Superman and Batman: World’s Funnest (2000)

Worlds funnest

Dave Gibbons does the most art on World’s Funnest. It’s not exactly the standard Dave Gibbons art, either, it’s Dave Gibbons doing Silver Age and it’s awesome. What writer Evan Dorkin taps into with World’s Funnest is the experience of being a Batman and Superman fan in the late eighties and early nineties; it’s practically a companion piece for those Greatest [insert DC character here] Stories Ever Told. The hardcover ones with beautiful reprints of the old stories, which weren’t cool in any modern sense, but you had to do the work to appreciate them because you want to be a good fan. You want to understand. And Dorkin’s trip through the DC multiverse is all about understanding, both the multiverse and the way it presents to the reader. Even though the first eighteen or so pages are all set in the Silver Age, Dorkin’s observations about the tropes make it all very modern. It never feels wrong to the characters, but it’s rather self-aware, from injured villains to Robin’s constant need for approval; Dorkin could’ve stopped World’s Funnest with a Silver Age riff and done something awesome, but then he keeps going.

I didn’t know what to expect from World’s Funnest. I missed it when it first came out, but I definitely wasn’t expecting to open it to discover an impressive list of creators. Unfortunately, it’s an alphabetical list of creators. So I sorted them out in order of their contributions.

First up after Gibbons is Mike Allred, who also comes first alphabetically, so he’s a terrible example. Oh, wait, I probably need to at least acknowledge the premise of the comic, which I wasn’t familiar with either. Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite battle across the DC multiverse and its various time periods and dimensions within universes. Dorkin doesn’t get into the science, which is both awesome and surprising. I can’t believe they got away with some of this stuff.

Allred handles the Phantom Zone, but an Earth–2 Phantom Zone? Like pre-Crisis Earth–2 Phantom Zone. Or maybe just a Silver Age Phantom Zone. Again, Dorkin’s not interested in the locations for narrative purposes, just for homage. It’s a violent, pseudo-cynical homage, but it’s never mean-spirited. World’s Funnest is enamored with the comics it comments on. With the possible exception of some nineties references.

Then Sheldon Moldoff handles the actual Earth-Two visit, Stuart Immomen and Joe Giella on Earth-Three. Frank Cho’s got some lovely art for the Quality Comics universe. Jaime Hernandez does Captain Marvel’s universe, which is a hilarious visit for the battling imps. Dorkin never directly contrasts the different universes, but lining them up and inspecting each does reveal a lot of amusing details. Scott Shaw gets Captain Carrot, Stephen DeStefano does some fumetti, then Jim Woodring gets to do the trip to the Fifth Dimension.

Now, it’s hard to imagine not being familiar with Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite as a DC Comics reader, but it gets more possible with each passing year and each rebranding and each reboot. Dorkin approaches the story with just the right mix of nostalgia and commentary; there isn’t time for introducing the various worlds though–which might actually make World’s Funnest a great primer for DC Comics history. There’s a familiarity curve to the comic book. A daunting one.

After Woodring, David Mazzucchelli does an amazing Jack Kirby trip to Apokolips. I didn’t think it was Mazzucchelli when I was reading it. I’m even more impressed now and I was rather impressed while reading it. Dorkin and Mazzucchelli match Kirby’s enthusiasm and outlandishness without letting it go absurd. Darkseid’s one of the best supporting players in the comic.

Jay Stephens does “Super Friends,” Glen Murakami and Bruce Timm do a storyboard for the animated series, then along comes Frank Miller to do a Dark Knight bit. It’s freaking amazing. And really good art from Frank too; I think the good art from Frank Miller in 2000 was what surprised me the most about it. Doug Mahnke and Norm Rapmund do the nineties flashback, which is the closest the comic gets towards being nasty about its reference points. Then Phil Jimenez does an awesome Crisis section, very Perez. Ty Templeton does a few pages of general universe transporting before the Alex Ross finale. It’s only a few pages, a few panels, but it’s awesome to see what a “Batman: The TV Show” Bat-Mite would’ve looked like (albeit in superior lighting to the show).

And it’s funny. All of it’s really funny and really smart about how it’s being funny. Dorkin doesn’t have one joke not connect, even the handful I might not have fully appreciated. It’s a lovely tribute to a lot of comics and a lot of comic creators. I’m embarrassed not to have read it until now.

Superman and Batman: World’s Funnest (November 2000)

Superman and Batman: World's Funnest Dave Gibbons does the most art on World’s Funnest. It’s not exactly the standard Dave Gibbons art, either, it’s Dave Gibbons doing Silver Age and it’s awesome. What writer Evan Dorkin taps into with World’s Funnest is the experience of being a Batman and Superman fan in the late eighties and early nineties; it’s practically a companion piece for those Greatest [insert DC character here] Stories Ever Told. The hardcover ones with beautiful reprints of the old stories, which weren’t cool in any modern sense, but you had to do the work to appreciate them because you want to be a good fan. You want to understand. And Dorkin’s trip through the DC multiverse is all about understanding, both the multiverse and the way it presents to the reader. Even though the first eighteen or so pages are all set in the Silver Age, Dorkin’s observations about the tropes make it all very modern. It never feels wrong to the characters, but it’s rather self-aware, from injured villains to Robin’s constant need for approval; Dorkin could’ve stopped World’s Funnest with a Silver Age riff and done something awesome, but then he keeps going.

Mxy and Bat-Mite battle for Infinite Earths; art by Dave Gibbons.

Mxy isn't sure what to make of the Marvel Family, art by Jaime Hernandez. — Mxy isn’t sure what to make of the Marvel Family, art by Jaime Hernandez.

Not even Darkseid can keep a straight face during WORLD'S FUNNEST; art by David Mazzucchelli! — Not even Darkseid can keep a straight face during WORLD’S FUNNEST; art by David Mazzucchelli!

It's Bat-Mite by Alex Ross. Really. — It’s Bat-Mite by Alex Ross. Really.

CREDITS

Last Imp Standing!; writer, Evan Dorkin; artists, Dave Gibbons, Mike Allred, Sheldon Moldoff, Frank Cho, Jaime Hernandez, Scott Shaw, Stephen DeStefano, Jim Woodring, David Mazzucchelli, Jay Stephens, Frank Miller, Phil Jimenez, Ty Templeton and Alex Ross; pencillers, Stuart Immomen, Glen Murakami and Doug Mahnke; inkers, Joe Giella, Bruce Timm and Norm Rapmund; colorist, Chris Chuckry and Mazzucchelli; letterer, Tom Orzechowski; editor, Joey Cavalieri; publisher, DC Comics.

Revolution on the Planet of the Apes 6 (August 2006)

Even with Fowler back, nothing can stop Revolution from having a lousy finish.

O’Brien introduces a fighter pet gorilla. He just shows up. Maybe Templeton planned a second limited series from his point of view… I’m glad he never got around to telling that bad story.

This issue is loose with the characters. O’Brien was never good at making any of them interesting, so when they start dying off, the momentous scenes have no weight. The whole thing just can’t end fast enough.

And then when it does end, when O’Brien finishes with an inane development (apes learned to talk seven days after the Conquest movie), then there’s the backup.

Templeton continues the silliness of his backups, but almost has something interesting. Sort of a Back to the Future thing. He lets it pass and goes with something dumb instead.

Revolution is an awful comic book.

Great Fowler art though.

Revolution on the Planet of the Apes 5 (July 2006)

Swell, Templeton brings in Kent Burles (from the Adventure series) for the backup. Burles’s art is still bad. Worse, Templeton’s script doesn’t have any action, so Burles is doing talking heads. It’s incomprehensible.

But it does explain there are multiple lawgivers (which doesn’t make much sense) and there’s something with the development of ape society. It’s pretty crappy; I expected more from Templeton’s writing.

The feature story has Sam back on the art, which isn’t a good thing. This issue’s about diversion–ties to the movies, ties to the Marvel black and white magazines. O’Brien sticks to the humans for this one, which doesn’t make much sense. They’re all unsympathetic and many of them are just plain evil.

It makes for an unpleasant read, which is better than a stupid one though. When it gets to the backup story, the issue is just plain stupid.

Thankfully, the series’s almost finished.

Revolution on the Planet of the Apes 4 (May 2006)

O’Brien’s pacing of Revolution is bad, but it’s not entirely an issue-to-issue thing. It’s more of a four issue story being spread out to six. For example, this issue could go alltogether (if it weren’t for Fowler doing the art).

There’s a good deal of implied action, but the reader doesn’t see much of it. Instead, O’Brien follows Roddy McDowell as he chases the bad guy from Conquest. I’m guessing Templeton and O’Brien hadn’t seen the extended cut where they kill that dude.

So it’s a chase issue instead of an action issue. Not sure why a movie tie-in series needs a chase issue.

Oh, there’s other stuff–the other governments (or “givernments,” I guess no one proofread the lettering) of the world nuke themselves instead of letting the American apes invade.

The backup, from Templeton and Sam Agro, is both a silly misfire and subtely profound.

Revolution on the Planet of the Apes 3 (March 2006)

Oh, no dream sequence this issue. I would have entirely forgotten about the dream sequences if the backup story hadn’t mentioned them. Caesar (Roddy McDowell in the last two movies) is a psychic in Revolution. He sees the future, which looks shockingly like bad Charlton Heston movies.

The backup this issue clearly identifies what’s so wrong with Revolution. Templeton can write and O’Brien can’t. Templeton’s backup, even with the Sam art (and at times because of it), feels like a wacky Love and Rockets homage. The pacing of the story’s great and Templeton’s dialogue is excellent. Sam’s layouts are strong, even if his details get very lazy. It’s almost good and definitely interesting to read.

O’Brien’s script for the main story is crap. It’s all a Terminator 3 rip-off now with the acocalyptic stuff.

But it’s got Tom Fowler art. He alone makes this comic worth reading. He’s great.

Revolution on the Planet of the Apes 2 (January 2006)

The problem with Revolution reveals itself in the backup from Templeton and Gabriel Morrissette–it’s supposed to be cheeky. It’s hard to describe the comic as anything else. Sure, it’s a direct sequel to Conquest but who cares? It’s also a direct prequel to Battle so the series is of little consequence.

To fill in for the pointlessness, Templeton and O’Brien are cheeky. It’s all a “wink wink” joke for the reader, who presumably likes Planet of the Apes… but not enough to want a real comic book series of it.

Almost all of O’Brien’s logic is bad too. The setting of Conquest gets retrofitted for the modern day, which means a lot of Internet references. Had the comic stuck to the actual setting it’s continuing, Revolution might have worked better.

As far as the art goes… Sam isn’t improving. Between him and the plotting, Revolution reads like a fanzine.

Revolution on the Planet of the Apes 1 (December 2005)

Ty Templeton can draw,right? What I mean is… why did he hire Salgood Sam, who’s not a very good artist, to draw Revolution on the Planet of the Apes if he could do it himself? Sam’s a step down from the Adventure Comics Apes franchise, even if there is color this time around.

I assume it’s because Templeton thought–as the publisher too–people desperate for Apes comics would put up with anything. And I guess they might… if they didn’t like even medicore comic books.

Templeton (who plotted) and scripter Joe O’Brien do a direct sequel to the fourth Apes movie, Conquest, and a little bit of a prelude to the final film, Battle. Unfortunately, they don’t have anything interesting to say about either film. It’s shaping up to be boring and political.

There’s definite enthusasism, but it doesn’t produce anything good, showing enthusasism isn’t everything. Or anything.

Spider-Man/Human Torch (2005) #5

Smht5

I read this series when it came out, but I barely remembered anything about it besides it being really good–I didn’t, for example, remember the crimes against the comic book medium the colorists perpetrated.

Suffice to say, I didn’t remember this issue.

This perfect issue.

I mean, it’s a perfect close to this limited series, but it’s also a perfect comic.

It’s not too mature, but it’s not written for kids. It has a healthy respect and admiration for the characters’ pasts, but doesn’t let continuity get in the way of a the story. It’s happy and sad and hopeful and just plain lovely.

This issue reminds of New Frontier in its optimism of the human condition.

It also reminds enough of Kesel’s World’s Finest limited series from a while ago… I wish Slott had ten issues too.

It’s a fantastic comic and really makes the bad colors okay.

Spider-Man/Human Torch (2005) #4

Smht4

It’s a cute issue. It’s set during the black costume period, when Spidey was with the Black Cat. I sort of remember reading these comics as a kid and, from just the Secret Wars II crossovers I more recently read, they aren’t cute. It’s a strange approach for Slott to make–it’s an all humor issue.

Some of the problem might be with the Black Cat. She didn’t end up with Spidey so watching this lost episode of theirs decidedly lacks drama.

The issue has some coloring problems, but it’s emulating a more slicker period, so it’s not as bad as when it’s bad. The inks… the inks are strange. There’s this whole sequence when Black Cat is in an evening gown and she looks about fifteen. It gets even stranger since there’s a scene with her in her undies.

The opening scene suggests Slott needs to do a She-Hulk team-up with