Superman: The War Years 1938-1945
ISBN-13: 978-0785832829
Batman: The War Years 1939-1945
ISBN-13: 978-0785832836
Wonder Woman: The War Years 1941-1945
ISBN-13: 978-0785832843
by Roy Thomas
Chartwell Books

What we have here are three hefty hardcover volumes reprinting great golden-age DC Comics stories from comic’s heyday, the World War II years. Edited and with informative essays by legendary comics historian and creator Roy Thomas, each over-sized book has more than three hundred pages filled with stories and background information.

With a very affordable retail price of just under $25 each, these collections are a throwback to the great hardback DC volumes of the 1970s.

Each book focuses on the stories of one hero, with an emphasis on their adventures related to the war, whether it’s fighting the bad guys first-hand, or rounding up foreign agents bent on destroying our defenses. This is really great stuff, a throwback to a simpler time, but with an energy that’s sorely lacking in today’s cookie-cutter factory-produced comics.

Each volume, in and of itself, would be a great gift for a fan of its particular character, but all three would be an instant golden-age comic book library that will last a lifetime. I’m really hoping that these books are big successes because I would love to see further volumes in the series that focus on Captain Marvel (“Shazam” to the unenlightened), Blackhawk, Uncle Sam, Plastic Man and other superhero greats that DC Comics controls.

Appropriate for all ages and packed with great informative essays, these are screaming to be wrapped and put under the tree. Available where ever books are sold, I’ve already seen them in town.