World's Finest # 10, Summer, 1943

Although not one of the classic covers, this issue's is made up of images from various stories and presents, for the first time, a handful of the characters who inhabit the book other than Superman and Batman.

Never a favorite of mine, the goofy, Stylized look of THE STAR-SPANGLED KID grows on one after a while. Here's a whole story full of it. What do you think?

Another great S&K splash. The Boy Commandos would continue long after its creators left with artists such as Curt Swan and Gil Kane doing their best Kirby imitations!

This Jack Farr character appeared in several DC mags of the day. I never liked what was presumably the artist's own lettering but I do like his illustrations.

 

World's Finest Comics # 9, Spring, 1943

Note that the wartime popularity of The Boy Commandos has led to them getting name-chcked on the cover along with Superman and Batman.

COMIC CAVALCADE, seen in the ad below, was WORLD'S FINEST'S sister mag, a 96 page quarterly AA publication with a cutesy superhero trio every issue and a bunch of different stories inside. 

   

World's Finest # 8, Winter, 1942

This issue, also reprinted in black and white by Dynapubs in the early seventies, was the first Golden Age issue of WF that I ever saw. The propaganda was going fast and furious on this and many other comic book covers by this point, a year into America's involvement in WWII. Once again, Fred Ray gets cover credit.

Perhaps due to the general pro-Army feelings that were everywhere, DRAFTY moves up to the second spot for a change.

We trade Simon and Kirby's Sandman for Simon and Kirby's BOY COMMANDOS, already a hit in DETECTIVE and, as per this issue's back cover, getting their own book as well!

Another clever Green Arrow and Speedy splash.

Sheldon Moldoff's trademark photo reference panels highlight this patriotic history piece but more interesting is the fact that it's credited to M.C. Gaines, himself! One of the founders of the comic book, the big shot at All-American and the future founder of EC Comics (and father of Bill Gaines!).