Our Best, Most Titanic, Grand, Over the Top and Spectacular Reading for 2020 So Far! Y1 R13

[Don-El]

[Superman Fan Club] and friends, for our best, most titanic, grand, over the top spectacular 2020 reading #13, we will travel through the Silver and Bronze Age Superman family stories like the True Time Travelers we are, using the Mind’s Eye …if you dare!!!

Not for the timid! Appearing in chronological order!

WORLD’S FINEST COMICS (1941-) #72 (September 1954 (the month and year Grandpa Don-el was born)) https://www.dcuniverse.com/comics/book/world-s-finest-comics-1941-72/79c9b33c-b94f-4544-ba89-1e7d9d816473/ Superman and Batman must find out who has been supplying weapons to the Heavy-Weapons Gang. It will be curious to observe here what they plunder after blowing things up to itty bitty pieces as in a battle with artillery! Oh, it’s defensive fire against that authoritarian bully Superman, THAT explains the gag…

WORLD’S FINEST COMICS (1941-) #94 (May 1958 ) https://www.dcuniverse.com/comics/book/world-s-finest-comics-1941-94/319ad122-01d0-41ee-ba2f-1fa26ad72413/ The Origin of the Superman / Batman Team . If you read nothing else this month, this is the issue for YOU!! (Batman probably stored the liquid Green Kryptonite gun in the Bat Cave after saving Superman “just in case.” )

ACTION COMICS (1938-) #325 (released June 1965 ) https://www.dcuniverse.com/comics/book/action-comics-1938-325/22e9b7c1-53ff-4824-b754-d5e5b9c82fb7/

“THE SKYSCRAPER SUPERMAN!” Red Kryptonite turns Superman into a giant without superpowers who must stop aliens from stealing all the iron on Earth. “ Best Superman Story of the Year !” the cover proclaims, we better read this one extra-careful! The Supergirl. story is “Ugly Duckling Teacher of Stanhope High!!!”- yes, over 50 years before the CW Riverdale series, truly ahead of it’s time!!!

Superman (1939-) #306 (released December 1976 ) https://www.dcuniverse.com/comics/book/superman-1939-306/ffc3c841-43e0-4677-9f82-ac64e312db47/

That rasco Marty Pasko makes Superman battle his imperfect duplicate Bizarro, who is convinced that the Man of Steel has destroyed him home planet Htrae!

DC COMICS PRESENTS (July 1979 ) #11 https://www.dcuniverse.com/comics/book/dc-comics-presents-1978-11/0685061d-137b-4445-b3b0-138e3e05b328/ Superman must figure out what’s wrong with Hawkman! “ The Most Titanic Battle of the Year ” the cover notes, so we all have to read this one for sure!!! Oh, “ All New ” as well! Yup, there was a time at DC that noting the stories weren’t reprints this issue was big news!

Which year was your favorite: 1954, 1958, 1965, 1976 or 1979 for the stories here? How does the culture and times of when that story was written influence your choice?

Which villain this time around was the most compelling and interesting antagonist this time?

Please share any scenes or panels that stood out for you or meant something special from this reading selection.

[Don-El]

Bizarro has ice vision??? Brrrr, especially poignant weapon this time of the year!!!

[msgtv]

A “Freaky” new power. Nice.

[ajm08g]

Well hello there Superman Fan Club and everyone else.

This was a lot of fun going through each of the decades and the stories that were told.

@Don-El

Which year was your favorite: 1954, 1958, 1965, 1976 or 1979 for the stories here?

Ah, this is a tough one… I did enjoy reading each of them as they all had their fun moments…

@Don-El

How does the culture and times of when that story was written influence your choice?

Oh, maybe in answering this question it could help narrow the gap as to the one that I would pick as a favorite.

There was a charm in reading the stories from 1954 and 1958 with the dialogue like these instances…

World's Finest Comics (1941-) #72 Panels

Got to get that dough!

Holy Garb Change Batman!

This one made me think of Doc from Back To The Future. Great Scott!

Here is a fun panel I had reading “the lingo” for the second World’s Finest.

World's Finest Comics (1941-) #94 Panel

A “dead ringer” for sure robin!

Action Comics also had some dialogue moments that I found quite funny reading…

Action Comics (1938-) #325 Panels

Oh heavens indeed Jor-El!

Seems Supergirl was also getting in on the puns in this issue as well.

Dilly dilly, as the kids say today.

There were also some good panels in this issue as well.

Superman (1939-) #306 Panels

I also found this next panel very appropriate since it was just Thanksgiving.

I also couldn’t help of thinking of Back To The Future again with this panel… “There it is… That word again…”

Sorry Lois…

And finally, for the last story there was one panel that stood out to me.

DC Comics Presents (July 1979) # 11 Panel

Wouldn’t be the 70’s without a “far out” reference would it?

@Don-El

Which villain this time around was the most compelling and interesting antagonist this time?

Also an excellent question Don!

Controlling another hero to take down another hero by “ending” them sure brings a lot of momentum to putting them at the top of the list… Although… Those kids that were antagonizing poor Miss Stanhope really puts them at the top of the list as well. Can’t count out any criminal using kryptonite against Superman either, and also those guys trying to take out Batman and Robin as well was quite awful in their attempts… So I could see any being the most compelling as they were all quite interesting to me at this time.

[Don-El]

So, you’d like one of each to go, Mr. @ajm08g ? Let me wrap that up for you.

It took much will power for me to not post the cover for the one Action comic reading this time around:

Thankfully I resisted…

I may or may not still use the phrase “far out.”

Thanks to the many charms and Silver / Bronze Age issues of Action Comics and World’s Finest comics, this club can boat along for at least another year or so! And who knows, by then DC may release new digitized Silver and Bronze Age Superman wonderment!!

[ajm08g]

@Don-El

So, you’d like one of each to go, Mr. @ajm08g ? Let me wrap that up for you.

You are far too kind to do that Don! Thank you.

Oh yeah. That cover had me laughing pretty good as well as I had not seen this side of the Superman mythos before…

I’ll definitely have to check in again for future references to these fun ages of comics and more! Thank you for putting it all together.

[Don-El]

Many thanks again, nice to have you visit this time around. I also enjoy touring various clubs during the month, sampling here and there. It’s like we’re all at a New Year’s Eve party with several levels here!

Seeing that red cape tied around baby Kal-El’s neck makes me think, “so the origin of his cape is he had a fixation with his blanket as a youth?”

[jenoutmind]

Stage make up and sewing in the field? That’s definitely Alfred’s influence.

[msgtv]

Read the two World’s Finest. Both quick enjoyable reads. Agree with @ajm08g that I liked the tough guy lingo. Reminds me of last month with Clark Kent pretending to be a hardened criminal so he told the warden “phooey” that’s some good tough guy talk.
Also, no one bats an eye about a fort with a moat in the middle of the U.S.?
In the second, poor Batman and Robin dumped for Power Guy. I was actually hoping it was some kind of Lex Luthor trick.

[Don-El]

Agreed. I’m also trying to make sense of the “colored parachutes for identification” statement… what cultural mystery buried deep in time is that about??? maybe it’s so if they crash in the middle of nowhere someone will see where they crashed?

[Don-El]

Yeah, we might have known Power Man was really something else…also concerning World’s Finest 94 from 1958, I’m wondering if that team up origin story is brand new 1958 or if the Silver Age writer was rewording a much earlier Golden Age tale. Hmmmm…that ship cruise / Lois Lane triangle with Bruce / Clark we read I believe late spring this year was supposed to be a first team up too I thought…

Lots of melancholy buddy stuff here:

Nice little Robin really gets in some zingers here:

The Kryptonite cure below sure looks a lot more like a freshman initiation ritual: you want to belong to the Batman /Robin fraternity eh? Well you have to go through this first!

[ajm08g]

@msgtvhohoho

Also, no one bats an eye about a fort with a moat in the middle of the U.S.?

They probably didn’t think like President James Monroe. I just found this funny quote from him about a moat being around a fort that was built in Virginia…

"…you want a MOAT around this vastly complicated, ruinously expensive fortification you’re designing? Bernard, you are aware that it’s 1818, not 1418, right?!"

-President James Monroe, upon being shown
Simon Bernard’s initial plans for Fort Monroe, 1818

@msgtvhohoho

In the second, poor Batman and Robin dumped for Power Guy. I was actually hoping it was some kind of Lex Luthor trick.

I also thought for a good minute Lex was also going to be behind that mask as well…

Oh well. Poor Kelex’s distant cousin… Back to the Fortress of Solitude for you!

[msgtv]

Look at that President Monroe was good for more than a doctrine

[Don-El]

Yeah as I read it I was hoping that was Lex L in the Power Man suit…

[Don-El]

You know looking back at it, PowerMan did look a little stiff, didn’t he?

Apparently the character copyright lawyer was on vacation that week…

[jenoutmind]

@msgtvhohoho

Also, no one bats an eye about a fort with a moat in the middle of the U.S.?

also my first reaction. I would have gone for wood or Adobe. Both equally capable of crumbling under Supes gentle touch.

[jenoutmind]

I’m so glad we got to wrap up the lose ends with the Toyman and what happened in Paris

Again, I notice Superman’s soft spot for Winslow.

Poor Bizarro does not engender the same kind of compassion.

I thought this issue had some fantastic moments where story and art were perfectly in sync.

Two supermen, trying to beat each other with a giant Superman statue. You don’t see that every day.

The batman crossovers were the standouts for me. I just love when our heros get creative in using their environment to help them.

Clark is so clever! And Bruce disguising himself as Superman was genius.

I also have to smirk a little when Lois’ takes it on the chin.

Is it just me, or could these two be twins? I suppose there are worse things that can happen to you, than being made over into the spitting image of Supergirl. I hope she and the hobo will be very happy.

[jenoutmind]

@Don-El

The Kryptonite cure below sure looks a lot more like a freshman initiation ritual

[Don-El]

The cover of the first World’s Finest we’re reading is one of my favorites for couple reasons;

1. I’m a sucker for the use of a single color background for a comic book cover. I often find them very striking and compelling.

2. Having Batman and a very young Robin hanging on to Superman’s cape while they’re being shot at by artillery rounds is just so far out there it’s just comical.

[msgtv]

Very solid finish to the parter with Bizarro. We get the solid punch 'em, but Superman goes with the empathetic approach to solve the problem. Nice.