Ah, there’s nothing quite like a Bronze Age DC comic to explain the generation gap circa the mid-seventies to you. In addition to the awkward homoeroticism of Batman, Jr. sitting on Superman, Jr.’s palm while the young half-Kryptonian swims them across a swamp, there’s nothing more awkward than writer Bob Haney’s hip lingo.  See their frequent references to each other as “baby” or Clark Jr.’s claim that “guess we both had the same need” when they meet up in the initial installment.

The stories themselves are a mix of standard mid-70s DC adventure fare (with Bob Haney’s snappy dialogue and solid Dick Dillin artwork) and unnerving generation gap conflicts between the parental heroes and the young, coming-of-age heroes – typically the young heroes impetuousness loses out to their fathers’ smarmy know-it-allness. Honestly, these are the sort of comic you either like, despite their flaws, or despise despite their off-beat charms. Me, I kinda like them, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend them to anybody.

Dick Dillon handles most of the art with a solid professionalism, while Curt Swan, Rich Buckler and Kieron Dwyer fill in ably when called on. Denny O’Neil scripts one story, and can’t resist turning in a real downer of a yarn that completely misses the silly fun of the Super Sons. Fortunately, Haney got back in the saddle to ignore Denny’s story for a short story from the controversial Elseworld’s 80-Page Giant #1.

All together, it’s a strange ride, and not something I’d suggest hunting down if you’re not a fan of this type of superheroic nonsense, but if you’re looking for something a little offbeat and bizarre, you can possibly find Superman / Batman: Saga of the Super Sons at your local library.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 at 6:16 pm and is filed under Features, It Came From the NYPL. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.