Best of DC Blue Ribbon Digest (1979-1986) #46: Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen

Best of DC Blue Ribbon Digest #46

by Otto Binder (Writer), Robert Bernstein (Writer), Jim Shooter (Writer)

Reprints from Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #1, 2, 37, 39, 101, 106, 132, 157:

Jimmy Olsen: The Boy of 100 Faces!
Jimmy Olsen: The Elastic Lad of Metropolis!
Jimmy Olsen, Superman’s Ex-Pal!
Jimmy Olsen: The Lone Wolf Legionnaire Reporter!
Jimmy Olsen: The Strange Second Life of Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen: The Superlad of Space!
Jimmy Olsen: Olsen’s Time-Trip to Save Krypton!
Jimmy Olsen: Winner’s Prize…The Loser’s Grave!

100 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 15, 1983

About the author

Otto Oscar Binder. Used these alternate names: Eando Binder (together with his brother Earl Binder -E and O Binder-), John Coleridge, Gordon A. Giles, Will Garth, Ian Francis Turek, Ione Frances Turek and Otto O. Binder.

Reviews

[Stewart Tame · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jimmy makes a pretty dandy hero! It's surprising how well some of these stories hold up. I'm especially fond of the ones written by Otto Binder. Yes, they have their implausible moments, but they're well-constructed, surprisingly readable tales. I particularly love the moment in "The Boy of 100 Faces" where Superman shows up, but quietly makes sure that Jimmy gets the credit for solving the case.

Wildest moment was in "The Strange, Second Life of Jimmy Olsen" where Jimmy frees Kurol, a genie, from a bottle. Kurol reveals that the djinn race are actually aliens who escaped the destruction of their homeworld eons ago. Because that's so much more plausible than beings of pure magic, right?

Anyway, fun stories! I can see why Jimmy's comic book lasted as long as it did. True, it was only a decade or two, but that's not bad for a supporting character.

[C. John Kerry]

Nice collection of material featuring Jimmy Olsen. Of the stories contained in it I had read three of them when they first came out. Mind you the origin of Jimmy as Elastic Lad I have read elsewhere as well. Of course the stories I had read previously came out in either the sixties or seventies. One of those stories had Jimmy trapped in a ring or jewel of some sort and imagining he was Marco Polo. There is a genie involved who at first aids Jimmy/Marco but then betrays him. The end of the story hints there could be more to come but as far as I know there were no further stories. There is an appearance by the Legion of Super-Heroes as well, in a story where they need Jimmy's skills as a reporter rather than as Elastic Lad. All in all this was a nice collection of Jimmy Olsen material. Different readers might prefer to see other stories in this but with the number of Olsen stories there are and the page constraints of this book I think the editor has done a good job. Happy reading.