Superman & Batman Magazine #8 - DC

Spring 1995 - Welcome to the final issue of Superman & Batman Magazine!

Although no formal mention of this being the last issue is made, the editors seem to be obliquely referencing it on the opening page, thanking the readers for reading the magazine. Plus, this is the only issue to break with the magazine's format--no extra kid-centric photo features or articles, just a long-form comic book story.

The story in question is "Let Justice Be Done", by Roger Stern, Ty Templeton, and Rick Burchett, featuring separate chapters for each hero, in classic JLA fashion:

The only debit this magazine has is that doesn't feature the work of Mike Parobeck in any way, which is a shame--he deserved to be included in the full run of the magazine.

I've said it before, I'll say it again--DC needs to have another magazine out there like this. Howabout a kid friendly Batman magazine, aimed at kids too young to see the intense (to say the least) Dark Knight movie?

Superman & Batman Magazine #6 - DC

Fall 1994 - I'm working on a sort of theme series, but before I get to that, I wanted to finish up with the short-lived Superman & Batman Magazine.

As I've said before, the main selling point for me was that it featured the superb work of the late Mike Parobeck, and it was in this magazine where he got the chance to draw other stars of the DCU instead of just Batman and Robin.

So, sans comments, I'm presenting the complete stories drawn by Parobeck that are in this issue:

This issue is extra special, because it features two complete stories drawn by Parobeck, instead of the usual one and change. So not only do we get treated to the Parobeck Batman, but the Parobeck Wonder Woman:

...such beautiful work!

Superman & Batman Magazine #5 - DC

Summer 1994 - I've profiled issues of DC's sadly short-lived Superman & Batman Magazine before, and they are usually the least popular posts I have on the blog.

But I persevere, because I think DC's intentions behind the magazine were great, and I wish it had been more successful. Marvel is out there now with Spider-Man Magazine, and there's no good reason why DC doesn't have a similarly kid-friendly Superman or Batman magazine sitting alongside it in bookstores.

Also, these issues of Superman & Batman Magazine feature the work of the late Mike Parobeck, whose clean, dynamic art style was always one of my favorites. Getting to see it here, bigger and on better paper, is a real treat.

In fact, I'm going to forgo my usual tedious description of each issue's contents, and just run the entire sequence--in this issue it stars Superman--drawn by Parobeck:

There's also a Hawkman "Hero File" page, also drawn by Parobeck, as well as a feature about Guy Gardner, under the guise of an interview by Daily Planet reporter Catherine Grant:

In addition, there's a Hawkman solo feature by my pal Paul Kupperberg and drawn by Rick Burchett, and a Hawkman pin-up by Ty Templeton. Both Templeton and Burchett were just as sharp as Parobeck, and thankfully they've gone on to do a lot more comics work.

I have two more issues of the magazine in my collection, and we'll talk about those too, eventually!

Superman and Batman Magazine #4 - DC

Spring 1994 - Another fun-filled issue starring the heroes of the DCU!

As you can guess from the cover, Robin the Boy Wonder takes the center stage in this issue.

After the regular "Daily Planet" feature (concerned this time about an anti-gun Batman PSA comic called Seduction of the Gun, as well as featuring a small piece about former TV Jimmy Olsen Jack Larson) is a cute "Draw Your Favorite Comics Hero" section, where one kid draws the Joker...?

The first comic feature is "Trial Run" starring Batman and Robin, by Kelley Puckett, Mike Parobeck, and Rick Burchett, which does indeed star Robin. As usual, Parobeck's worth is spot-on and gorgeous.

Next is a How to Draw Superman feature, an article on "Karate Kids", and then this issue's Hero File stars Captain Marvel...er, Shazam!, and features an awesome pin-up by Ty Templeton:

The Shazam! story is called "The Scarab Necklace" by Jerry Ordwat, Parobeck, and Burchett. Why, again, wasn't there a Shazam! comic just like this one?

The last page is about Batman:TAS director Kevin Altieri, featuring a goofy caricature by Bruce Timm.

Another solid issue, and I'll always wonder by Captain Marvel never got his own animated series...

Superman and Batman Magazine #3 - DC

Winter 1994 - I gobbled up almost the entire run of this magazine once I saw how cool they were; luckily they can be obtained pretty cheaply!

There's the regular "Daily Planet" feature, about Superman returning from the dead, followed by "Superman vs. The Mechanical Monsters", by Roger Stern, Mike Parobeck, and Rick Burchett, who hit the exact right tone of fun adventure. Parobeck especially was the exact right artist for this kind of material, and its nice to see his work here a little larger and on nicer paper.

There's an article on the new movie Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, featuring stills and a super-cool pin-up:

...I love Joker, deep in the shadows there.

There's a puzzle page called "Riddle Me This" and then the second comic feature this time stars that Tiny Titan, The Atom!:

In addition to these fun "Hero File" pages, the Atom stars in "The Big Sting!" by Tom "Tennessee" Peyer, Parobeck, and Burchett.

The issue wraps up with another puzzle page, a find-the-clues game called "Catch A Thief!", and then a profile on then-Batman editor Denny O'Neil. Another really fun issue, perfect for kids and a great way to introduce young readers to the DCU.


I know this week the blog has been all over the place, but that's because I wanted a nice contrast to next week, where I'll be profiling five different issues from one magazine all week, a publication that has not yet shown up here! Be here, it'll be fun!

Superman & Batman Magazine #2 - DC

DC Week, Part 4

I talked about the first issue of this magazine a week or two ago, and enjoyed it so much I got more of 'em. I just read the second issue, and I'm happy to report it's just as fun as the first.

The cover is a classic Joker Creating Mayhem in Gotham scenario (even if the Clown Prince of Crime is a teensy bit off-model), and on the insides we get a wider array of DCU characters.

After the Daily Planet feature(which breathessly covers the new Batman ride at Great Adventure), the Flash stars in "Monkey Trials!" where he faces off against Gorilla Grodd(of course), by Brian Augustyn, Mike Parobeck, and Rick Burchett. A very fun story, only a mere six pages!

This issue's pin-up is of the Atom, who doesn't usually get much play outside the regular comics(and even then, not so much), and this is a great piece, again by Parobeck and Burchett:

Hmm, maybe DC should hire Richard Matheson to write the current Atom comic!

Next is a short excerpt from Louise Simonson's prose novel Superman: Doomsday and Beyond(concerning the four new Supermen), and then is Batman starring in "A Night At The Opera!" by Kelley Puckett, Parobeck, and Burchett, a classic set-up for a Joker story if there ever was one.

This issue's Hero File concerns lead-story star The Flash, and then it ends with "Superman On The Screen", covering all of the Man of Steel's celluloid adventures, from the Max Fleischer cartoons all the way to the (then)current Lois & Clark TV series.

Again, a very fun issue and solid publication, perfect for younger readers just getting introduced to the world of superhero comics.

Superman & Batman Magazine #1 - DC

This was an enormously fun magazine from 1993, put out at the height of the Batman: The Animated Series' popularity(funny then, that Superman gets top billing).

This was another one of those cases where I saw aboslutely no promotion for this thing, and just happened to come across it at a newsstand. I apparently wasn't the only one who missed it; S&BM wasn't around too long, something around eight measly issues.

The cover is by Ty Templeton, and folds out to become a poster, and on top of that, comes with a centerfold that you can match up with the cover to make one giant poster, which is a way-cool donnybrook featuring most of the biggest heroes of the DCU and their bad guys:

...I say "most of" because there is no Aquaman present. Hmmph.

Anyway, once I got past that, there are a whole load of fun features in this mag, starting off with a two-page "Daily Planet" supplement, featuring small, kid-attention-span-size articles about things in the news, a page called "Penguin's Puns", and then a six-page "Origin of Superman" comic sequence written by Karl Kesel and drawn by the late, great Mike Parobeck.

Next is an article on collecting trading cards, and then is "The Secret Origin of Batman", also by Kesel and Parobeck.

Some other members of the DCU get some love, as there's a two-page feature called "The Hero File" about Wonder Woman.

This awesome drawing is by Kevin Nowlan doing his more cartoony style, and I love this piece so much I think it could've been used as presentation art for a Wonder Woman cartoon series. Wouldn't you watch a show that looked like this?

Next is a two-page text story about Robin and the Huntress(written by Denny O'Neil, no less!), an article on the "Superman is Dead" storyline, and then a profile of Mike Carlin.

This makes for a really attractive, fun package, perfect for kids who are just getting introduced to these characters. I could never find the following issues at the time, but they're easily(and cheaply) found on ebay, and I plan to pick those up in the future.