The Super-Son stories by Bob Haney and Dick Dillin in some selected issues of World's Finest are a delight. Bob Haney had the uncanny knack to make even the most ludicrous concept click, and he did that with these tales of the offspring of the World's Finest team. The mothers of these fine young men are kept in the shadows but most likely are Lois Lane (of course) and Kathy Kane (Batwoman). The idea I guess was to keep the iconic looks of Superman and Batman but infused with a younger more unrestrained youthful vigor. Dick Dillin (assisted by a cavalcade of inkers - Henry Scarpelli, Vince Colletta, Tex Blaisdell, John Calnan) draws these two young heroes with the clean handsome faces he's so adept at depicting. These boys are heroes but brimming with idealism (not unlike the youth of their day) but often are betrayed by their lack of experience.
The boys are revealed ultimately, many years after the actual end of the series to have been products of a computer program which predicted a world with the kids of the Cape and the Cowl. It's a nice rationale, but something in me prefers the Haney approach of unapologetic rip-roarin' storytelling. Haney didn't need to explain the hows because his stories rolled along at such a clip that you often didn't have time to ask.
Here are the covers for the appearances of the boys including some of their later post-crisis looks. The trade which reprints these stories is a real gem, something any fan of the DC Bronze Age can enjoy.
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I had forgotten all about these stories so thank you for reminding me of this series. Good to know how they rapped it up but like yourself, I just treated these as fun tales that weren't part of the actual Superman/Batman "real" comic book world. Some nice covers.
ReplyDeleteI think that's how comics have changed the most, going from being focused on creating a complete entertainment month in and month out and now it's all about the trade reprints.
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