I’m just an old-fashioned boy and I love an old-fashioned superhero romp. And that’s just what we get in the latest between-big-storylines issue of World’s Finest.
Gotham Police Commissioner Jim Gordon is in Metropolis for a chat show appearance, and he’s nervous. But help is at hand.
There to support his friend, Bruce Wayne’s attention soon moves elsewhere.
The interview gets underway, with host Frank determined to annoy.
That sentence ends with the phrase ‘giant monster’ and guess what drops into the studio at that very moment? Soon a giant red lizard is rampaging through the streets, but Superman is on the case.
And so is Giant Batman, more 80 storeys than 80 pages – someone’s been tinkering in the Batcave again.
And the non-supers are busy too.
Can Superman and Batman beat the big beast? Can Jim and Perry discover the origins of the monster? Who knew the Daily Planet editor has a cauliflower ear?
At least two of these questions are answered in a typically fun-filled story. The dialogue by Mark Waid crackles while the art from illustrator Adrián Guttiérez and colourist Matt Hermes fizzes. Hand this issue to anyone and they could enjoy it without knowing even the basics of the DC Universe – everything you need to know is in the script and on the page.
Perry and Jim interacting is a rare thing, so that was my favourite part of the issue, though the easy teamwork between our title characters is always a joy. There’s a new bad guy in here who’s quite likely to pop up in a Waid story set not in the nebulous past of this series but a tale set in the present day.
Lois gets a great action moment, and has fun teasing Bruce as Bruce teases Clark, Gutiérrez does a very nice job with Clark’s reactions, I love it when all the tools in the comics tool kit are put to good use. The vanished Lois is clever, I’ve never seen that previously. And illustrator and colour artist use silhouettes superbly several times.
Occasionally, though, the storytelling is a tad unclear, always in the action sequences – a little too much sturm und drang in terms of colour and effects, both visual and sound. Still, kudos to Gutiérrez and Herms for putting in all the work and making the story look hugely exciting. And they actually give us an old-fashioned splash page previewing the story.
I dunno why Batman gets his name on big letters, mind, nice as it is to see a nod to his Seventies logo. I spent ages waiting for Superman’s complementary page to arrive. Thank goodness for this image, though, it’s the closest we get to an establishing shot of the creature.
The closing image is a tad quieter, and even better.
Steve Wands puts in his usual excellent job, and Dan Mora’s cover encapsulates the issue immaculately, wrong host and city aside.
It’s a measure of what a thrill-ride World’s Finest is that an issue this exciting counts as a breather. I enjoyed every page.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
I liked it too but it still feels less dynamic than the first year plus some. I think it’s increasing and maybe World’s Finest in all but name, JLU, and Superboy are too many monthlies for one of the best three comic writers extant today. Slott would be great at this title since Clark is often an afterthought and that’s the status quo of Superman Unlimited. The Ryan North of Krypto and Squirrel Girl but not if he writes it like he does Fantastic Four.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think it must be the initial novelty that made WF feel comparatively more special then.
LikeLike
I’m still enjoying this book but have felt a bit similarly to Steve. I love how Waid is able to mine untold adventures from a nebulous Silver Age/Bronze Age. It could be that after the Kingdom Come and Mxy/Batmite arcs we got for the last year or so some solid but “quieter” stories, like the meetings with Wonder Woman and Aquaman/Swamp Thing and the fight against Eclipso. And so the title is still good, but doesn’t feel ambitious or as “important.” And as soon as I wrote that I’m ashamed because I think that’s the problem with modern comics. They don’t just tell good solid stories “like the good old days. The current market place apparently demands they constantly be EARTH-SHATTERING/UNIVERSE-CHANGING EVENTS THAT NEVER END AND JUST GET BIGGER AND BIGGER AND BIGGER!!! So this is a good reminder to appreciate the fact that “World’s Finest” exists at all in 2025 and is written by one of the top modern creators. It looks like the next solicited storyline involving Bizarro-world might be a return to the longer, more ambitious arcs…
Also Steve, I don’t want to judge Mark Waid’s ability to write so much and if/how that impacts his work. But it seems to me maybe this is the most prolific he has ever been? He’s been back at DC for 3 years now or so, and we’ve gotten a one shot he wrote tying into “Dark Crisis,” “World’s Finest”, “Shazam”, “Justice League United,” “Absolute Power,” “The Last Days of Lex Luthor,” the new “History of the DC Universe,” “Lazarus Planet,” his Superman story in “Action Comics” and now his Superboy run in that same title, and “Batman and Robin”. Am I missing anything? That really is a ton. I don’t remember him juggling that many projects back in the 1990s/early 2000s at DC when “The Flash” was his main title, or while he was at Marvel. But maybe he was writing things for other publishers that I wasn’t paying attention to? That’s my long-winded way of saying that when you write so much, they’re not all going to be “Kingdom Come” or “JLA: Year One” or “Black Widow” or “Daredevil”-type Waid classics. I’ve only read some of his many “Flash” issues but I imagine while the whole is highly regarded there were a few in the mix that aren’t beloved by fans. But I’ve got to believe he thinks he can juggle all of this, is happy to have the work, and I’d much rather have a Mark Waid happily toiling away at DC and producing from decent to excellent to classic comics, than for him to leave again.
-Brian
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great post, Brian. It’s funny, stories like the Eclipso one didn’t feel particularly ‘small’, the energy of the script and art was what I’d come to expect. I think Waid is doing a remarkable job considering he’s writing all these comics… but are you ready for WF to be handed over to someone else? Is there a new writer, or indeed, whole creative team, you’d be open to?
LikeLike
Great question. Maybe Al Ewing? This type of book really is in Waid’s wheelhouse. I’m honestly not sure it survives without him. Can’t think of other modern writers with his deep knowledge of and appreciation for DC history. – Brian
LikeLike
To Brian’s point, I think that it’s possible to write a non-earth shattering story in terms of what the plot is doing and still be telling us something exciting about the characters and maybe that’s why it feels a bit flat? The early stories were laying out some of Waid’s thoughts on who Superman is, same for Batman and Robin and why they work together as a team. It’s maybe settled into a comfortable pattern now and so there isn’t the same energy. Or maybe it’s that 3 years ago, it was different to much of what DC was putting out but now that Waid is setting the tone for the main line, this is the flavour of most of the books that I read? I know I’ve sort of dropped off the title a bit after the Kingdom Come arc too, but I don’t think it’s because it’s actively bad, it’s still well-written, it’s just a little bit less exciting than it was.
Stu
LikeLiked by 1 person
This whole conversation does have me thinking about the place in modern comics for just solid stories that aren’t part of a major event but also don’t necessarily reveal more about the characters involved. Just heroes fighting/thwarting villains/saving the day. In a way that seems to be where “World’s Finest” has ended up. It is what it was always marketed as – previously untold adventures of Batman and Superman written by Mark Waid. Really it’s no more different a formula than when the original World’s Finest existed in the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. And I think I’d probably hate this book if it was re-writing history or inserting previously unknown revelations about the main characters/their into allies every arc or every other arc. But at the same time I guess it’s kind of amazing it exists in 2025 when you really stop and think about it? This really is a pretty darn “traditional” comicbook. And I don’t mean that in terms of writing, but just in terms of the overall approach to telling stories. And I have to think Waid deserves the bulk of the credit for it being successful. These days having a new title last this long, AND with the same writer, is something. – Brian
LikeLiked by 1 person
So true, last time Mark Waid started a team-up book, The Brave and the Bold, it didn’t get the sales he’d hoped, and he was working with George Perez. We did get those fantastic JMS-written issues afterwards, but still it didn’t manage three years. So yes indeed, let’s celebrate this almost thoroughly enjoyable run – how I hate Magog.
LikeLike
That’s a good point, about there being more initial commentary from the heroes initially. Waid handled that sort of thing so much more elegantly than Jeph Loeb on Batman/Superman, with his back and forth narrative boxes… they almost drove me off the book.
LikeLike