Review – Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #27 – Across the Dimensions

Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #26 – Mark Waid, Writer; Dan Mora, Travis Mercer, Artists; Tamra Bonvillain, Colorist

Ray – 9.5/10

Ray: When Mark Waid is on his game, few writers can equal his old-school energy. This issue is a perfect example of that, as it starts with the heroes facing a threat equally menacing and ridiculous, and never slows down from there. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite have come to seek help from Batman and Superman, as evil imps from their world are invading, driven by a mysterious new villain. They’re each seeking out their enemy on this world, in an attempt to create a tournament for the world’s most powerful hero. The heroes are barely keeping up, as the magic-empowered villains have the natural edge over Kryptonians, so Mxy seeks to empower a civilian. Robin didn’t work well last issue—so he chooses Jimmy Olsen, splitting him into all his various alternate selves over the years—everything from a werewolf to the famous Turtle Boy, to ridiculous effect.

The writing is great here, especially the amusing interplay between Batman, Superman, and their personal imps, but a lot of the credit for this issue has to go to Dan Mora and guest artist Travis Mercer. There’s a fantastic visual flourish this issue as Bat-Mite takes Batman and Superman through the dimensions. First they wind up in the second dimension, which is rendered in 1960s-style cartoon panels, and then they travel to the sixth dimension, which is a dazzling visual of surrealist effects where everything in time and space exists at the same time. It’s also interesting to see the characterization differences between the two imps—Mxy always has a sinister and manipulative help, while as annoying as he is, Bat-Mite genuinely sees himself as a hero. The ending of the issue is one of the funniest things to happen in a DC Comic in some time, and perfectly fitting this story’s Silver Age roots.

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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.