Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #55: Not the Bees!

Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #55, written by Mark Waid, penciled by Adrián Gutiérrez, inked by Vicente Cifuentes, colored by Luis Guerrero, and lettered by Steve Wands, throws Batman and Superman into the middle of Ra’s al Ghul’s scheme to bring on the apocalypse with his four horsemen: Ocean Master, Poison Ivy, Queen Bee, and Tokamak representing war, famine, pestilence, and death respectively. Waid wastes no time getting right into the action. In true World’s Finest fashion, the start of the issue finds the Justice League on a distant planet assisting Adam Strange. Readers don’t get to see more of this, but it is such a nice touch and makes this world feel fluid and alive. 

Issue #55 moves fast and jumps around the world, so the art has a lot on its shoulders. There is a great use contrast in color and framing that works well with the action but also the emotional beats. This issue stylyisticly rides the line between highly detailed art one would expect out of a current book and also reminiscent of the animated shows and art styles from books of the 1990s and 2000s. Vicente Cifuentes’ inks are an excellent touch and an affective use of black. Adrián Gutiérrez is firing on all cylinders delivering some really fun action but also captures a lot of emotion in faces, which is often easier said than done. Only half of Batman’s face is visible throughout the issue, but he does a lot of the emotional heavy lifting.

 Luis Guerrero’s coloring brings it all together by finding a balance between the heavy inks and pencils. Waid raises the stakes by putting Robin’s life on the line. While this series retroactivly acts as first meetings and appearances for characters, Waid has consistently done a good job adding urgency. While Waid raises the emotional stakes, he also writes in some fun details that Steve Wands knocks out of the park. When Superman is in trouble and must act fast, he says, “up and away.” Wands brilliantly puts it on the page capturing the fun of it but also the danger of rhe moment.