World's Finest Comics #6

History

Published on newsstands around May 8, 1942, with a cover date of Summer 1942, the issue was edited by Whitney Ellsworth under the DC imprint then identified as World's Best Comics Company, and carried a cover price of fifteen cents for 100 pages. The patriotic cover — Fred Ray depicting Superman alongside a sailor and Robin shaking a soldier's hand — was a deliberate wartime gesture, consistent with DC's editorial policy of aligning its heroes with the war effort. The Batman story was scripted by Joseph Greene with art credited to Jerry Robinson and George Roussos (published under the Bob Kane byline, per standard practice of the era), while the Sandman feature was produced by the celebrated team of Jack Kirby (pencils) and Joe Simon (inks), and the Star-Spangled Kid story was written by Jerry Siegel with art by Hal Sherman.

Trivia · 7 facts

• The cover was painted by Fred Ray, depicting Superman embracing a sailor and Robin shaking hands with a soldier — a direct reflection of DC's wartime editorial stance.
• The Batman lead story, 'The Secret of Bruce Wayne!' (script: Joseph Greene; art: Jerry Robinson and George Roussos, published under the Bob Kane credit), features a reporter who successfully deduces that Bruce Wayne is Batman, with the secret ultimately preserved through a dying actor's sacrifice — a plot later echoed in Batman: The Animated Series episode 'The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne.'
• The Joker, the Penguin (Oswald Cobblepot), and Catwoman (Selina Kyle, here spelled 'Cat-Woman') all appear in cameo within the Batman story — an unusual early convergence of Batman's three signature villains in one tale.
• The Sandman story, 'The Adventure of the Magic Forest,' was produced by Jack Kirby (pencils/writer) and Joe Simon (inks), and was later collected in the 2009 hardcover Sandman by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby. This is also the story in which the Sandman appears in his later yellow-and-purple costume rather than his original gas-mask-and-fedora look.
• This issue marks the start of the Star-Spangled Kid (Sylvester Pemberton) and Stripesy (Pat Dugan) feature within the World's Finest run, written by Jerry Siegel — the character's co-creator — with art by Hal Sherman.
• The Aquaman story, 'The Zoo of the Deep,' was written by Mort Weisinger and drawn by Paul Norris, featuring an early version of the character who has not yet developed his ability to telepathically command sea life.
• The Batman story and the Superman story ('Man of Steel Versus Man of Metal') have both been reprinted in multiple collected editions, including Batman: The World's Finest Comics Archives Vol. 1 HC (2002), Batman Chronicles Vol. 6 TPB (2008), Batman: The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 2 HC (2016), and Superman: The World's Finest Comics Archives Vol. 1.

Cast · 40 characters

Full credits

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