DC Finest: Science Fiction: The Gorilla World

by John Broome

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Science Fiction

624 pages, Paperback

Published July 15, 2025

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bro...

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable and fun read of these older DC stories. Recommended

[Ángel Javier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aunque no le llegan ni a la suela de los zapatos de las historias de ciencia ficción publicadas más o menos por aquella época por la simpar EC, debo reconocer que la mayoría de los cómics presentes en este volumen son, cuanto menos, entretenidos e imaginativos. El trabajo de los artistas es igualmente sólido, destacando un maravilloso Carmine Infantino cuyo estilo aquí es tan estilizado que recuerda al mismísimo Bernie Krigstein. Tan solo dos pegas:

1) Las historias de Tommy Tomorrow son horribles en todos los sentidos, incluido el rutinario dibujo de Jim Mooney, un tipo que logró el difícil hito de arruinar la labor de Romita Sr. en Spiderman. He acabado odiando tanto al personaje que me alegro bastante de que Chaykin lo convirtiera en un nazi espacial en la serie Twilight. Los mimbres ya estaban ahí desde el principio.

2) El título es el más engañoso jamás visto: los gorilas aparecen en exactamente DOS de las tropecientas historias reunidas en el volumen, y solo una transcurre en el Mundo Gorilero propiamente dicho. Tirón de orejas para DC, pero a la vez se ha de alabar su olfato para el marketing: el espíritu de la Silver Age, durante la cual se comprobó el importante dato de que los cómics en cuyas portadas figuraban estos grandes simios de manera prominente, ha vuelto, si es que alguna vez se fue, y eso merece celebrarse. Pelillos a la mar, pues.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very YMMV rating. This reprints stories from DC's Mystery in Space and Strange Adventures anthologies and I love these books (well, up until Jack Schiff became editor in the md-1960s), even when the premise is daft (a construction crew builds a road into a mobius strip by accident. Dimensional hilarity occurs). These early 1950s stories aren't as strong as the books became later but they're superior to the Tommy Tomorrow space adventures of that era, also included here.
This includes several series characters (Space Cabbie, Interplanetary Insurance, Captain Comet) and an early example of the series' trope that aliens may be technically advanced but not smarter (Saturnians insist that visiting Earthmen are fakes — obviously any life that close to the light of the sun would be blind and navigate by sonar!).

[Ray Smillie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my youth I used to read black and white sci-fi/horror comics with titles like Creepy Worlds and Uncanny Tales. Obviously reprints from older American comics, Steve Ditko's work featuring heavily. I have never seen any of the stories in here and wasn't actually aware that DC comics had published such beauties. I did prefer the stand alone tales in here, all in glorious colour. On a final note I still have my old black and white sci-fi/horror comics from the 60s and 70s, stored away.

[Ralph Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Way back in the 1950s the science fiction comics were my favorites, although the stories are very trite to me now. Two of the titles collected here are MYSTERY IN SPACE and STRANGE ADVENTURES.

[Matt Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Includes Mystery in Space and Strange Adventure comics. This is vintage 50s sci-fi, usually dumb but fun stories with amazing art. Captain Comet stories were my favorite in this. Covers 1953-1954.

[Erik J · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great anthology of 1950s sci-fi comics. This is an era I've read next-to-nothing of previously and found this super enjoyable.

Overall - 4/5

[Del · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given the title there is a real lack of gorilla stories in this collection, which may disappoint gorilla aficionados. With around 60+ short stories, there is literally only 2 gorilla stories, 12 pages out of 620.

But, this is a science fiction collection, and there is plenty going on here that is worth checking out. Featuring tales from strange adventures, mystery in space and action comics, you have some wildly inventive sci-fi tales to keep you entertained. Some highlights include the continuous adventures of Tommy tomorrow, who is given top billing with his head on the spine of the cover, and also captain comet. You also get some recurring characters like Bert Branson, investigator for interplanetary insurance inc, which might just be the real star of this anthology compilation.

Most stories are entertaining, but as with any anthology compilation, you do get some duds, some stories can be too technical and science heavy, or feel a little "samey" this is the type of book, not to read continuously, but to dip in whilst reading something else, purely because these stories are short, mostly self contained, but they can still be dense reads, which is no bad thing in general.

So I highly recommend this, it's entertaining, gives a nice snapshot of th 50s science fiction era, and they're breezy light reads(some maybe dense, but at 4-6pages they can still be read fairly quick). But as mentioned if you are interested because you expect a planet of the apes gorilla world themed set of stories, you need to look elsewhere I'm afraid.