Domestic screwball comedy gives way to more traditional dramatic fare when Superman must save the Daily Planet – and Clark’s reputation – after a disgruntled employee publishes implausible predictions that Superman must make come true in ‘Phoney Prophecies’ (#2139-2198, November 12th 1945 to January 19th 1946) after which ‘Lois Lane, Editor’ (January 21st – April 6th, strips #2199-2264) confirms her courage, capability and ingenuity when high powered crooks seek to end her crusading crime reporting by seeking to buy her off with a major promotion. However, staunch and valiant, Miss Lane subverts the plot and makes The Daily Sphere a certified success before exposing the villains and negotiating a most rewarding return to the Planet…

A fantastic crimewave heralds the return of super-science bandit Lex Luthor (AKA Dr. Phineas Hackensack) between April 8th and June 1st (#2265-2312) as the villain unleashes ‘The Red Plague’ as a means of getting Superman into his lab and subjecting to a battery of horrific tests all designed to end his life. When all else fails he turns the Man of Steel into a living atomic bomb but once again tastes bitter defeat, after which ‘The Golden Scam’ (June 3rd – July 20th, #2313-2354) sees super conman J. Phineas Foxtrap gulled by his own greed and lose another fortune after selling fake gold bars to suckers with Superman’s approval. Of course, thanks to maverick atomic boffin Dr. Al Kemist, this time the ingots are completely genuine and vile trickster gets a taste of his own medicine…

In ‘Labors of Love’ (#2355-2378; July 22nd to August 17th) Superman again resolves to propose to Lois, but his heartfelt efforts are continually sabotaged by Mr. Mxyztplk, who spitefully decides that she’s actually the only girl in creation fit to be his mate. Cue crazed chaos, calamity and just a little carnage….

The trend towards whimsy and intellectual challenges continued when Lois is ordered to edit the Planet’s “Advice to the Lovelorn” column. She consequently asks our hero to cure a lazy dockside bum of being old, useless and unemployed in ‘Superman Finds a Job’ (#2379-2432; August 19th – October 2nd. He triumphs by inspiring aging wastrel Sam Brodie to discover his true calling and at last take the wrinkly hand of not-so-patient lady love Miss Tillie Crockett, but it’s a close call and takes all his super-wits and a lot of dumb luck…

Pure wickedness informs ‘The Prankster’s Peculiar Premonitions’ (#2433-2462; October 21st – November 23rd) as the lethal Joker-wannabe feigns clairvoyance and prophecy to humiliate Superman and plunder the city, before a war of aerial signwriters breaks out in ‘Sky Pirates’ (November 25th 1946 to January 4th 1947 and instalments #2463-2498) with a rogue pilot instigating a cunning crime wave of the air.

‘Portrait of a Crime’ (January 6th – February 8th; #2499-2528) introduces devious painter Pierre Laguerre who seeks to remove the Man of Steel from action by the strangest of methods, prior to the book concluding on a potent note of social relevancy.

‘Juvenile Delinquency’ (#2529-2594; February 10th to April 26th 1947) finds privileged brat Stanton Gladstone team up with dead-end kid Nicky Darrow to run wild, have fun and teach their respective families a lesson in parenting. However, rowdy rebellion escalates to felony and possibly murder when veteran criminals lead by top thug Big Jim step in to exploit the situation. Now Superman must not only punish the irredeemably wicked but save what remains of the boys’ tarnished innocence…

These yarns offer timeless wonders and mesmerising excitement for lovers of action and fantasy. The raw-boned early Superman is beyond compare and if you can handle the warts of the era or just crave simpler stories from less angst-wracked times, the adventures gathered here are ideal comics reading, and this a book you simply must see.
© 2018 DC Comics. All rights reserved. Superman and all related names, characters and elements are ™ DC Comics.

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DC Finest: Superman Family – The Giant Turtle Man


By Jerry Siegel, Otto Binder, Robert Bernstein, Jerry Coleman, Leo Dorfman, Curt Swan, Jim Mooney, Kurt Schaffenberger, George Papp, Al Plastino, John Forte, Sheldon Moldoff, Stan Kaye & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-79950-110-7 (TPB)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

On April 18th 1938 when the Man of Tomorrow debuted in Action Comics #1, he was instantly the centre of attention. However, even then the need for a solid supporting cast was apparent and cleverly catered for. Glamorous daredevil reporter Lois Lane premiered right beside Clark Kent and was his constant companion and foil from the outset. Although unnamed, a plucky red-headed, freckled kid started working alongside Lois & Clark from issue #6 (November 1938) onwards.

His first name was disclosed in Superman #13 (November-December 1941), having already been revealed as Jimmy Olsen to radio fans as he was a major player in The Adventures of Superman show from its debut on April 15th 1940. As someone the same age as the target audience: on hand for the hero to explain stuff to (all for the listener’s benefit), Jimmy was the closest thing to a sidekick the Action Ace ever needed. He’s remained a sporadic yet amazingly popular one ever since.

When the similarly titled TV show launched in the autumn of 1952, it was again an overnight sensation and National Periodical Publications began cautiously expanding their revitalised franchise with new characters and titles. First to get a promotion to solo-star status was the Daily Planet’s impetuously capable if occasionally conveniently naive “cub reporter”. His addictively charming, light-hearted escapades began in Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #1 (September/October 1954): only one of many spin-off stars in the Caped Kryptonian’s ever-expanding entourage.

Nevertheless, despite characters burgeoning on the pages of Superman’s titles it took three years for cautious Editors to tentatively extend the franchise again. In 1957, just as the Silver Age of Comics was getting underway, try-out title Showcase – which had already launched The Flash in #4 and Challengers of the Unknown in #6 – followed up with two issues entitled Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane (#9 & 10). Also conveniently naïve when a story demanded it, the “plucky News-hen” was awarded a series of her own. Technically it was her second, since in the 1940s she had commanded a regular solo-spot in Superman.

In previous reviews I’ve banged on about the patronising, parochial – and to at least some of us – potentially offensive portrayals of kids and most especially women during this period, and although some fairer, more affirmative instances were starting to appear, those warnings still bear repeating. Read with eyes open and social conscience primed please…

At that time, hers was one of precious few titles with a female lead, and, in the context of today, one that causes many 21st century fans understandable qualms of conscience. Within the confines of her series the valiant, capable and determined working woman careered crazily from man-hungry, unscrupulous paranoid bitch through ditzy simpleton to indomitable and brilliant troubleshooter – often all in the same issue. The comic book was clearly intended to appeal to the family demographic that made I Love Lucy a national phenomenon, and many stories were played for laughs in the same patriarchal, parochial manner: a “gosh, aren’t ladies funny?” tone that appals me today – but not as much as the fact that I still love them to bits.

That they’re mostly sublimely illustrated by the wonderfully whimsical Kurt Schaffenberger softens the repeated blows, but really, at my age I should know better…

For the close Superman Family and extended cast the tone of the times dictated a highly strictured code of conduct and parameters: Daily Planet Editor Perry White was a stern, shouty, elder statesman with a heart of gold, Cub Reporter Jimmy was a brave, impulsive, unseasoned fool – with a heart of gold – and Lois was brash, impetuous, unscrupulous and nosy, obsessed with marrying Superman, despite being – deep down – another possessor of an auric aorta. There were also more people with blue or green skin than brown or other human shades, but as I’m trying to plug this book’s virtues I’m just shutting up now.

While I’m at it though, this stunning compilation is another DC Finest editions: full colour extensions of their monochrome Showcase Presents line, delivering “affordably priced, large-size (comic book dimensions generally around 600 pages) paperback collections” highlighting past glories. Sadly, as yet they’re unavailable digitally but we live in hope…

Somehow, even with such byzantine editorial mandates in place the talented writers and artists assigned to detail these wholesomely uncanny exploits crafted tales both beguiling and breathtakingly memorable… and usually as funny as they were thrilling.

By today’s standards, Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen wasn’t quite as contentious, but still far too often stories meant to amuse portrayed the bright, bold boy in demeaning if not downright cruel situations and experiencing humiliating physical transformations. Even so, a winning blend of slapstick adventure, action, fantasy and science fiction (in the gentle, insidiously charming manner scripter Otto Binder had perfected 15 years previously at Fawcett Comics on Captain Marvel) made the series one of the most popular of the era. Again, originally most yarns were played for laughs in a father-knows-best manner and tone which can again appal me today, even though I still count them amongst some of my very favourite comics. Confusing, ain’t it?

This cinematically timely, intriguingly chronologically comprehensive compendium collects exploits starring the Man of Steel’s mates and kin (and pets) as first seen in Action Comics #266, 277 & 278, Adventure Comics #287, Superman #142,143 & 147, Superboy #87, 90 & 92, Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane #19-28, and Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #47-56, cumulatively spanning July 1960 to October 1961: a period of infinite wackiness and outrageous absurdity, but heralding the inevitable dawning of a more serious milieu for the Action Ace and those close to him.

This particular series of ethical conundrums commence with ‘The World’s Mightiest Cat!’ by Jerry Siegel & Jim Mooney, as the Supergirl story in back of Action Comics #266 finds her secret identity of foundling Linda Lee endangered by a fellow orphan at Midvale Orphanage who thinks her ginger cat Streaky has super powers…

Our perpetual lady-in-waiting follows in 3 yarns limned by Schaffenberger as Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane #19 (August 1960) opens with Robert Bernstein’s ‘The Day Lois Lane Forgot Superman!’ Here, devoted sister Lucy convinces her perennially heartbroken elder sibling to try hypnosis and get past her destructive obsession. Sadly, when it works, Lois finds time to pester Clark so much he has no time to save the world…

When an accident seemingly catapults Lois into history she becomes enamoured of Samson, a hero with a secret identity and ‘The Superman of the Past!’ This quirky yarn by Binder segues into a new occasional series from Siegel & Schaffenberger. ‘Mr. and Mrs. Clark (Superman) Kent!’ was the first of a poignant tragi-comedy feature depicting the laughter and tears that might result if Lois secretly married the Man of Steel. Although seemingly having achieved her heart’s desire, she is officially only married to dull, safe Clark, and must keep her relationship with Superman secret: unable to brag or show pride and forced to swallow the rage she feels whenever another woman throws herself at the still eligible bachelor hero…

For an artefact of an era uncomfortably dismissive of women, there’s actually genuine heart and understanding in this tale, and a minimum of snide sniping about “silly, empty-headed girls”. Perhaps it was the influence of the tailored-for-adults Superman newspaper strip Siegel was simultaneously scripting leaking into the funnybook line….

Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #47 sees Jimmy in over his head, impersonating escaped convict Winky McCoy and trapped as ‘The King of Crime!’ in a cracking thriller by Bernstein, Curt Swan & John Forte, before the impatiently underage lad transforms into a husky 30-something thanks to another Professor Phineas Potter potion in ‘Jimmy Grows Up!’  Here Binder sagely proves maturity isn’t everything, before Siegel wraps up the issue with a rousing romp as alien producers who previously made horror movies starring Superman & Jimmy return to Earth seeking sequels. It soon transpires that the robot reporter they use to replace Jimmy doesn’t like the prospect of being junked at shooting’s end, and tries to do away with the original in ‘The Monsters from Earth!’…

SGLL #20 (October 1960) opens whimsically with ‘Superman’s Flight from Lois Lane’ (Siegel & Schaffenberger), as the Man of Steel escapes into his own past to see if a different life-path might result in a civilian existence unencumbered by “nosy snooping females”. Disc jockey Clark soon learns his inquisitive assistant Liza Landis makes Lois look positively disinterested and gladly ends the experiment, after which ‘The Luckiest Girl in Metropolis!’ (Bernstein & Al Plastino) finds Lois targeted by a Machiavellian mobster seeking to destroy her credibility as a witness, prior to Siegel & Schaffenberger revisiting the Imaginary Mr. & Mrs. scenario with ‘Lois Lane’s Super-Daughter!’ wherein attempts to adopt Linda Lee lead to heartbreak and disaster…

That same month in all-Swan & Forte Jimmy Olsen #48, anonymously scripted ‘The Story of Camp Superman!’ presents heartwarming mystery as the cub works as counsellor to troubled kids – one of whom knows entirely too much about Superman – whilst ‘The Disguises of Danger!’ revisits undercover Jimmy’s acting gifts to get close to a cunning crook. Binder’s ‘The Mystery of the Tiny Supermen!’ sees the Kryptonian Bottled City Kandor’s miniscule Superman Emergency Squad harass Olsen in a devious ploy to prevent his accidentally exposing the Man of Steel’s civilian identity…

All-Schaffenberger Lois Lane #21 delivers a double length epic by author unknown wherein the Anti-Superman Gang utilise explosive toys to endanger the pesky reporter in ‘The Lois Lane Doll!’ It compels the Action Ace to hide her in his Fortress of Solitude, but even that proves insufficient and she finds refuge – and unlikely romance – ‘Trapped in Kandor!’ Siegel then pens a classic yarn of bitter rivalry as the two women most dear to Superman gain incredible abilities and duke it out like men in ‘The Battle Between Super-Lois and Super-Lana!’

SPJO #49 leads with ‘Jimmy’s Gorilla Identity!’ as the luckless lad meets DC stalwart Congo Bill and gets his personality trapped in the hunter’s occasional alter ego – giant golden ape Congorilla. Next, Prof. Potter is blamed for – but entirely innocent of – turning the kid into ‘The Fat Boy of Metropolis!’ in a daft but clever crime caper, prior to Siegel playing with contemporary trends as Jimmy impersonates a rock ‘n’ roll star to impress Lucy Lane in ‘Alias, Chip O’Doole!’…

In Superman #142 (January 1961), Schaffenberger limns Binder’s ‘Lois Lane’s Secret Helper!’ wherein faithful super dog Krypto cunningly plays matchmaker to secure a comfy future for himself, before SGLL #22 – another all Schaffenberger affair – starts with a Red Kryptonite experiment afflicting the Metropolis Marvel with a compulsion to repeatedly pop the question to dubious and suspicious Lois in Siegel’s ‘The Day When Superman Proposed!’

Bernstein’s ‘Lois Lane’s X-Ray Vision!’ sees irradiated sunglasses create a tidal wave of problems for Superman, before making her the ‘Sweetheart of Robin Hood!’ in another time-shift dream seeing the reporter courted by a very familiar-seeming Defender of Truth, Justice and the Nottinghamshire Way…

In SPJO #50, Siegel, Swan & Sheldon Moldoff’s ‘The Lord of Olsen Castle!’ sees Jimmy as potential heir to a Swedish castle and title. All he must do is accomplish a slew of fantastic feats and defeat an ogre, utterly unaware Superman and a host of Kryptonians are secretly pitching in. ‘The Weirdest Asteroid in Space’ (Binder, Swan & Moldoff) then offers a bold monster mystery before another Potter experiment shifts all Superman’s might into his teen pal in ‘The Super-Life of Jimmy Olsen!’ (by an unknown author and illustrated by Plastino).

Superman #143 (February 1961 by Siegel & Forte) celebrates ‘Lois Lane’s Lucky Day!’ as the courageous reporter busts up a crooked carnival with some unsuspected Kryptonian help, before Lois Lane #23 opens with Binder & Schaffenberger’s riotous romp ‘The 10 Feats of Elastic Lass!’  Here our impetuous journalist borrows Jimmy’s stretching serum to track down mad bomber The Wrecker, before debunking ‘The Curse of Lena Thorul!’ (Siegel): exposing a bewitching beauty’s incredible connection to Lex Luthor and leading into another Seigel Imaginary visit to a possible future wherein ‘The Wife of Superman!’ is worn to a frazzle by twin super-toddlers and yearns for her old job at the Daily Planet…

Jimmy Olsen #51 discloses ‘Jimmy Olsen’s 1000th Scoop!’ (Bernstein, Swan & Forte), with the prospective milestone repeatedly delayed by Superman for the best possible reasons, after which a sultry alien takes an unlikely shine to the lad. Unfortunately, ‘The Girl with Green Hair’ (Binder, Swan & Forte) is the result of a scheme by a well-meaning third party to get Lucy to be nicer to Jimmy and it all goes painfully, horribly wrong before ‘The Dream Detective!’ (Swan & Kaye) finds the callow cub inexplicably develop psychometric abilities and unravel mysteries in his sleep…

In Superboy #87, Bernstein & George Papp reveal ‘When Lana Lang First Suspected Clark Kent!’ proving that even when he was a kid, pesky smart girls kept trying to expose his secret identity even as ‘Krypto’s First Romance!’ (Siegel & Papp) finds the star -spanning superdog falling for Kolli – a comely canine shot into space by nasty humanoids on planet Mogar as part of their war preparations. Tragically, Krypto’s brief fling is doomed from the start and he has to make an appalling decision and sacrifice…

‘The Super-Surprise!’ opens Lois Lane #24: an anonymously scripted thriller sending Lois undercover as a platinum blonde, to scupper a plot against Superman, and superbly rendered by Schaffenberger, as is Bernstein’s ‘The Perfect Husband!’, wherein a TV dating show leads Lois into a doomed affair with a he-man hunk almost the spitting image of Clark. Almost…

The issue closes on Bernstein & Forte’s ‘Lois Lane… Traitor!’ with her in the frame for murdering the King of Pahla… until the incredible, unbelievable true culprit comes forward. Also available that month, Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #52 featured Leo Dorfman, Swan & Kaye’s ‘The Specter of the Haunted House!’ as a gang of cunning thieves use supernatural sceptic Olsen as a patsy for a robbery scheme, before ‘The Perils of Jimmy Olsen!’ (Swan & Forte art) sees the laid-up apprentice scribe use a robot double to perform feats of escalating daring… and stupidity. ‘Jimmy Olsen, Wolfman!’ (Siegel, Swan & Kaye) then delivers a welcome sequel to an earlier tale wherein Superman’s Pal is again afflicted by lycanthropy thanks to the pranks of 5th dimensional imp Mr. Mxyzptlk…

In Lois Lane #25 Siegel & Schaffenberger’s Imaginary series reaches a bittersweet high point in ‘Lois Lane and Superman, Newlyweds!’ as the severely sidelined spouse convinces hubby to announce their relationship to the world… and faces shocking consequences. The brilliant reporter side is highlighted in Bernstein’s diabolical thriller ‘Lois Lane’s Darkest Secret!’ with the daring investigator risking her life to draw out a mesmeric master criminal before ‘The Three Lives of Lois Lane!’ (uncredited, with Forte illustrating) sees her surviving a car crash, only to be subsumed into the personalities of dead historical figures Florence Nightingale, Betsy Ross and Queen Isabella of Spain. Here, Superman can only stay near and try to limit the damage her episodes create…

SPJO #53 opens with Siegel, Swan & Kaye’s ‘The Boy in the Bottle!’ as Jimmy suffers future shock whilst trapped in Kandor, after which sheer medical mischance results in Siegel, Swan & Forte’s now-legendary saga of ‘The Giant Turtle Man!’ and an oddly casualty-free monster rampage before ‘The Black Magician!’ (unknown writer, Swan & Forte) finds Olsen banished to King Arthur’s court by spiteful Mr. Mxyzptlk. Action Comics #277 then offers a truly delightful Supergirl yarn crafted by Siegel & Mooney. ‘The Battle of the Super-Pets!’ finds Streaky typically envious after she pays attention to shameless ingratiating mutt Krypto. When Superman suggests they compete for her attentions to prove who’s best (no, really!), they select the most unlucky locale of all for their arena…

Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane #26 delivers three more Schaffenberger classics, starting with Siegel’s ‘The Day Superman Married Lana Lang!’  In this imaginary tragedy, the Action Ace finally settles down with his childhood sweetheart, but lives to regret it, whilst ‘Lois Lane’s Childhood!’ (Siegel) reveals how the lives of Kal-El on doomed Krypton and baby Lois on Earth were intertwined by fate and providence, before Bernstein’s ‘The Mad Woman of Metropolis’ closes the comics cavalcade on a stunning high. Here, Lois foils a diabolical plot by criminals to murder Clark and drive her insane, whilst for SPJO #54, Bernstein, Swan & Kaye’s ‘Elastic Lad’s Wrestling Match!’ finds Jimmy incensed after deducing that the grappling game is fixed and fake (shocking, no?).  The outraged fan uses his occasionally empowered alter ego to expose the institutionalised shenanigans, after which he comes into possession of Mr. Mxyzptlk’s magic wishing hat and – through a succession of whacky happenstances – saves Superman as ‘King of the Giant Ants!’ An unrecorded writer then employs Swan & Kaye’s gift for comedy to catalogue the horrors of literal infantilisation after the impetuous boy reporter accidentally transforms himself into ‘Baby Jimmy Olsen!’

Action Comics #278 exposed ‘The Super Powers of Perry White!’ (Jerry Coleman, Swan & Kaye) with the senescent editor suddenly gaining incredible abilities and an inexplicable urge to conquer the world, whilst in Superboy #90 another uncredited script – this time delineated by Papp – shares ‘Pete Ross’ Super-Secret!’ as Clark’s best friend discovers his alien alter ego. SGLL #27 follows, opening with Bernstein & Schaffenberger’s ‘Lois Lane’s Super-Brain!’ When Lois accidentally mutates herself into a creature with a colossal cranium she spends all her time and boosted intellect trying to hide it from Superman, before baffling mystery ‘The Battle of the Sisters!’ (Siegel Swan & Kaye) seemingly sees the Man of Steel ditch Lois for hot, blonde, younger sibling Lucy, prior to Bernstein & Schaffenberger relating ‘The Last Days of Lois Lane!’ as – believing herself fatally irradiated – the dedicated journalist resolves to risk what time she has left scoring the most dangerous scoops ever…

One of the most consistent motifs in fiction is the “Dark Opposite” or “player on the other side”: a complete antithesis of the protagonist often bearing many apparent similarities. Rock yourself to sleep at night if you wish, listing such deadly doppelgangers from Professor Moriarty to Gladstone Gander…

“Imperfect” Superman duplicate Bizarro either debuted as a misunderstood freak/unwilling monster in Binder & Papp’s captivatingly tragic ‘The Battle with Bizarro’ (Superboy #68, October 1958 and not included here) or in the similarly titled Superman newspaper strip sequence written by Alvin Schwartz (episode 105, pages #6147-6242, spanning August 25th -December 13th 1958), with the latter scribe claiming he’d thought up the idea months earlier. The newsprint version was certainly first to employ those eccentric reversed-logic thought-patterns and idiomatic speech impediment…

Although later played primarily for laughs, such as in his tenure in Tales of The Bizarro World (Adventure Comics #285-299 June 1961 – August 1962), most early comic book appearances of the dippy double were generally moving, child-appropriate tragedies, unlike here – Adventure Comics #287 – as ‘Jimmy Olsen’s Kookie Scoops!’ reveal the backwards-living artificial beings kidnapping him to run their newspaper on their square planet Htrae…

Next ‘Krypto Battles Titano’ (Superman #147, by Siegel & Plastino) after the Dog of Steel voyages back to the Age of Dinosaurs to romp, inadvertently saving humanity from alien invasion beside the Kryptonite-mutated giant ape. Then, SPJO #55 and Plastino plus unknown author introduce ‘The Monster That Loved Aqua-Jimmy!’ The odd coupling occurs after Olsen gains the powers of Aquaman and stands (swims?) in for him in the world’s oceans. The rest of the issue offers tales from Bernstein, Swan & Kaye, beginning with ‘Jimmy the Red, Thor’s Best Pal!’ wherein a magic tablet hurls the lucky lad back to ancient Scandinavia to befriend the god of thunder and help defeat Loki, after which ‘Jimmy Olsen’s Secret Power!’ exposes seeming betrayal as a strange new talent literally repels his best pal…

Pausing women’s business for now, Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane #28 begins with ‘The Lois Lane of the Future!’ as Siegel & Forte supervise the Man of Tomorrow being banished to the far future by Lex Luthor. There he meets – and is incredibly annoyed by – super-powered possible descendent Lois 4XR until he finds his way home, prior to Schaffenberger & Siegel’s ‘Lois Lane’s Super-Lesson!’ with Superman secretly aiding billionaire Rajah Bandhi win her hand in marriage after she cruelly scorns and spurns him (!!) and concluding with Bill Finger & Schaffenberger’s ‘Lois Lane, Gun Moll!’ as another Luthor scheme apparently turns her into the most vicious criminal in Metropolis…

Cover-dated October 1961, Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #56 leads with Imaginary Story ‘The Son of Jimmy Olsen!’ by Siegel & Schaffenberger, as Superman & Lois’ daughter elopes with the rash child of Jimmy & Lucy, culminating in catastrophic consequences. It’s followed by a return to consensual Continuity and Siegel & Forte’s mystery tale ‘The Jinx of Metropolis!’ as Jimmy suddenly becomes sudden death to anything metallic. This ushers us into Bernstein & Plastino’s Hollywood glamour-soaked yarn ‘Jimmy Olsen’s Sweethearts’, wherein Lucy is outraged – and utterly baffled – to find Jimmy apparently two-timing her with every starlet in Tinseltown. Of course, all is not what it seems…

This monumental memento to simpler, weirder times concludes with a shaggy dog tale from Superboy #92, where Coleman & Papp debuted ‘Krypto’s Arch-Enemy!’ after teenaged Lex Luthor’s canine companion Destructo stumbles into a lab experiment and gains superpowers. Obviously, the Bad Boy (and his mighty dog) seek to settle old scores, but happily Krypto is too smart for them…

As well as containing some of the most delightful episodes of the pre-angst, cosmically catastrophic DC, these fun, thrilling, deeply peculiar and, yes, occasionally offensive tales perfectly capture the changing tone and tastes reshaping comics moving from the smug, safe 1950s to the seditious, rebellious 1960s, all the while keeping to the prime directive of the industry: “keep them entertained and keep them wanting more.”

Despite all the well-intentioned quibbles from my high horse here in the 21st century, I think these stories still have a huge amount to offer funnybook fun-seekers and strongly urge you to check them out for yourselves. You won’t be sorry…
© 1960, 1961, 2025 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Superman: The Golden Age Dailies 1942 to 1944


By Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster, Whitney Ellsworth, Wayne Boring & the Superman Studio (IDW/ Library of American Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-63140-383-5 (HB)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

In this month of romantic anticipation and disillusionment, it’s worth reminding ourselves that every iconic hero of strips and comics has a dutiful, stalwart inamorata waiting ever so patently in the wings for their moment to spoon and swoon or be rescued. Here’s another vintage outing for one of the earliest and most resolute…

The American comic book industry – if it existed at all – would be utterly unrecognisable without Superman. Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster’s unprecedented invention was first fervidly adopted by a desperate and joy-starved generation, and gave birth to a genre if not an actual art form. Spawning an army of imitators and variations within three years of his 1938 debut, the intoxicating blend of breakneck, breathtaking action and wish-fulfilment which epitomised the early Man of Steel grew to encompass cops-&-robbers crimebusting, socially reforming dramas, sci fi fantasy, whimsical comedy and, once the war in Europe and the East sucked in America, patriotic relevance for a host of gods, heroes and monsters, all dedicated to profit through exuberant, eye-popping excess and vigorous dashing derring-do.

From the outset, in comic book terms Superman was master of the world. Moreover, whilst transforming the shape of the fledgling funnybook biz, the Man of Tomorrow irresistibly expanded into all areas of the entertainment media. Although we all think of the Cleveland boys’ iconic invention as epitome and acme of comics creation, the truth is that very soon after his springtime debut in Action Comics #1 the Man of Steel was a fictional multimedia monolith in the same league as Popeye, Tarzan, Sherlock Holmes and Mickey Mouse. We parochial and possessive comics fans too often regard our purest and most powerful icons in purely graphic narrative terms, but the likes of Batman, Spider-Man, Avengers and their hyperkinetic kind long ago outgrew four-colour origins to become fully mythologized modern media creatures familiar in mass markets, across all platforms and age ranges…

Far more people have seen and heard the Man of Steel than have ever read his comic books. These globally syndicated newspaper strips alone were enjoyed by countless millions, and by the time his 20th anniversary rolled around, at the very start of what we call the Silver Age of Comics, he had been a thrice-weekly radio serial star, headlined 17 astounding animated cartoons, become a novel attraction (written by George Lowther) and helmed two feature films and his first smash 8-season live-action television show. Superman was a perennial sure-fire success for toy, game, puzzle and apparel manufacturers all over the planet.

Although pretty much a spent force these days, for the majority of the previous century the newspaper comic strip was the Holy Grail that all American cartoonists and graphic narrative storytellers hungered for. Syndicated across the country – and often the planet – it was seen by millions, if not billions, of readers and generally accepted as a more mature and sophisticated form of literature than comic books. It also paid better, and rightly so. Some of the most enduring and entertaining characters and concepts of all time were created to lure readers from one particular paper to another and many of them grew to be part of a global culture. Mutt and Jeff, Flash Gordon, Dick Tracy, Buck Rogers, Charlie Brown and so many more escaped humble, tawdry newsprint origins to become meta-real: existing in the minds of earthlings from Albuquerque to Zanzibar. Most still do…

The daily Superman newspaper strip launched on 16th January 1939, augmented by a full-colour Sunday page from November 5th of that year. Originally crafted by luminaries like Siegel & Shuster and their studio (Paul Cassidy, Leo Nowak, Dennis Neville, John Sikela, Ed Dobrotka, Paul J. Lauretta & Wayne Boring), the mammoth task required additional talents like strip veteran Jack Burnley and writers including Whitney Ellsworth, Jack Schiff & Alvin Schwartz.

The McClure Syndicate feature ran continuously until May 1966, appearing, at its peak, in over 300 daily and 90 Sunday newspapers; a combined readership of more than 20 million. Eventually, Win Mortimer and Curt Swan joined the unflagging Boring & Stan Kaye whilst Bill Finger and Siegel provided stories, telling serial tales largely divorced from comic book continuity throughout years when superheroes were scarcely seen.

This is the first volume of the Library of American Comics collection, which picks up from the Sterling/Kitchen Sing softcover editions which ceased production in 1999. All of the material is long overdue for re-release and digital editions. Here, however, the never-ending battle resumes with Siegel & Shuster and their helpers addressing the world war had just become part of. This superb collection – still not available digitally, despite its superb quality and sublime content – opens with an Introduction by John Wells discussing the Man of Tomorrow’s role of during those days of combat and fear, comprises episodes #20-30, pages 967 through 1814, and publication dates February 16th 1942 to October 28th 1944. It begins with ‘Lair of the Leer’ (February 16 – May 23 1942, #967-1050) as following Pearl Harbor, Clark Kent tries to enlist but fails the physical. In his eagerness, the hero had accidentally activated his super vision and read an eye chart in another room!

Marooned at home, Superman instead counters a wave of sabotage instigated by a murderous maniac dubbed The Leer and addresses Congress, swearing to defend the homeland while America’s brave boys settle the fascists overseas…via a string of Japanese, Italian and German operatives, seeking to destroy government, shipping transport infrastructure and arms plants. As he tirelessly stops these attempts, savvy Lois Lane investigates and soon is in the thick of the action…

The challenge is swiftly taken up by the master spy who mistakenly targets male reporter Clark, but gets snoopy Lois anyway; a mistake that leads to his undoing and his end…

Dialling down fury and spectacle, strips 1051-1115 reveal the secret of ‘The Steel Mill Poet’ (May 25-August 8) as Lois & Clark visit critical war industry site the Canby steel mill where fanciful dowager Mrs Canby believes her cousin’s odes and ditties will uplift the sweaty toilers. With morale plummeting Superman goes looking for her vanished husband, and finds himself playing cupid to two generations of steel tycoons whilst also scotching a sabotage scheme unlike any other…

The naval war features heavily in ‘The Monocle Menace’ (August 10-November 21, #1116-1205) as a new malicious mastermind targets shipping and support services by creating a evil Superman doppelganger, although his real objective is a secret formula. As usual Lois is first on the case and has a ringside seat to an ever-escalating battle of super-powers against super science; even saving her hero when the Man of Steel succumbs to sinister mesmerism and seemingly switches sides!

With Wayne Boring taking more and more of the drawing duties, Seasonal whimsy informs the 23rd exploit as Hitler, Mussolini and General Tojo combine forces to shatter the moral of the world by having ‘Santa Claus Kidnapped’ (November 23-December 19, strips 1206-1229). This compels Superman to go undercover in Berlin, saving Saint Nick and giving the German resistance a big boost before returning to truly nasty business by countering ‘The Villainy of the Voice’ (December 21 1942 to April 17 1943, and 1230-1331). Here an anonymous plotter uses a whispering campaign of insinuation and innuendo to terrorise key workers until Lois and Clark expose the rat and his insidious gang of spying blackmailers and extortionists…

As the Daily Planet’s top reporters are despatched to “war-torn Europe”, Lois &Clark accidentally encounter super spy ‘The Nefarious Noname’ (April 19-June 26, 1332-1391) and are sucked into a Hitchcockian chase around London in pursuit of stolen Allied invasion plans. “Luckily” Superman is also on hand to help them against the freakish, many-eyed psionic mutant terror commanding the enemy agents and a ferocious battle of powers and war of wills ends with the right side victorious again…

Returning safely to America, LL & CK are just in time to see how ‘The Sneer Strikes’ (June 28 – August 21, #1392-1439) as the brother of the Leer targets Japanese Internment Camps in a remarkably even-handed exploration of what we now consider one of the darkest ethical moments in US history. Hopefully that’s not a statement I’ll have amend over the next four years…

Back then though, the reporters’ investigative visits uncover spy schemes and escape plots, forcing the Man of Steel to use his disguise powers to go undercover, infiltrating the Nipponese gang as they attempt to destroy US/Chinese relations and foil a West Coast invasion. The war was slowly turning in the Allies’ favour and reader burnout was growing, so it’s no surprise story #27 moved into solid mystery territory with ‘Where is Lois Lane?’ (August 23 – November 18, #1440-1518) as Clark and Jimmy Olsen realise the woman working at the Daily Planet with them has vanished. Moreover, every aspect of her non-work life – home, neighbours, friends – has been eradicated…

It’s even more confusing when she suddenly reappears, claiming everyone else is crazy. Maybe its because she’s been replaced by an enemy agent wearing her face and form carrying out a bizarre ploy to make Superman her slave and destroy the US economy…

A different kind of whimsy is in play when Lois’s niece – a habitual liar who could shame Baron Munchausen, if not the 47th President – debuts in ‘Little Susie’s Fibs’ (November 19 1943 – February 19 1944, #1519-1598). The fabricating deceiver is an inveterate troublemaker, and when she sees Clark become Superman the scene is set for an avalanche of chaos, after Susie confronts Kent. Of course, he denies everything but cannot find a way to prove he is NOT the Man of Steel telling a lie, and the fantastic hilarity goes into overdrive when ‘The Mischievous Mr. Mxyztplk’ first manifests (February 21 – July 19, #1599-1727). Forewarned by medium Madame Zodia, Lois & Clark are still utterly unprepared for a spate of poltergeist phenomena at the Planet building, heralding the arrival of a fun-addicted magical imp who doesn’t care who gets hurt whilst he’s getting his giggles…

As if his antics aren’t enough to fully occupy the Action Ace, the “Most Beautiful Woman in the World” chooses that moment to stop covering her face, no longer caring about the fights and accidents her looks generate. With men rioting and suiciding everywhere, the imp sets his heart on her too, but Miss Dreamface seeks to steal Superman’s, even though faithful old flame Ted is still chasing her too. The frenzy mounts and peaks in Metropolis, setting the scene for tragedy and disaster, even if true love eventually finds a way to restore order…

Acclaimed favourite of the Superman radio show, the Daily Planet copy boy got his first taste of pictorial fame in concluding sequence #30 ‘King Jimmy Olsen’ (July 20-October 28 1944, #1728-1814). Here the dauntless is lad abducted by hidden super-scientific kingdom Thymaung. The boy is the exact double of ruler Rahma, and a council of usurpers want to replace their noble boy king with a pliable primitive they can control and who will front their campaign to conquer Earth. Unfortunately for them, Superman tracks down his pal, but insists the kid plays along until the Man of Tomorrow can safely liberate the captive king. A whirlwind ride of action, fantasy and first love, it heralds a new era of decreasingly political satire in favour of gender stereotyping and reinforcement masked as a comedic “battle of the sexes”. There will be more of that next time -and all through the “Atomic age” of the 1950s & 1960s…

For now though, these yarns offer timeless wonders and mesmerising excitement for lovers of action and fantasy. The raw-boned early Superman is beyond compare. If you can handle the warts of the era or just crave simpler stories from less angst-wracked times, they are ideal comics reading, and this a book you simply must see.
© 2016 DC Comics. All rights reserved. Superman and all related names, characters and elements are ™ DC Comics.

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Superman: The Man of Steel volume 2


By John Byrne, Marv Wolfman, Paul Levitz, Jerry Ordway, Greg LaRoque, Erik Larsen, Karl Kesel, Dick Giordano, Keith Williams, Mike DeCarlo, Arne Starr, P. Craig Russell, Bob Smith, Jose Marzan Jr., John Beatty, India Inc. (Giordano, Kesel, Bob Lewis, Ordway, Russell, Smith, Robert Ian, Bill Wray), Kurt Schaffenberger & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-7795-0591-0 (HB/Digital edition)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

In 1985 when DC Comics rationalise, reconstructed and reinvigorated their continuity with Crisis on Infinite Earths they also used the event to simultaneously regenerate their key properties. The biggest gun they had was Superman and it’s hard to argue that the change was not before time. The big guy was in a bit of a slump, but he’d weathered those before. So how could a root and branch retooling be anything but a pathetic marketing ploy that would alienate “real” fans for a few fly-by-night Johnny-come-latelies who would jump ship as soon as the next fad surfaced? The new Superman was going to suck…

They couldn’t have been more wrong.

It began with all Superman titles being “cancelled” (actually suspended) for three months, and yes, for the first time in decades, that did make the real-world media sit up and take notice of the character everybody thought they knew. However, there was method in this seeming corporate madness. The missing mainstays were replaced by a 6-part miniseries running from October to December 1986. Entitled Man of Steel, it was written and drawn by Marvel’s mainstream superstar John Byrne – fresh off a spectacular, groundbreaking run on Fantastic Four – inked by venerated veteran Dick Giordano. The bold manoeuvre was a huge and instant success. So much so that when it was first collected as a stand-alone compilation album in 1991, it became one of comics’ premiere “break-out” hits in the new format that would eventually become the industry standard for reaching mass readerships. Nowadays few people buy the periodical pamphlets but almost everybody has read a graphic novel…

From that overwhelming start the Action Ace seamlessly returned to his suspended comic book homes, enjoying the addition of a third monthly title that premiered that same month. Superman, Adventures of Superman, and Action Comics (which became a fan-pleasing team-up title guest-starring other favourites of the DC Universe, in the manner of the cancelled DC Comics Presents) were instant best-sellers. The back-to-basics approach lured many readers to – and, crucially back to – the Superman franchise, but the sheer quality of the stories and art are what convinced them to stay. Such cracking, clear-cut superhero exploits are a high point in the Action Ace’s decades-long career, and these collections are certainly the easiest way to enjoy one of the most impressive reinventions of a comic book icon.

So successful was the relaunch that by the early 1990’s Superman would be carrying four monthly titles as well as Specials, Annuals, guest shots and regular appearances in titles like Justice League – quite a turnaround from the earlier heydays of the Man of Steel when editors were frantic about never overexposing their meal-ticket.

In Superman’s 85th year of more-or-less consecutive and continuous publication, a new sequence of collections brought Byrne & Co.’s tales to a new generation of fans, and at long last we’re getting around to plugging the rest of them whilst adding our usual plea that the series continues and re-presents more of this wonderful material…

Spanning cover-dates May to December 1987 and re-presenting Superman #5-11, Action #588-593 and Adventures of Superman #429-435, plus crossover issues Legion of Super-Heroes #37-38 with relevant informative bio-pages from Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #13 & 23 and Who’s Who Update 1987 #2, 4-5, this monumental sequel compilation follows the Never-Ending Battle in unfolding, overlapping story order, not chronological release dates, and opens with ‘How Did I Get Here?’ – a reprinting of editor Mike Carlin’s introduction from a 2006 collection before the Actions and Adventures continue to unfold…

With Byrne’s so-very-controversial reboot of the world’s first superhero a solid smashing hit, the collaborative teams tasked with ensuring his continued success really hit their stride with the tales here, beginning with ‘The Mummy Strikes’ and ‘The Last Five Hundred’ (Byrne & inker Karl Kesel, from Superman #5-6). This introduces a first hint of romance between the Man of Tomorrow and Wonder Woman before Lois Lane and Clark Kent are embroiled in an extraterrestrial invasion that started half a million years ago, and features rogue robots and antediluvian bodysnatchers.

In ‘Old Ties’ (Adventures of Superman #429) Marv Wolfman & Jerry Ordway reveal the catastrophic repercussions of hidden race of alien telepaths the Circle transferring their expansionist attentions from rogue state Qurac to Metropolis, before segueing into a sidereal saga from Action Comics #588-589. Here Byrne & Giordano combine the Caped Kryptonian with Hawkman & Hawkwoman in ‘All Wars Must End’ – an epic battle against malign Thanagarian invaders – before meeting Arisia, Salaak, Kilowog, Katma Tui and other luminaries of the Green Lantern Corps who rescue the star-lost Superman in ‘Green on Green’ before uniting together and eliminating an unstoppable planet-eating beast.

Superman #7 by Byrne & Kesel follows ‘Rampage!’ as a petty male colleague sabotages a Metropolis lab experiment, accidentally mutating his boss Dr. Kitty Faulkner into a super-strong, rage-fuelled monstrosity. Thankfully, Superman is on hand and keeps a cool head, but only until Adventures of Superman #430 which sees the Metropolis Marvel ‘Homeward Bound!’ courtesy of Wolfman & Ordway before resorting to harsh measures in pitched battle against metahuman bandits the Fearsome Five. In Action Comics #590 Byrne & Giordano explored ‘Better Living Dying Through Chemistry’, wherein a bizarre toxic accident turns ambulatory waste dump Chemo into a giant Superman clone. Happily, its old adversaries The Metal Men are on hand to aid in the extremely violent clean-up…

As the ripples of Crisis on Infinite Earths pinged across the new DCU, there were a few bumps to smooth out that had missed being sorted during the big show. One of the most confusing was how the new Superman was never a costumed, crusading Boy of Steel. This epic tome includes two critical issues of Legion of Super-Heroes (#37-38) which outlines and resolves the dilemma that occurred after the Man of Tomorrow’s retcon eliminated his entire career and achievements as Superboy. The crossover event provided a classic back-writing exercise to solve an impossible post-Crisis paradox whilst giving us old geeks one chance to see a favourite character die in a way all heroes should…

Legion of Super-Heroes #37 (August 1987, by Paul Levitz, Greg LaRoque, Mike DeCarlo & Arne Starr) sets the scene for ‘A Twist in Time’ as a team of 30th century Legionnaires head back to 1960s Smallville to visit inspirational founding member Superboy only to find themselves attacked by their greatest ally and inspiration – the Time Trapper. The saga segues into Byrne & Kesel’s ‘Future Shock’ (Superman #8) as a strange squad of aliens appear in his beloved boyhood hometown. Mistaking Superman for Superboy, the Legionnaires attack, and after an inconclusive clash concludes, start piecing together an incredible act of villainy and cosmic manipulation that has made suckers of them all…

When a kill-crazed Superboy shows up the tale shifts to Action #491 as Byrne & Keith Williams reveal a ‘Past Imperfect’ where the youthful and adult Kal-Els butt heads until a ghastly truth is exposed, leading to Levitz, LaRoque & DeCarlo’s stunning and tragic conclusion in Legion of Super-Heroes #38, where the devious reality-warping mastermind behind the scheme falls to ignominious defeat at the hands of ‘The Greatest Hero of Them All’…

Back on solid ground and his own reality the one-&-only Superman then battles a new kind of maniac malcontent in ‘They Call Him… Doctor Stratos’ (Adventures of Superman #431 by Wolfman, Erik Larsen & embellishment tag-team “India Inc.”), delivering a crushing defeat to a weather-warping would-be god before Byrne & Kesel’s Superman #9 sees the Last Son of Krypton meet The Joker for the first time in a maniacally murderous battle of wits ‘To Laugh and Die in Metropolis’…

Accompanied by inker P. Craig Russell, Wolfman & Ordway open extended story arc Gangwar with ‘From the Streets, to the Streets!’ as a mystery mastermind foments chaos and teen unrest, with unsavoury tycoon Lex Luthor implicated. Social worker/troubled youth mentor Jose Delgado returns, but seems as helpless as Superman, Lois or Jimmy Olsen in saving Perry White’s son from a life of crime or imminent incarceration…

Inked by Keith Williams, Byrne teams the Man of Steel with Jack Kirby’s New Gods Big Barda and Mr. Miracle in fighting depraved Apokolips émigré Sleez during ‘A Walk on the Darkside’ and sequel ‘The Suicide Snare’ before channelling our hero’s pre-Crisis days in ‘The Super Menace of Metropolis’. Aided by Kesel, he reveals how Luthor tries to discredit the Action Ace by boosting his powers after which Bob Smith joins Ordway illustrating ‘A Tragedy in Five Acts’: the second part of Gangwar where escalating street chaos leads to a life-altering injury for Jose Delgado…

For Superman #11, Byrne & Kesel reintroduce a carefully revamped fifth dimensional prankster in wickedly barbed, in-joke drenched Mr. Mxyzptlk romp ‘The Name Game’, whilst in AoS #435,Wolfman, Ordway & José Marzan complete this collection’s comics section with Gangwar conclusion ‘Shambles’ – introducing mystery street hero Gangbuster, before #436’s ‘The Circle Turns’ finds Superman assaulted by psychic delusions thanks to the vengeful alien telepaths: two slower tales building on the strong continuity and character interactions that typified this incarnation of the Man of Tomorrow.

Bonus features this time include previous collection covers by Ordway, and augmenting the Costumed Dramas are more extracted character profiles from Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #13 & 23 and Who’s Who Update 1987 #2, 4-5, featuring Mr. Mxyzptlk, Rampage!, Superboy (Kurt Schaffenberger inks), The Legion of Super-Heroes (by LaRoque & Larry Mahlstedt), and Time Trapper (Keith Giffen & Rick A, Bryant) before a big bold pin-up of the Man of Steel ends the fun for now.

These superhero sagas are true a high point in the Man of Tomorrow’s near nine decades of existence and these astoundingly readable collections are certainly the easiest way to enjoy a stand-out reinvention of the ultimate comic-book icon.
© 1986, 1987, 2020 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Showcase Presents World’s Finest volume 4


By Cary Bates, Bob Haney, Robert Kanigher, Denny O’Neil, Mike Friedrich, Curt Swan, Ross Andru, Dick Dillin, Mike Esposito & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-3736-3 (TPB)

For decades Superman and Batman were quintessential superhero partners: the “World’s Finest team”. The affable champions were best buddies as well as mutually respectful colleagues, and their pairing made sound financial sense since DC’s top heroes could happily cross-pollinate and cross-sell their combined readerships.

This fourth monochrome compendium re-presents cataclysmic collaborations from the dog days of the 1960’s into the turbulent decade beyond (World’s Finest Comics #174-202, spanning March 1968 to May 1971), as shifts in America’s tastes and cultural landscape created such a hunger for more mature and socially relevant stories that even the Cape & Cowl Crusaders were affected – so much so in fact, that the partnership was temporarily suspended: sidelined so that Superman could guest-star with other icons of the DC universe.

However, after a couple of years, the relationship was revitalised and renewed with the “World’s Finest Heroes” fully restored to their bizarrely apt pre-eminence for another lengthy run until the title was cancelled in the build-up to Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1986.

The increasingly grim escapades begin with ‘Secret of the Double Death-Wish!’ by Cary Bates, Pete Costanza & Jack Abel from #174 (cover-dated March 1968, so actually the last issue of 1967) wherein mysterious voyeurs seemingly kidnap the indomitable heroes and psychologically crush their spirits such that they beg for death.

Smart and devious, this conundrum was definitely old-school, but a New Year saw subtle changes as, post-Batman TV show, the industry experienced superheroes waning in favour of war, western and especially supernatural themes and genres. Thus 1968 saw radical editorial makeovers at National/DC. Edgier stories of the costumed Boy Scouts began as iconoclastic penciller Neal Adams started turning heads and making waves with his stunning covers and two spectacularly gripping Cape & Cowl capers. It began in WFC #175 with ‘The Superman-Batman Revenge Squads!’, scripted by Leo Dorfman and inked by Dick Giordano. The story details how an annual contest of wits between the crimebusting pals is infiltrated by alien and Terran criminal alliances intent on killing their foes whilst they are off guard.

Issue #176 featured beguiling thriller ‘The Superman-Batman Split!’ (Bates, Adams & Giordano). Ostensibly just another alien mystery, this twisty little gem has a surprise ending for all and guest stars Robin, Jimmy Olsen, Supergirl and Batgirl, with the artist’s hyper-dynamic realism lending an aura of credibility to the most fanciful situations, and ushering in an era of gritty veracity to replace the anodyne and frequently frivolous Costumed Dramas.

Jim Shooter, Curt Swan & Mike Esposito also edged closer towards constructive realism with #177’s ‘Duel of the Crime Kings!’ as Lex Luthor again joins forces with The Joker. This go-round the dastardly duo used time-busting technology to recruit Benedict Arnold, Baron Hieronymus Carl Friedrich von Munchausen and Leonardo Da Vinci to plan crimes for them, only to then fall foul of the temporally displaced persons’ own unique agendas…

WFC #178 began a 2-part Imaginary Tale with ‘The Has-Been Superman!’ (Bates, Swan & Abel) which has the Action Ace lose his Kryptonian powers and subsequently struggle to continue his career as Batman-style masked crimebuster Nova. More determined than competent, he soon falls under the influence of criminal mastermind Mr. Socrates – a brainwashed stooge programmed to assassinate Batman…

The moody suspense saga was interrupted by #179 – a regularly scheduled, all-reprint 80-Page Giant featuring bright-&-shiny early tales from the team’s formative years – represented in this collection by its striking Adams cover – before the alternate Earth epic concludes in #180 with ‘Superman’s Perfect Crime!’ courtesy of Bates and new regular art team Ross Andru & Mike Esposito.

During the late 1950s when the company’s editors cautiously expanded the characters’ continuities, they learned that each new tale was an event which added to a nigh-sacred canon, and that what was printed was deeply important to the readers – but no “ideas man” would let all that aggregated “history” stifle a good plot situation or sales generating cover.

Thus “Imaginary Stories” were conceived as a way of exploring non-continuity plots and scenarios, devised at a time when editors knew that entertainment trumped consistency and fervently believed that every comic read was somebody’s first and – unless they were very careful – potentially their last…

Bates, also scripted #181’s ‘The Hunter and the Hunted’ wherein an impossibly powerful being from far away in space and time relentlessly pursues and then whisks away the heroes to a world where they were revered as the fathers of the race, whilst in the next issue ‘The Mad Manhunter!’ depicted a suspenseful shocker which found Batman routinely rampaging like a madman due to a curse. Naturally, what seemed was far from what actually was…

Another massive con-trick underscored #183’s Dorfman-scripted drama as apes from the future accused the Man of Steel of committing ‘Superman’s Crime of the Ages!’ and Batman and Robin had to arrest their greatest ally. In WFC #184 Bates, Swan & Abel concocted another bombastic Imaginary Tale which revealed ‘Robin’s Revenge!’, tracing the troubled teen sidekick’s progress after Batman is murdered, with Superman powerless to assuage the Boy Wonder’s growing hunger for revenge…

Robert Kanigher joined old collaborators Andru & Esposito from #185 onwards, detailing the bizarre story of the ‘The Galactic Gamblers!’ who press-ganged Superman, Batman, Robin and Jimmy to their distant world to act as living stakes and game-pieces in their gladiatorial games of chance, before taking the heroes on a time-tossed 2-part supernatural thriller.

In #186, anecdotal stories of Batman’s Colonial ancestor “Mad Anthony Wayne” prompt the heroes to travel back to the War of Independence where the Dark Knight is accused of infernal deviltry as ‘The Bat Witch!’ and sentenced to death. Of course, it’s actually the Action Ace who is possessed to become ‘The Demon Superman!’ in the follow-up before all logic and sanity are restored by exorcism and judicious force of arms…

After the cover to World’s Finest #188 – another reprint Giant – Bates returns in #189 with a (still) shocking 2-parter opening in ‘The Man with Superman’s Heart!’ wherein the Caped Kryptonian crashes from space to Earth and is pronounced Dead On Arrival. As per his wishes, many of his organs are harvested (this was 1969 and still purely speculative fiction at that time) and bequeathed to worthy recipients. When Batman refuses to accept any organic bequests, Superman’s eyes, ears, lungs, heart and hands (yes, I know… just go with it) are simply stored …until Luthor steals them to auction off to gangland’s highest bidders…

Concluding episode ‘The Final Revenge of Luthor!’ sees a quartet of crooks running wild as the transplants bestow mighty powers Batman and Robin cannot combat, but the tragedy has a logical – if rather callous – explanation as the real Man of Steel appears to save the day…

Bates, Andru & Esposito then explore ‘Execution on Krypton!’ in WFC #191, as incredible events on Earth lead Superman and Batman back to Krypton before Kal-El was born. Here he learns how his revered parents Jor-El and Lara became radicalised college lecturers, and why they were teaching their students all the subversive tricks revolutionaries needed to know…

Bob Haney joined Andru & Esposito from #192 for a dark, Cold War suspense thriller as Superman is captured by the Communist rulers of Lubania and held in ‘The Prison of No Escape!’ When Batman tries to bust him out, he too is arrested and charged with spying by sadistic Colonel Koslov, utilising brainwashing techniques to achieve ‘The Breaking of Superman and Batman!’ in the next issue. However, the vile totalitarian’s torturous treatment disguises an insidious master-plan which the World’s Finest almost fail to foil…

Popular public response to Mario Puzo’s phenomenal novel The Godfather most likely influenced Haney, Andru & Esposito’s next convoluted 2-parter. WFC #194 sees Superman and Batman undercover ‘Inside the Mafia Gang!’ and hoping to dismantle the organisation of “Big Uncle” Alonzo Scarns from within. Sadly, a head wound muddles the Gotham Gangbuster’s memory and Batman begins to believe he is actually the “Capo di Capo Tutti”, condemning Robin and Jimmy to ‘Dig Now, Die Later!’ Helplessly watching, Superman is almost relieved when the real Scarns shows up…

An era ended with #196 as ‘The Kryptonite Express!’ (Haney, Swan & George Roussos) details how a massive meteor shower bombards the US with tons of the deadly green mineral. After countless decent citizens gather up the Green K, a special train is laid on to collect it all and ship it to somewhere it can be safely disposed of. Superman is ordered to stay well away whilst Batman takes charge of the FBI operation, but they have no idea master racketeer and railway fanatic K.C. Jones has plans for the shipment and a guy on the inside…

After #197 – another all-reprint Superman/Batman Giant – a new era launches (for the entire experiment you should see World’s Finest: Guardians of Earth please link to 2021, June 3rd) as the Fastest Man Alive teams with the Man of Tomorrow. DC Editors of the 1960s generally avoided questions like who’s best/strongest/fastest for fear of upsetting a portion of their tenuous and assuredly temporary fanbase, but as the tide turned against superheroes in general and upstart Marvel began making serious inroads into their market, the notion of a definitive race between the almighty Man of Steel and Scarlet Speedster became increasingly enticing and sales-worthy.

They had raced twice before (Superman #199 and Flash #175 – August & December 1967) with the result deliberately fudged each time, but when they met for a third round a definitive conclusion was promised – but please remember it’s not about the winning, but only the taking part. As World’s Finest became a team-up vehicle for Superman, Flash again found himself in contrived competition. ‘Race to Save the Universe!’ and conclusion ‘Race to Save Time!’ (#198-199, November and December 1970, by Denny O’Neil, Dick Dillin & Joe Giella) up the stakes as the high-speed heroes are conscripted by the Guardians of the Universe to circumnavigate the cosmos at their greatest velocities thereby undoing the rampage of mysterious Anachronids: faster-than-light creatures whose pell-mell course throughout creation is unwinding time itself. Little does anybody suspect Superman’s oldest enemies are behind the entire appalling scheme…

In anniversary issue #200, Mike Friedrich, Dillin & Giella focus on brawling brothers on opposite sides of the teen college scene, abducted with unruly youth icon Robin and “Mr. Establishment” Superman to a distant planet. Here undying vampiric aliens wage eternal war on each other in ‘Prisoners of the Immortal World!’ Green Lantern then pops in for #201, contesting ‘A Prize of Peril!’ (O’Neil, Dillin & Giella) which will give either Emerald Gladiator or Man of Steel sole jurisdiction of Earth’s skies.

Batman returns for a limited engagement in #202. The final tale in this compilation, O’Neil, Dillin & Giella’s ‘Vengeance of the Tomb-Thing!’ sees archaeologists unearth something horrific in Egypt as Superman seemingly goes mad: attacking his greatest friends and allies. A superb ecological scare-story, this tale changed the Man of Tomorrow’s life forever…

These are gloriously smart, increasingly mature comic book yarns whose dazzling, timeless style informed the evolution of two media megastars, which still have the power and punch to enthral even today’s jaded seen it-all audiences. The contents of this titanic team-up tome are a veritable feast of witty, gritty, pretty thrillers packing as much punch and wonder now as they always have. Utterly entrancing adventure for fans of all ages!
© 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 2012 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Showcase Presents World’s Finest volume 3


By Edmond Hamilton, Cary Bates, Jim Shooter, Leo Dorfman, Bill Finger, Curt Swan, George Klein, Sheldon Moldoff, Al Plastino & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-84856-585-2 (TPB)

For decades Superman and Batman were quintessential superhero partners: the “World’s Finest” team. Friends as well as colleagues, their pairing made sound financial sense since DC’s top heroes could cross-pollinate and cross-sell their combined readerships. This third magnificent monochrome compendium gathers their cataclysmic collaborations from the glory days of the mid-1960’s: specifically World’s Finest Comics #146-173 – with the exception of reprint 80-Page Giant issues #161 &170 – and cumulatively covering cover-dates December 1964 through February 1968). This was a time when the entire Free World went superhero gaga in response to Batman’s live action and Superman’s animated TV shows…

A new era had begun in World’s Finest Comics #141 when author Edmond Hamilton and artists Curt Swan & George Klein (who illustrate the bulk of tales in this collection) ushered in a more dramatic, realistic and far less whimsical tone. That titanic creative trio continue their rationalist run in this volume starting with #146’s ‘Batman, Son of Krypton!’ wherein uncovered evidence from the Bottle City of Kandor and bizarre recovered memories seemed to indicate the Caped Crusader is in fact an amnesiac, de-powered, Kryptonian. Moreover, as our heroes dig deeper, Superman thinks he’s found the Earthman responsible for Krypton’s destruction and becomes crazed with a hunger for vengeance…

WFC #147’s saw the sidekicks step up in a stirring blend of science fiction thriller and crime caper, all masquerading as an engaging drama of youth-in-revolt when ‘The New Terrific Team!’ (February 1965 Hamilton, Swan & Klein) saw Jimmy Olsen and Robin quit their underappreciated assistant roles to strike out on their disgruntled own. Naturally there was a perfectly rational, if incredible, reason. In #148 ‘Superman and Batman – Outlaws!’ (with Sheldon Moldoff temporarily replacing Klein) saw the Cape & Cowl Crimebusters sent to another dimension where arch-villains Lex Luthor and Clayface were heroes and the Dark Knight and Action Ace ruthless hunted criminals, after which World’s Finest Comics #149 (May 1965 and also inked by Moldoff) dealt out ‘The Game of Secret Identities!’ with Superman locked into an increasingly obsessive battle of wits with Batman that seemed likely to break up the partnership and even lead to violent disaster…

‘The Super-Gamble with Doom!’ (#150) introduced manipulative aliens Rokk and Sorban, whose addictive and staggeringly spectacular wagering almost gets Batman killed and Earth destroyed, before ‘The Infinite Evolutions of Batman and Superman!’ in #151 introduces junior writer Cary Bates, pairing with Hamilton to produce a beguiling sci fi thriller as the Gotham Guardian transforms into a callous future-man and the Metropolis Marvel is reduced to a brutish Neanderthal…

Hamilton solo-scripted #152’s ‘The Colossal Kids!’ wherein a brace of incomprehensibly super-powered brats outmatch, outdo but never outwit Batman or Superman (and of course there are old antagonists behind the challenging campaign of humiliation) after which Bates rejoins his writing mentor for a taut and dramatic “Imaginary Story” in #153.

When Editor Mort Weisinger was expanding Superman continuity and building the legend, he knew that each new tale was an event adding to a nigh-sacred canon and that what was written and drawn mattered to readers. But as an ideas man he wasn’t going to let that aggregated “consensus history” stifle a good idea, nor would he allow his eager yet sophisticated audience to endure clichéd deus ex machina cop-outs to mar the sheer enjoyment of a captivating concept. The mantra known to every baby-boomer fan was “Not a Dream! Not a Hoax! Not a Robot!” boldly emblazoned covers depicting scenes that couldn’t possibly be true… even if it was only a comic book.

Imaginary Stories were conceived as a way of exploring non-continuity plots and scenarios devised at a time when editors believed entertainment trumped consistency and knew that every comic read was somebody’s first – or potentially last. Illustrated by as ever by Swan & Klein, ‘The Clash of Cape and Cowl!’ posited a situation where brilliant young Bruce Wayne grew up believing Superboy had murdered his father, thereafter dedicating his life to crushing all criminals as a Bat Man awaiting the day when he could expose Superman as a killer and sanctimonious fraud…

WFC #154’s ‘The Sons of Superman and Batman’ (by Hamilton) opened doors to a far less tragic Imaginary world: one where the crime fighters finally found time to marry Lois Lane and Kathy Kane and have kids. Unfortunately, their lads proved to be both a trial and initially a huge disappointment…

‘Exit Batman – Enter Nightman!’ is a canny psychological thriller with the World’s Finest Team on the cusp of their 1,000th successful shared case when a new costumed crusader threatens to break up the partnership and replace burned out Batman, after which ‘The Federation of Bizarro Idiots!’ in #156 sees well-meaning but imbecilic imperfect duplicates of Superman and Batman set up shop on Earth. They end up as pawns of the duplicitous Joker, and it does not end well…

In #157’s ‘The Abominable Brats’ – drawn with inevitable brilliance by Swan and inked by both Klein & Moldoff – featured an Imaginary Story sequel as the wayward sons of heroes return to cause even more mischief, although once more there are other insidious influences in play…

‘The Invulnerable Super-Enemy!’ (#158 by Hamilton, Swan & Klein), has the Olsen-Robin Team stumble upon three Bottled Cities and inadvertently draw their mentors into a terrifying odyssey of evil. At first it appears to be the work of Brainiac but is in fact far from it, and is followed by ‘The Cape and Cowl Crooks!’ (WFC #159), dealing with foes possessing far mightier powers than our heroes – apparently a major concern for readers of those times.

To this day whenever fans gather a cry soon echoes out, “Who’s the strongest/fastest/better dressed…?” but this canny conundrum took the theme to superbly suspenseful heights as Anti-Superman and Anti-Batman continually outwit and outmanoeuvre the heroes, seemingly possessed of impossible knowledge of their antagonists…

Leo Dorfman debuted as scripter in#160 as the heroes struggled to discredit ‘The Fatal Forecasts of Dr. Zodiac’, a scurrilous Swami who appears to control fate itself. World’s Finest Comics #161 was an 80-Page Giant reprinting past tales and not included in this collection, so we jump to #162’s ‘Pawns of the Jousting Master!’: by another fresh scripting face. Teenager Jim Shooter produced an engaging time travel romp wherein Superman and Batman are defeated in combat and compelled to travel back to Camelot in a beguiling tale of King Arthur, super-powered knights and invading aliens…

‘The Duel of the Super-Duo!’ (#163, by Shooter, Swan & Klein) pits Superman against a brainwashed Batman on a world where his mighty powers are negated and other heroes of the galaxy are imprisoned by a master manipulator, after which Dorfman delivers an engaging thriller wherein a girl who is more powerful than Superman and smarter than Batman proves to be ‘Brainiac’s Super Brain-Child!’ Bill Finger & Al Plastino step in to craft WFC #165’s ‘The Crown of Crime’ (March 1967), depicting the last days of dying mega-gangster King Wolff. His plan to go out with a bang sets the underworld ablaze and almost stymies both heroes, after which Shooter, Swan & Klein depict ‘The Danger of the Deadly Duo!’ in which the 20th generation of Batman and Superman unite to battle The Joker of 2967 and his uncanny ally Muto: a superb flight of fantasy that was sequel to a brief series of stories starring Superman’s heroic descendent in a fantastic far future world.

WFC #167 saw Bates solo script ‘The New Superman and Batman Team!’: an Imaginary Story wherein boy scientist Lex Luthor gives himself super-powers and a Kal-El who had landed on Earth without Kryptonian abilities trains himself to become an avenging Batman after his foster-father Jonathan Kent was murdered. The Smallville Stalwarts briefly united in a crime-fighting partnership, but destiny has other plans for the fore-doomed friends…

In World’s Finest #142 a lowly, embittered janitor suddenly gained all the powers of the Legion of Super-Heroes and attacked Caped Crusader and Action Ace out of frustration and jealousy. Revived by Bates for #168’s ‘The Return of the Composite Superman!’ he is actually the pawn of a truly evil villain but gloriously triumphs over his own venal nature, after which #169 hosts ‘The Supergirl-Batgirl Plot’: a whimsical fantasy feast from Bates, Swan & Klein wherein the uppity lasses apparently toil tirelessly to supplant and replace Batman and Superman before it’s revealed that the Dynamic Damsels are mere pawns of an extremely duplicitous team of female felons and a brace of old WF antagonists are actually behind the Byzantine scheme…

Issue #170 is another unincluded mammoth reprint edition, after which #171 reveals ‘The Executioner’s List!’ (script by Dorfman): an intriguing, tense murder-mystery with a mysterious sniper seemingly targeting friends of Superman and Batman, before stirring, hard-hitting Imaginary Story ‘Superman and Batman… Brothers!’ (#172, December 1967) posits a grim scenario wherein orphaned Bruce Wayne is adopted by the Kents, but cannot escape a destiny of tragedy and darkness. Written by Shooter and brilliantly interpreted by Swan & Klein, this moody thriller in many ways signalled the end of angst-free days and beginning of a darker, edgier and more cohesive DC universe for a less casual readership, thereby surrendering the mythology to an increasingly devout fan-based audience.

This stunning compendium closes with World’s Finest Comics #173 and ‘The Jekyll-Hyde Heroes!’ (Shooter, Swan & Klein) as a criminal scientist devises a way to literally transform the Cape & Cowl Crusaders into their own worst enemies…

These are gloriously clever yet uncomplicated tales whose timeless style has returned to inform if not dictate the form for much of DC’s modern television animation. The stories here are a veritable feast of witty, gritty thrillers packing as much punch and wonder now as they always have: unmissable adventure for fans of all ages!
© 1964-1968, 2010 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.