August 16, 2014 by jerrymcmullen - 2 Comments

Showcase Presents World’s Finest Vol. 1

First Published: October 2007

Contents: Superman/Batman story from Superman #76 (May-June 1952); Superman, Batman, and Robin stories from World’s Finest Comics #71 (July-August 1954) to #111 (August 1960)

Key Creator Credits: Curt Swan, Dick Sprang, Edmond Hamilton, Bill Finger, Jerry Coleman, and others

Story Continues In: Showcase Presents World’s Finest Vol. 2

Overview: They are arguably the two most recognizable heroes in comic books. Superman – more powerful than a locomotive; able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Batman – defender of Gotham City, avenging the death of parents by striking back at crime. Each are stars in their own right, having moved from the comics to newspaper strips, radio dramas, and movie serials. At some point, it seemed natural that these two forces for good must cross paths, and that finally occurred in 1952 in Superman #76, Clark Kent schedules a cruise (because everyone knows that the Daily Planet has a very generous vacation policy), but due to overbooking, he is asked to share a room with millionaire Bruce Wayne. Before the ship can leave port, an explosion on the docks prompts both men to change into their costumed identities. accidentally revealing their secrets to each other. Promising to keep each other’s secret, Superman and Batman work together, making for one of the most important comic book team-ups of all time.

Two years later, the Superman and Batman features in World’s Finest are combined, teaming up the two heroes (plus Robin, the Boy Wonder!) issue after issue after issue. The reasons for the team-ups vary from the reasonable to the absurd – whether fighting aliens or giant robots; traveling through time to the future, or into the past; stopping Lex Luthor on his next scheme to rule the world, or having Batman pose as Superman to keep Lois Lane from discovering Superman’s secret identity.

The supporting casts for both characters make numerous appearances. From Metropolis, Lois, Jimmy, and Perry cross paths with Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, and Batwoman from Gotham City. In later Showcase Presents World’s Finest volumes, we will see a friendship develop between Jimmy Olsen and Robin, leading to a junior World’s Finest team-up.

Why should these stories be Showcased?: If you can think of this volume as a collection of imaginary stories, than this is a fun and interesting volume. If you are a continuity nerd, this book will make your head explode. These are all one-and-done stories, and should never be referenced again in any other story. The plots are absurd, and would never be published into today’s publishing environment. But it’s stories like this that inspired writers like Grant Morrison to create wonderful tribute stories, such as All-Star Superman and Batman: Incorporated.

Footnotes: Superman and Batman (with Robin) had been the stars of World’s Finest Comics since the first issue, which was initially published as World’s Best Comics #1. (The title changed to World’s Finest Comics with issue #2.) However, these characters were each featured in their own stories within the magazine. In 1954, due to declining interest in comic books, World’s Finest Comics was reduced from a 64-page book to a 32-page book. In order to keep both of the stars of the book featured in the title, Superman and Batman started teaming up together in one story beginning with issue #71, which is where this Showcase Presents volume begins.

If you like this volume, try: the first story arc Superman/Batman from 2003. Created by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness, the Public Enemies story brought back together the World’s Finest team in a monthly comic book. In this volume, President Lex Luthor accuses Superman of treasonous crimes, and calls upon the super-hero community to bring him in dead or alive. Batman and Superman work together to uncover Luthor’s scheme, and to prove Superman’s innocence. Loeb takes an interesting approach to the story, showing us Superman through the eyes of Batman, and vice versa. The art by McGuinness is perfect for this title: Superman is big and bold and his muscles have muscles, while Batman is sleek and dark and mysterious. in 1987. This title ran for eight years, and some story arcs are better than others. For my money, Public Enemies is among the best and is the perfect way to return to the World’s Finest team.

April 9, 2014 by jerrymcmullen - 6 Comments

Showcase Presents Superman Vol. 3

First Published: April 2007

Contents: Superman stories from Action Comics #276 (May 1961) to #292 (September 1962); Superman #146 (July 1961) to #156 (October 1962); original content from Superman Annual #3 (August 1961), #4 (January 1962), and #5 (July 1962)

Key Creator Credits: Otto Binder, Jerry Coleman, Al Pastino, Wayne Boring, Curt Swan, Jerry Siegel, Robert Bernstein, Bill Finger, and others

Key First Appearances: Legion of Super-Villains (Cosmic King, Lightning Lord, Saturn Queen)

Story Continues from: Showcase Presents Superman Vol. 2

Story Continues In: Showcase Presents Superman Vol. 4

Overview: Welcome back to the world of Superman! Rocketed to Earth as a baby as his home planet died, Kal-El grew to adulthood under the yellow sun, gaining powers and abilities beyond mortal man. Disguised as mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent, Superman fights for truth, justice, and the American way.

The scope of Superman starts to spread, across the world and across the years. Superman introduces the world to his cousin Kara, who will become Supergirl, a new protector for Earth. From the far future, we get visits from the Legion of Super-Heroes, teenagers with powers who have been inspired to greatness by Superman. The challenges get harder and harder, as Lex Luthor devises more elaborate plots, and Mr. Mxyzptlk builds more mischievous schemes.

Why should these stories be Showcased?: Generally, my opinion of Silver Age Superman stories is negative – the tales don’t hold up, the stories are filled with plot holes, and there is no progression with the characters. But this volume goes against the norm. This is a fun Superman volume with a lot of classic stories, such as “The Last Days of Superman!” and “The World’s Greatest Heroine!”. We get a mix of everything in this volume – Superman, the Daily Planet staff, Supergirl, Lori Lemaris, the Legion of Super-Heroes, and more. This is the first time I feel that these Superman stories should be showcased like this, so get it in your library!

Footnotes: Action Comics #285 is also reprinted in Showcase Presents Supergirl Vol. 2.

The Legion story in Superman #147 is also reprinted in Showcase Presents Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 1.

If you like this volume, try: All-Star Superman, which has been collected in multiple formats. Written by Grant Morrison with art by Frank Quitely, this 12-issue series is a wonderful homage to the Silver Age adventures of Superman, such as those collected in this volume. In this timeless story, Superman finds that his body is killing him after an over-exposure to the sun. Given a small window left to live, Superman vows to make the most of his remaining time. He grants Lois her greatest wish, he has one last adventure with his pal Jimmy Olsen, and he works with Lex to save the world. This is probably the best Superman story told in the last decade.

November 27, 2013 by jerrymcmullen - 4 Comments

Showcase Presents Superman Vol. 2

First Published: June 2006

Contents: Superman stories from Action Comics #258 (November 1959) to #275 (April 1961), Superman #134 (January 1960) to #145 (May 1961)

Key Creator Credits: Otto Binder, Jerry Coleman, Al Pastino, Wayne Boring, Curt Swan, Jerry Siegel

Key First Appearances: Bizarro-Lois Lane, Ronal

Story Continues from: Showcase Presents Superman Vol. 1

Story Continues In: Showcase Presents Superman Vol. 3

Overview: As Superman entered the 1960s, the stories found in Action Comics and Superman grew larger than life to match the spirit of the new decade. Superman’s Rogues Gallery – including Lex Luthor, Bizarro, and Mr. Mxyptlk – made more frequent appearances between the two titles. Thankfully, Superman’s friends and family stand by his side to help protect truth, justice, and the American way.

Other traditional stories are revisited in this volume, such as Lois Lane trying to discover Superman’s identity; or Superman finding some way to revisit Krypton, either by traveling back through time or from video archives. And on those occasions when Superman and Clark Kent must be seen together, Batman or the Superman Robots step up to assume one of the identities.

Why should these stories be Showcased?: If you are a Superman fan, by all means pick up this volume. The problem I have with these stories is that they are one-and-done stories. The Superman that appears in Action Comics #258 from late 1959 is no different than the Superman that appears in #275 from mid 1961. Nothing is done to advance the title character’s storyline. You could pick this up and read them in any order, so a reader could skip around and focus on the stories or villains that most interest you.

Pocketful of Kryptonite: In Superman #140, a new shade of Kryptonite was introduced. Thankfully for Superman, Blue Kryptonite is perfectly harmless to Kryptonians, but Bizarro and the other citizens of Bizarro World find its rays painful. Throughout the Silver Age of comics, many other variations of Kryptonite were introduced, each with it’s own unique impacts:

Green Kryptonite is lethal to Superman, which weakens and drains his powers until it kills him.
Red Kryptonite will cause some kind of short-term change in Superman, like giving him a third eye on his head, and it fades away within 24 hours.
Gold Kryptonite will permanently remove Superman’s powers.
White Kryptonite will kill all plant life, regardless if the plants are from Krypton or Earth.
Other shades of Kryptonite have been introduced in other media, such as the Smallville TV show or other comics. That would include Black, Silver, Pink, Orange, Gemstone, and Periwinkle, to name a few.

Footnotes: The “Mighty Maid” story from Action Comics #260; the “Old Man of Metropolis” story from Action Comics #270; the “Untold Story of Red Kryptonite” story fromSuperman #139; Superman #140; and the “Orphans of Space!” story from Superman#144 are also reprinted in Showcase Presents Supergirl Vol. 1.

If you like this volume, try: Superman: Tales of the Bizarro World trade paperback. This volume collected Bizzarro World stories that originally appeared in Adventure Comics in the early 1960s. As of this writing, these stories have not been collected in any Showcase Presents volume. The Bizarro World stories are a different take, where everything is backwards compared to our world.

November 6, 2013 by jerrymcmullen - 3 Comments

Showcase Presents Superman Family Vol. 1

First Published: March 2006

Contents: Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #1 (September-October 1954) to #22 (August 1957), Showcase #9 (July-August 1957), and the Lois Lane story from Superman #28 (May-June 1944)

Key Creator Credits: Curt Swan, Otto Binder

Key First Appearances: Professor Phineas Potter

Story Continues In: Showcase Presents Superman Family Vol. 2

Overview: Despite this being titled a Superman Family volume, this is essentially a Jimmy Olsen volume, as it collects the first 22 issues of Jimmy Olsen’s solo series.

The Jimmy Olsen stories are simple one-and-done tales that do not give a second thought to continuity. The stories start with a few basic idea reused over and over (Jimmy trying to get a big news story to impress Perry White; Jimmy adds a new souvenir to his Superman collection; Jimmy offers up himself as a test subject to a scientist trying a new device) and proceed from there for six to eight pages.

Also in this volume is Showcase #9, featuring Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane. As previously noted, Showcase was a try-out book for characters to see if they could support their own title. The Lois Lane issues of Showcase (collected in this volume and in Showcase Presents Superman Family Vol. 2) apparently did well enough to give Lois her own book. As a bonus, the first solo Lois Lane story from Superman #28 is collected in this book.

Why should these stories be Showcased?: You have to be a die-hard fan of the Silver Age of comics to appreciate the stories told in here. Most Silver Age stories do not hold up in comparison to current stories. These stories were truly written for and generally sold to kids. The stories are fun to read, provided you keep them in the context of the era in which they were first published.

Footnotes: Showcase #9 is also reprinted in Showcase Presents Showcase Vol. 1.

If you like this volume, try: the Amazing Transformations of Jimmy Olsen TPB. This volume collects the various stories from Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen, when the title character is morphed into another character, either due to radiation, ingestion, stupidity, or plain luck. The Super-Brain, the Human Skyscraper, Elastic Lad, the Human Flamethrower, the Human Octopus, Jimmy the Genie, the Wolfman, the Giant Turtle Man, the Human Porcupine, Bizarro Boy, Chameleon-Head Olsen, and so on.

October 5, 2013 by jerrymcmullen - 2 Comments

Showcase Presents Superman Vol. 1

First Published: October 2005

Contents: Superman stories from Action Comics #241 (June 1958) to #257 (October 1959), Superman #122 (July 1958) to #133 (November 1959)

Key Creator Credits: Otto Binder, Jerry Coleman, Al Pastino, Wayne Boring, Curt Swan, Kurt Schaffenberger

Key First Appearances: Brainiac, Bottle City of Kandor, Metallo, Kara/Linda Lee Danvers/Supergirl, Bizarro, Titano, Lori Lemaris, Mr. Mxyzptlk

Story Continues In: Showcase Presents Superman Vol. 2

Overview: Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. By 1958, Superman was the star of comic book spinner racks, as well as featured in a syndicated television show, a daily newspaper comic strip, radio dramas, movie serials, and merchandise.

These stories are generally one-and-done stories; very rarely would a story carry on into the next issue. The writers use a very predictable formula from issue to issue. Kryptonite tended to pop up at least once per issue. Clark Kent would deploy his Superman Robots in order to fool Lois Lane from discovering his secret identity. Jimmy Olsen was constantly stumbling into trouble and using his wrist-watch to contact Superman for help.

This book does introduce many new characters to the Superman mythos that have remained active in some fashion ever since. New villains were added to the rogue’s gallery, such as Brainiac, Metallo, Bizarro, Titano, and Mr. Mxyzptlk. The mermaid Lori Lemaris showed up as one of Superman’s former girlfriends. Most importantly, Superman’s cousin arrives on Earth and quickly dons a matching costume to become Supergirl.

Why should these stories be Showcased?: Silver Age comics may be hard to read. The story contains a lot of plot holes. No concern is given to what happened in the previous issue. With all of that said, this should be a volume to pick up. Given the number of key characters that make their first appearance in these collected issues, it should be part of any Superman fan’s collection.

Footnotes: Showcase Presents Superman Vol. 1 was one of the first Showcase volume published by DC Comics in 2005. This edition was priced at $9.99. All other Showcases have been priced at $14.99 or higher.

During this era, Action Comics was an anthology book, featuring eight-page Superman, Congo Bill, and Tommy Tomorrow stories. Following Supergirl’s debut in Action Comics #252, her stories became a regular feature, replacing the Tommy Tomorrow feature.

Superman #123 and the Supergirl story from Action Comics #252 are also reprinted in Showcase Presents Supergirl Vol. 1.

If you like this volume, try: Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Steel? This story ran in the final issues of Action Comics and Superman prior to the relaunch of the DC Universe following the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Written by Alan Moore, this ode to the Silver Age Superman stories brought all of Superman’s friends, family, and villains together for a final showdown. This story includes art from Curt Swan and Kurt Schaffenberger, artists that had been associated with the Superman comics for over 30 years.