SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Manga
  • All Ages
  • Young Adult
  • Interviews
  • News

March 21, 2013 by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Review: DC Super Friends

March 21, 2013 by J. Caleb Mozzocco   1 comments

Among the latest offerings from Capstone’s fruitful relationship with DC Comics are a line of hardcovers reprinting some of the latter’s kid-friendly comics. Not collections of groups of comics, but single-issue reprints, differentiated from the original comics only by their hard, sturdy covers and spines—actual comic books never seem to last long in libraries, no matter how much tape is applied, do they?—as well as a lack of ads and some age-appropriate back matter.

There are several different titles in the line, which we’ll be taking a look at over the coming weeks. Let’s start with the one most suited for the youngest readers, however: DC Super Friends.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The DC Super Friends comic initially launched in 2008 as part of a new, revitalized “Johnny DC” line of kids’ comics, along with Tiny Titans and Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam. The book was based on Mattel’s line of Super Friends action figures, which featured thick, stocky, muscular versions of six of DC’s most popular heroes, with big hands, feet and heads: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash and Green Lantern John Stewart (as in the Justice League cartoon).

The comic book was perhaps the only one in DC’s kids line directed so squarely at young readers that it could prove alienating to adult readers, and was more of a kids comic than an all-ages one like, say, Billy Batson or some of their based-on-a-cartoon comics. Sholly Fisch, a versatile and prolific comics scripter, was responsible for writing, which focused on the heroes as rescuers and catchers-of-bad guys more than fighters, and art varied from issue to issue, with the artists hewing as close as possible to the thick, squat designs established by the toy makers (Of the artists, cover artist and too-infrequent interior artist J. Bone generally handled the scripts best, perhaps because his simplified, thickened figures naturally over-lapped with the toy designs more easily than the personal style of some of the other artists).

Capstone’s reprint the first four issues of the series, all written by Fisch and drawn by Dario Brizuela, Stewart McKenny and Philip Moy and Joe Staton and Horacio Ottolini. The reprints are sans issue numbers, which they don’t really need—every issue of the series was a self-contained story, and there was no issue-to-issue continuity readers needed to keep in mind.

In Dinosaur Round-Up, Staton and Ottolini draw an adventure mixing two-thirds of the Holy Trinity of little boys’ interests, superheroes and dinosaurs. If they could have worked some trucks into this story, it would have been perfect.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Some Metropolis-based scientists invent a portal that allows them to explore the Jurassic Period, two hundred million years in the past! While they journey to the past, a herd of dinosaurs discover the time portal works both ways, and they decide to explore the present, causing plenty of property damage and scaring people in the process. The Super Friends swoop in to captures all the errant dinosaurs and send them back where they belong.

In Wanted: The Super Friends, old Justice League villain Felix Faust appears in a story apparently inspired by one of the more memorable Justice League of America covers from way back in 1962. Using magical finger puppets of the Super Friends as something akin to voodoo dolls, the wicked magician is able to control the heroes’ actions, and he uses them to gather three powerful magical artifacts. Inspired by one of their fans, however, they find a way to trick the villain. (That fan gets the nickname “Snapper,” one of several references in this book to the Silver Age Justice League.)

The other books are Hungry For Power and April Fools, the first and fourth issues of the comic, respectively. In the former, the Friends run afoul of Professor Ivo and his android Amazo. In the latter, the Friends come into conflict with The Jesters League of America, which is full of clownish villains like The Joker, Harley Quinn, Trickster, Prankster and Punch and Jewlee.

Each volume ends with biographies of the six heroes and the creators involved, some activities, a glossary of vocabulary (satellite, wizard, kryptonite, brachiosaurus, etc) with definitions and pronunciation and discussion questions about the story.

The books are suggested for readers 7 to 9 but are probably A-OK for kids just starting to read, particularly if they’re already superhero fans.

Filed under: All Ages, Reviews

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
capstoneDario BrizuelaDC ComicsDC Super FriendsJ. BoneSholly FischStewart McKenny

About J. Caleb Mozzocco

J. Caleb Mozzocco is a way-too-busy freelance writer who has written about comics for online and print venues for a rather long time now. He currently contributes to Comic Book Resources' Robot 6 blog and ComicsAlliance, and maintains his own daily-ish blog at EveryDayIsLikeWednesday.blogspot.com. He lives in northeast Ohio, where he works as a circulation clerk at a public library by day.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

January 2023

Andy Warner's Oddball Histories: Pests and Pets | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

January 2023

My Sister, the Cat, vol. 1 | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

January 2023

History Comics: Rosa Parks & Claudette Colvin | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

October 2022

A Costume for Charly | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

September 2022

History Comics: The Roanoke Colony | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Sydney Taylor Blog Tour: THE TOWER OF LIFE by Chana Stiefel and Susan Gal

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

“… A relationship of reciprocity with the Earth.” Diana Sudyka Discusses Her New Picture Book, Little Land

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Haley Newsome on Unfamiliar | Interview

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

What’s Coming in 2023, A Feedback Poll, and Goodbye for Now…

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Showing Teens It’s Okay to be Angry, a guest post by Lauren Blackwood

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Be Afraid (but not too afraid): Graphic novel horror for middle grade readers

Jen Wang Draws from Reality

LibraryPass’s Comics Plus | Reference Database Review

'Salt Magic,' 'The Legend of Auntie Po,' and 'Run: Book One' Among 2022 Eisner Award Winners

'Himawari House' Wins 2022 Kirkus Prize for Young Readers' Literature

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kesha says

    March 22, 2013 at 8:14 am

    These books are great. This is a way that younger readers can connect to topics that are of particular interest to them. We have several of these books at home and my husband and son enjoy reading these together. It would be great to promote “Dad, as superhero” in some of our schools too. Even fathers who don’t read very well can share some special time with their kids.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023