Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #30 review

There’s trouble in Paradise in this flashback tale, prompting Diana, princess of the Amazons, to summon some new friends from Man’s World.

While Batman surveys the scene, Superman and Robin head off to find the Amazon midwife Magala, believing she may have a clue or two.

But when they arrive Magala is near hysterical, babbling about shapeshifters. The heroes calm her, and she tells them about a disturbing recent event.

Holy Pan’s Labyrinth, Batman!

As has been his habit, writer Mark Waid punctuates his continued storylines with a done-in-one issue, and here we get the (latest) first meeting of the World’s Finest team and Wonder Woman. The mystery is quickly solved via an encounter with evil Olympians – whoda thunk it? – though I don’t quite get the explanation, the villainous scheme seems overly complicated.

I suppose, as Detective Frank Drebin would say, ‘that’s not important right now’, the locked room mystery is just a maguffin to get our three spotlight heroes together. Yes, I realise Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman and Robin makes four, but this is a World’s Finest series, so of course Robin gets no cover or credits page mention. And that’s just wrong, as he provides not only the issue’s humour – there’s a great opening page nod to his famous first meeting with Diana in ‘For the Man Who Hs Everything’ – but also a splendid spot of cavalry gathering while The Trinity (ugh) do their Power of Three bit.

Incidentally, you may be wondering just how the chaps are wandering around Themyscira given the traditional ban on Men setting foot among the Amazons.

Is this new? I’ve read a million Wonder Woman stories and I don’t remember this out.

The same page has a cute callback to Superman’s pre-Crisis encounters with magic, his only official big weakness besides kryptonite.

The tingle! I’d pretty much forgotten about that – bullets mean tickles, magic means tingles.

Also on this page…oh the heck with it, have the whole thing!

A tractor beam! We also get references to the Purple Healing Ray and the Magic Sphere – Waid is giving us back the traditional DC Amazons who melded sorcery and science. That’s so much more fun than the New 52 presentation of Diana’s people as one step up from cavewomen.

Dan Mora isn’t around this month, bar his cover image with a very stern Diana. I suppose he’s prepping the upcoming Justice League Unlimited series, rather thrillingly. The interior art is by Gleb Melnikov, and given I’ve praised him many a time, I’m not disappointed. Diana, Clark and Bruce look terrific, while Robin looks a little weird at times – his mask mirror eyeholes are huge, his green briefs are more black pants… it’s fascinating. And the body language is great, check out Hippolyta in that page above. One image I won’t spoil is the creepiest of the issue, the first visual manifestation of the evil that’s invading Diana’s home.

Also, top kangas.

Tamra Bonvillain’s colours are effective, bright and clear for the outdoor sequences, warm and earthy for the interiors, while letterer Dave Sharpe does a great job of making it obvious which character is narrating via colour and symbols.

There hasn’t been a single episode of this series I’ve not felt able to recommend wholeheartedly, and this is another. Give it a go!