Batman/Superman: World's Finest, Vol. 1: The Devil Nezha

Read this at the Clapp Memorial Library in Belchertown MA USA. Nice selection of graphic novels there, considering it's a small library.

Title: Batman/Superman: World's Finest: The Devil Nezha
Issue: Volume 1
Date: January, 2024
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Dan Mora
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Editor: Paul Kaminski

Reprinting the first four issues of the latest World's Finest reboot. Poison Ivy attacks the Daily Planet, and finds herself up against the Batman, Robin, and Superman. But before the heroes can defeat her, Metallo shows up, adding a whole new level of threat when he injects Superman with red kryptonite.

As it turns out, this is just the beginning, as an ancient demonic figure named Nezha takes control of villains, and then heroes to set them against Superman and the Batman.

This turned complicated quickly, with a time-travel subplot, and continuously-escalating threats as Nexha takes control of more and more powerful metahumans to try to wipe out all potential resistance to his conquest of Earth and beyond.

The character work and action in this story are solid, especially the little insights into the relationship between Clark and Bruce and how they look out for each other.

The weak point is the villain, who's a mess of inconsistent powers, unclear motivation, and bland generic-villain personality.

There was enough of interest here that I'd be willing to check out more of the series once it moves past Nezha.

Rating: 5/10

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: The Beginning

 Bought at Foreign Languages Bookstore, Shanghai, China.

Title: Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: The Beginning
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Date: 2018
Writer: Brandon Montclare, Amy Reeder
Artist: Natacha Bustos, Marco Failla
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: VC's Travis Lanham
Cover: Amy Reeder
Editor: Mark Paniccia, Emily Shaw, Jennifer Grunwald

Reprints issues 1-12 of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.

I loved the original run of Devil Dinosaur as a kid, so this brought back all of the nostalgic vibes, in spite of it bringing Devil Dinosaur out of prehistory and into the modern Marvel Universe continuity. Nine-year-old Lunella Lafayette is a brilliant mind stuck and bored in a New York public school. She is also a carrier of the inhuman gene, and terrified of the transformation that could happen if she is exposed to the terragen mists, which have been activating the powers of other inhumans around New York. Devil Dinosaur is, well, a dinosaur, but he pretty much plays the big slobbering dog role in this story.

Add in a timeshifted tribe of "Killer Folk", a kree boy with big ambitions and some daddy-issues, and guest appearances by Ms. Marvel and (Amadeus Cho) Hulk for a fast-moving story that brings the Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur pairing into the ranks of Marvel's New York based heroes.

That fast pace does hurt things a bit. Interactions between Lunella and her parents come as generic fare, as do a lot of the school scenes. Lunella herself is a nice blend of snarky and clever, but the story doesn't do enough to show how brilliant she is. Devil Dinosaur is wonderfully expressive, but there is not much potential for character development there.

And character development is what this story needs. "Captain Kree" gets a simple, but satisfying story arc, and the interactions with Amadeus Cho and Kamala Khan show good potential, but need more space to grow.

The Killer Folk are not very interesting villains, but are used sparingly, and are mostly absent from the second half of this volume. I can't say that I am particularly eager for their inevitable return.

What I would like to see is more of Lunella Lafayette. She has great potential here, but in twelve issues, we are still seeing only the beginnings of that potential.

Rating: 6.5/10