Cover: Curt Swan & Stan Kaye

World's Finest Comics #91

Nov 1957 · DC · 0.10 USD

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About this Issue

World's Finest Comics #91 is a solid representative example of the Silver Age anthology format DC had settled into by late 1957, packing three complete features — the Superman/Batman/Robin lead, a Green Arrow and Speedy backup, and a Tomahawk backup — into a single 36-page issue under one editorial roof. The lead story, 'The Three Super-Sleepers,' sends Superman, Batman, and Robin a thousand years into the future to battle Rothul, a descendant of Lex Luthor, showcasing the science-fiction time-travel conceits that defined editor Jack Schiff's era on the title. As one of the final issues to carry the Golden Age incarnation of Green Arrow and Speedy as a backup feature — the duo's run in World's Finest would end just three issues later with #94, before the Silver Age Earth-One versions debuted in #95 — the issue marks a quietly significant transitional moment for those characters. The anthology also preserves Tomahawk and Dan Hunter in the middle of their long run as a World's Finest backup, a feature that would continue through issue #101.

In "The Three Super-Sleepers," Superman, Batman, and Robin are lured into a mysterious cave, only to awaken a millennium in the future—far from the world they know. Stranded in a strange, futuristic age, they must confront a dangerous descendant of Lex Luthor, unaware of what the future has in store. Written by Edmond Hamilton and illustrated by Dick Sprang, with inks by Stan Kaye and lettering by Pat Gordon, this 1957 adventure features a cover by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye.

Contains 6 stories

The Three Super-Sleepers

12 pp · Superhero

Lora (scientist of 2957)Kamar (scientist of 2957)Rothul (villain, introduction, descendant of Luthor)Rick Harben (villain)

In a forgotten cave beneath the Earth’s surface, Superman, Batman, and Robin are lured into a trap that sends them hurtling a millennium into the future—where they must face a new threat in the form of Rothul, a descendant of Luthor, and confront the mysterious scientific minds of 2957: Lora and Kamar, whose motives remain shrouded in time.

Untitled Humor story

1 pp · Humor

The Chain-Letter Arrows

6 pp · Superhero

Untitled Humor story

2 pp · Humor

Untitled Humor story

0.5 pp · Humor, Teen

The Teller of Tall Tales

6 pp · Historical, Western-Frontier

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (VG) $61

CGC 9.8 · 1 in census $11,271*

CGC 9.6 none in existence

CGC 9.4 none in existence

CGC 9.2 none in existence

CGC 9.0 · 1 in census $709*

CGC 8.5 · 3 in census $485

Show all 18 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 6 in census $398

CGC 7.5 · 8 in census $278

CGC 7.0 · 8 in census $186

CGC 6.5 · 3 in census $186*

CGC 6.0 · 8 in census $175

CGC 5.5 · 5 in census $146*

CGC 5.0 · 3 in census $146*

CGC 4.5 · 2 in census $116*

CGC 4.0 · 1 in census $115*

CGC 3.5 · 2 in census $95*

CGC 3.0 · 1 in census $74*

CGC 2.5 · 1 in census $65*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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Raw / ungraded $65 Raw / ungraded $70

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History

Issue #91 went on sale September 22, 1957, with a cover-dated November–December 1957 indicia under National Comics Publications Inc. The editorial team was a cross-section of DC's Silver Age infrastructure: Whitney Ellsworth as editor-in-chief, Jack Schiff as managing editor, and Murray Boltinoff and George Kashdan as associate editors. The lead Superman/Batman story was written by Edmond Hamilton — the prolific science-fiction author who was the primary scripter for the World's Finest team-up feature throughout the Schiff years — with art by Curt Swan and inker Stan Kaye, while the Batman sequences were drawn by Dick Sprang. The Green Arrow backup was written by Ed Herron and drawn by George Papp — the character's original artist since Green Arrow's debut in More Fun Comics #73 in 1941. The Tomahawk story was drawn by Bob Brown, who contributed frequently to the feature during this period alongside longtime Tomahawk artist Fred Ray.

Trivia · 8 facts

Cover date: November–December 1957 (on-sale date: September 22, 1957); published by National Comics Publications Inc. under the DC Comics umbrella.
Lead story 'The Three Super-Sleepers' (script: Edmond Hamilton; Superman/Robin art: Curt Swan and Stan Kaye; Batman art: Dick Sprang) sends Superman, Batman, and Robin into suspended animation, where they awaken 1,000 years in the future in the year 2957 and must battle Rothul, introduced here as a descendant of Lex Luthor.
Green Arrow backup story 'The Chain Letter Arrows' features Oliver Queen and Roy Harper (Speedy), written by Ed Herron and drawn by George Papp — the creator-artist who had illustrated the characters since their first appearance in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941).
This issue falls within the final stretch of the Golden Age Green Arrow and Speedy's run as a World's Finest backup feature; according to multiple sources tracking their publication history, the duo's appearances in this title concluded around issue #94 (May–June 1958), after which the Silver Age Earth-One versions debuted in World's Finest #95.
Tomahawk backup story 'The Teller of Tall Tales' features Tom Hawk (Tomahawk) and his sidekick Dan Hunter; Tomahawk had been a World's Finest backup from issue #33 (March 1948) through issue #101 (May 1959), created by Joe Samachson and Edmond Good, with most Silver Age stories by writer France Herron and artist Fred Ray.
The Tomahawk story in this issue was reprinted in Action Comics #134 (July 1949) per the Grand Comics Database, and later reprinted in the K.G. Murray Australian anthology Mighty The 100-Page Comic! #8 (November 1958).
The lead Superman/Batman story was later reprinted in at least five collections, including World's Finest Comics Archives #2 (2001), Showcase Presents: World's Finest #1 (2007), the Batman and Superman in World's Finest: The Silver Age Omnibus #1 (2016), and Batman & Superman in World's Finest Comics: The Silver Age #1 (2017).
Editorial oversight came from the Jack Schiff managing-editor era of World's Finest, a period characterized by science-fiction premises (time travel, future villains, alien threats) and the pairing of Superman and Batman in every lead story, a format that had been established starting with World's Finest #71 (July 1954).