“Public Enemies” merits its place in this collection. It’s an essential Batman and Superman story, and I couldn’t think of a better one that encompasses the shared respect and friendship of the two heroes.
Wow. After several weeks of nagging, I finally received volume 5 of the DC Comics Graphic Novel Collection. The excuses and lack of communication are getting tiring now and the customer service that Jacklin Enterprises provides its subscribers is bureaucratically useless to say the least. According to the customer service representative, volume 6 will also be delayed because Jacklin serviced the stores first. So there you go, folks—no point in subscribing because you don’t matter. Also, I’m still waiting for the rest of my free gifts, but I think someone’s children got nice DC bookends for Christmas—I hope you enjoy them, kids.
The unfortunate Jacklin-gate aside, let’s discuss the actual book. Volume five collects Superman/Batman #1-6 (the “Public Enemies” arc) and the bonus Superman #76 (the first time Bats and Supes worked together). “Public Enemies” follows Superman and Batman who need to team up to stop President Lex Luthor (lol, Trump) after he accuses the Man of Steel of crimes against humanity. Along the way, the two heroes have to take on a top-secret team in order to save Earth from a deadly meteorite and stop Luthor.
If you’re a big DC fan, you’re probably aware this story was adapted into a successful animated film back in 2009. Much like the film, it’s a well-written story that beautifully captures the complexity of the relationship between Batman and Superman. Often competitive, sometimes dry, and occasionally humorous, Jeph Loeb showcases the full spectrum of their special “friendship”. There’s several intricate layers to this tale, and when you peel it all back, you realise these two heroes would be nothing without the other. Compare this story to Superman #76 and you’ll see the leaps and bounds the World’s Finest have made in becoming super friends.
On the art front, Ed McGuinness illustrates a story that you’ll be proud to have in your collection. His work is reminiscent of a time when you could lose yourself in a book for hours and admire every character detail and setting. In fact, I wish McGuinness would give DC a hand on some of its Rebirth titles…
Stay tuned for my forthcoming review of volume 6. Knowing Jacklin, the book will arrive sometime in June. Until then, ciao!
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Yest their service suck. I am now buying my issues (DC and Marvel) at a local retailer since the subscriptions are simply a non delivery for me
Issues not arriving on time , missing issues when they do arrive , pages stuck together on issues. It’s absolutely ridiculous
I’ve been searching for the last two issues (including this one) at CNA. Can’t find them at Somerset West, Canal Walk or Waterfront. I’m not sure what happened there.
They’re not at Tygervalley either.
finally someone’s called them out for their horrible service!!! the books themselves are amazing but dealing with jacklin is enough to make you want to go stand at home affairs for 24 hours
So far I’ve actually had no problem with them, this time. Got issues 5+6 end of December.
(but i will admit that the one looked like it and gone to a retail store and back, had that big cardboard page at the back, none of the previous issues had come like that).
I have on the other hand had serious communication issues with trying to get hold of the second run of the DC Chess Set (Justice League), not answering e-mails, calls, eventually answering, not getting back to me, etc. but in the end, looking back at it now, i’m glad i got messed around, saved me a lot of money.