Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #27 review

When I was a kid, reading elderly DC comics inherited from a neighbour, there was a house ad that caught my eye. It featured Superman being smashed into a wall by a massive ginger beardy fella in a mini-skirt. Take a look.

Zha-Vam. Sounds a bit like Shazam. I wanted to know more about this character, but never came across the comic, which I eventually learned was the first chapter of a three-parter. And I never saw Zha-Vam in a comic.

Until today, when he shows up as one of the super-villains given an imp-sized power boost by the extradimensional bad guy who first caused havoc in the Fifth Dimension and is now spreading chaos on Earth 0.

Is he not magnificent? Magically powered, he’s giving Supergirl quite the fight. Elsewhere, heroes such as Green Arrow, the Metal Men and Wonder Woman are facing the likes of Merlyn, Chemo and Cheetah and their new magical sidekicks.

And further delighting me is the fact that while Cheetah is the regular old scratchy post-Crisis nut, her mite…

…is based on Debbie Domaine, the Cheetah of Earth One, the legacy candidate. Such fun!

Also fun is the dilemma in which Batman, Superman and Robin find themselves. Well, it’s fun for us.

And watching worriedly from the sidelines are two of the most famous reporters in Metropolis.

As it turns out, there is something they can do, as Mr Mxyzptlk taps into the power of comics history and his subject uses their experience to make best use of the upgrade they’ve been given.

Mark Waid retains the puppyish enthusiasm of the fanboy who’s just broken into the comics industry while tapping into the skill set of the veteran writer he is. In magical imp terms, it’s the zest of Bat-Mite teamed with the wily ways of Mxyzptlk. And Waid does a great job of showing the imps’ individual approaches as Superman and Batman are flat-out forced to take a step back for much of this instalment.

Dan Mora yet again shows his imagination and versatility, providing page after page of fine storytelling with a whacking dose of whimsy. It’s particularly good to see him draw folk we’ve never seen him approach previously, such as Firestorm, even if it is just for a panel. And then there’s Bat-Mite in full Filmation form – just wonderful.

Mora isn’t alone in the illustration stakes, as Travis Mercer drops by when Superman and Batman escape their 2D prison for another dimension, one I shall call The Land Where Surprints Live.

Tamra Bonvillain hopefully managed to avoid migraine while laying down dozens of costume colour combos; if they didn’t, the pain was for a good cause – the pages are bright and beautiful.

And Steve Wands ensures the words look good, even giving us the odd logo in a speech bubble, one of my favourite bits of comic bookery.

Mora’s self-coloured cover is as brilliant as it is busy – and it is very busy.

The issue closes on a splendid cliffhanger, I can’t wait to see how things are resolved in the next entertainment-guaranteed issue.