Scan barcode
Reviews
Superman/Batman: Saga of the Super Sons by Dick Dillin, Vin Colletta, Murphy Anderson, Bob Haney
ivan_tw's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Extremely stupid in a very entertaining way, The Sage of the Super-Sons is prime hippiesploitation. Bruce Jr and Clark Jr fight with their famous dads, complain about the generation gap, and use the squarest slang you've ever heard. Despite their self-proclaimed aversion to authority, DC management wouldn't dare let them be actual rebels, so the Juniors are downright deferential to cops, laws, and just about everything except their dads. Hokey and hilarious.
dantastic's review
2.0
Superman Junior and Batman Junior drive around the country on a motorcycle, taking on criminals and struggling to live up to their fathers' legacies.
Saga of the Super Sons collects World's Finest Comics #215, 216, 221, 222, 224, 228, 230, 231, 233, 238, 242, 263, and Elseworlds 80-Page Giant #1.
"What if Batman and Superman had sons that followed in their footsteps?" is the core concept of Saga of the Super-Sons. Unfortunately, the Super-Sons don't do anything that super in most of the stories.
Written by that Zany Bob Haney, the stories are kind of simplistic, some even silly, compared to what Marvel was doing during the same time period. The Super-Sons take on a lot of mundane criminals, as well as Lex Luthor and the occasional alien. I would say these stories would be part of DC's young adult line if they were published today. Haney's attempts at youth slang are kind of embarrassing. Dick Dillin, DC's workhorse at the time, provides the bulk of the art, although Curt Swan and Rich Buckler each take the helm on an issue. Dillin's art is reliable but nothing spectacular.
All that being said, the stories are passably entertaining, despite ridiculous plot twists out of the 1950s, like Batman faking his death to teach Dick and Bruce Junior a lesson. The Denny O'Neil-Rich Buckler story explains the previous tales away as a simulation in Superman's Fortress of Solitude, explaining something that didn't really need explaining. Even in the 1970s, I think the kids were smart enough to know the Super-Sons weren't part of continuity.
Saga of the Super-Sons is an entertaining yet disappointing story from the dying days of the Silver Age. 2 out of 5 stars.
Saga of the Super Sons collects World's Finest Comics #215, 216, 221, 222, 224, 228, 230, 231, 233, 238, 242, 263, and Elseworlds 80-Page Giant #1.
"What if Batman and Superman had sons that followed in their footsteps?" is the core concept of Saga of the Super-Sons. Unfortunately, the Super-Sons don't do anything that super in most of the stories.
Written by that Zany Bob Haney, the stories are kind of simplistic, some even silly, compared to what Marvel was doing during the same time period. The Super-Sons take on a lot of mundane criminals, as well as Lex Luthor and the occasional alien. I would say these stories would be part of DC's young adult line if they were published today. Haney's attempts at youth slang are kind of embarrassing. Dick Dillin, DC's workhorse at the time, provides the bulk of the art, although Curt Swan and Rich Buckler each take the helm on an issue. Dillin's art is reliable but nothing spectacular.
All that being said, the stories are passably entertaining, despite ridiculous plot twists out of the 1950s, like Batman faking his death to teach Dick and Bruce Junior a lesson. The Denny O'Neil-Rich Buckler story explains the previous tales away as a simulation in Superman's Fortress of Solitude, explaining something that didn't really need explaining. Even in the 1970s, I think the kids were smart enough to know the Super-Sons weren't part of continuity.
Saga of the Super-Sons is an entertaining yet disappointing story from the dying days of the Silver Age. 2 out of 5 stars.
wayward's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
smohundro's review
3.0
The stories collected in this no-frills trade are from one of the trippiest ideas DC ever had. It's the 70s, so Superman and Batman have been around for ages. What would happen if they had sons, also named Clark and Bruce, who wanted to be super-heroes even though their parents for some reason forbid them -- as Superman, Jr., and Batman, Jr. Silver Age DC comics, especially the Superman ones, had a lot of crazy stories, with a hero "teaching someone a lesson" in some ridiculous way. (Faking their death, funeral and all, just to prove a point, for example.) At least a couple of these depicted this classic comic book father-son dynamic for dramatic effect.
The dialogue is also a bit painful. I have no idea if this is how hipster kids talked at the time or if it was a constant fever dream of writer Bob Haney (known for his far out Teen Titans stories around the same era).
The dialogue is also a bit painful. I have no idea if this is how hipster kids talked at the time or if it was a constant fever dream of writer Bob Haney (known for his far out Teen Titans stories around the same era).
revg's review
We will be talking about this book on the Living Between Wednesdays podcast this week!
More...