(I originally read these comics in early April 2016)
'World's Finest' takes its title from DCs long-running Batman/Superman team-up comic and is by Dave Gibbons and Steve Rude. It's worthy but slightly dull and is enlivened by Steve Rude's typically beautiful artwork. Gibbons was riding high after the success of 'Watchmen' and I believe it was Steve Rude's first major project for the comics mainstream so he pulls out all the stops, but after the brutal one-two punch of 'The Dark Knight Returns' and 'The Killing Joke,' this must have seemed a bit old-fashioned. Lex Luthor and the Joker - more clownish here than he was then otherwise being portrayed - swap home bases, Luthor moving to Gotham and the Joker to Metropolis, and their nemeses follow suit.
'Legends of the World's Finest' is by Walt Simonson and Dan Brereton and is unrelated to the first series. Set on a remote Scottish island, it involves a demon enlisting Superman and Batman to free him of a curse (and also ropes in Superman villainess Silver Banshee). In the process, with each suffering the other's nightmares, Superman starts to lose himself to darkness and Batman loses his edge. The story's passable, but Brereton's lush, painted artwork is the main draw.
The third and longest series covers a ten-year period, with Batman and Superman coming together every year to commemorate the death of a victim of their mutual mistake and learning to trust each other and work together in the process. It compares and contrasts many notable events from Batman's and Superman's chronologies along the way. My enjoyment of it might have been enhanced by a greater knowledge of Superman's history. It's by Karl Kesel and (mostly) Dave Taylor, who seems to delight in drawing deliberately eccentric facial expressions that occasionally just look daft. (His Joker's a dead ringer for Jon Pertwee, in one panel.)
The 'World's Funnest' book is a bit of fluff starring Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite, two characters who should have been left to rot in the '60s. It's reasonable fun as they spar their way through every DC alternate universe, destroying them all in the process. Evan Dorkin writes and it's drawn by a host of big names handling a page or two at a time, including Dave Gibbons, Frank Miller, Alex Ross and more.
As extras, here are the 'World's Finest' and 'Legends of the World's Finest' trade paperback covers by Steve Rude and Dan Brereton, respectively, Rude's 'World's Finest' # 1-3 back covers and an in-house ad for the series.
Superman/Batman: World's Finest (1990) # 1-3 are collected in:
Hardcover:
Softcover:
Legends of the World's Finest (1994) # 1-3 are collected in:
Softcover:
Batman & Superman: World's Finest (1999) # 1-10 are collected in:
Softcover:
Superman and Batman: World's Funnest (2000) is collected in:
Softcover:
