Batman & Superman in World's Finest: The Silver Age Vol. 2

World's Finest: The Silver Age #2

by Edmond Hamilton, Bill Finger, Jerry Coleman

They had been fighting crime separately for years, but it wasn't until the historic Superman #76 in 1952 that Superman, the Man of Steel, finally teamed up with the Caped Crusader himself--Batman. That story proved so popular that the team quickly became the main feature in World's Finest Comics--and thus the greatest partnership in comics was born. Their adventures together would feature heroes and villains such as Robin, Batwoman, Lex Luthor, Bat-Mite, Mr. Mxyzptlk and more alien threats than might seem possible.

Batman & Superman in World's Finest: The Silver Age Vol. 2 collects their super-team-ups from World's Finest Comics #95-116.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superman, Batman

300 pages, Paperback

First published March 13, 2018

About the author

Edmond Moore Hamilton was a popular author of science fiction stories and novels throughout the mid-twentieth century. Born in Youngstown, Ohio, he was raised there and in nearby New Castle, Pennsylvania. Something of a child prodigy, he graduated high school and started college (Westminster College, New Wilmington, Pennsylvania) at the age of 14--but washed out at 17. He was the Golden Age writer who worked on Batman, the Legion of Super-Heroes, and many sci-fi books.

Reviews

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books are so much fun!

While 99% of the stories follow the same formula (some alien creature or villainous meta human comes to town and turns Batman and Superman against each other) they’re really light hearted and easy to read. They all follow the old monster of the week format where every story wraps up in one issue and the villain is usually never seen again. In some ways, I wish newer comics would do that occasionally instead of 5 part arcs.

There are a lot of kooky moments like Clark mopping up maple syrup with his hair because it’s the “fastest way”. I really like the strange moments —- they just add to the charm.

So, it’s a recommend if you like simple, self contained stories with some kooky plots.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been said that Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen kept reusing the same story ideas because the audience turnover rate was high. That seems to be the same case here. So many of the stories are about aliens manipulating the heroes, superman losing his powers, Batman gaining super powers, Jekyll and Hyde style villains. The comic book was more frequently than bi-monthly, but less frequently than monthly (August, September, October, December, February, March, May, June, August, September, November, December..),so it seems more like an excuse.

Most of the stories here are by Finger and Sprang, but the creative staff is credited here in chronological order even though Edmond Hamilton wrote only two stories (the first two) and Curt Swan illustrated only the last story and a few of the covers. Coleman takes over with #108 until the end of the volume (except Finger's brief return in #111, which may have been an inventory story, as there is very little continuity here), and things, if anything, get weirder. There isn't much more depth to this material than an episode of Super Friends, and there is less variety than in the previous volume, but it's enjoyable and has its moments (Superman gets an unnamed gremlin-like pet who sacrifices its life to save him; Bat-Mite distinguishes himself from Mr. Myxzptlk by his lack of ill intent for Batman) and they manage to do weird things to Superman with only one use of Red Kryptonite near the end.

DC Silver Age comics were definitely kid stuff at this point. Doom Patrol would change all that.

[Michael Emond · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy the first volume in this series that much but this was much more fun with Bill Finger doing most of the writing and Dick Sprang doing most of the art. Hey - it's the 40's so don't expect much depth to these stories. Think of them almost like action packed Richie Rich or Archie comics. Just simple fun stories - some of them clever but most of them just nice ways to pass the time to see Batman and Superman and Robin going on adventures together. I think the most memorable story is the one with Bat-mite and Mxyzptlk.

So 3 stars for simple, but well done, stories of a time when these comics truly were written for kids under 12.

[Yosef Shapiro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Long before Batman Vs Superman, there were team ups in World's Finest comics. These comics never took themselves too seriously and were and still are a lot of fun to read. The stories are very formulaic and thus predictable. In this volume, I really enjoyed the rivalry between Bat Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk. (We fought over how to pronounce his name for years) As I said before, these stories are not to be taken too seriously. Enjoy this volume for what it is and do not compare it to modern stories.

[J.R. Underdown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Vol. 1. Not sure why Vol. 2 didn't click as well. I still enjoyed the stories, but they didn't feel as clever as the first set. More stories about aliens good and bad in this one, which is fine but usually a little more straightforward. The repetition of story types is also more noticeable. Still some good moments that make it worth the read like the Bat-Mite/Mxyzptlk showdown.

[Mhorg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun from the silver age

The only thing that would have made this better would have been more art by curt swan. The super man artist for years did some great covers in this volume. Yes the stories are silly, but they're fun and that's what comics were back then.

[Jeff Lewonczyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haha - good, clean, silly, all-American fun. Some more repetition in these stories than in the previous collection - a bit heavy on the Batman-and-Robin-have-superpowers and weird-alien-causes-random-havoc plotlines - but enjoyable comfort fare all the same.