I just finished one of the most enjoyable Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman stories that I’ve read in quite a while.
Since last summer, Scholastic has published graphic novels under the series title “Secret Hero Society,” featuring the young (about age nine or ten) Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, and Diana of Themyscira. In this first one, Study Hall of Justice, the youngsters meet at Ducard Academy, a school whose staff includes Hugo Strange (guidance counselor), Thaddeus B. Sivana (science), Vandal Savage (history), Solomon Grundy (homeroom) and Coach Zod. Bruce, Clark and Diana’s classmates include the young Lex Luthor, “Joe Kerr,” Bane, Giganta, and other nasties.
Bruce believes that something troublesome is going on at Ducard. To help him investigate, he recruits his new friends Clark and Diana, even though he doesn’t trust them completely.
The story by Derek Fridolfs presents the characters deftly and moves swiftly — a little too swiftly toward the end, which feels rushed. Dustin Nguyen’s black-and-white art is lively and vivid, if a bit too sketchy to help me understand who’s who in some panels.
Sadly, I probably would never have seen this book except by luck: I ran across it at my library’s Friends of the Library bookstore for donated or discarded books.
But it’s a lot of fun, and I recommend it.