DC Elseworlds Presents: Realworlds Complete

Realworlds: Batman



The first book in the series gives us Charlie. He's 27 years old and is mentally handicapped, but he's also loyal, steadfast and dependable. And he's obsessed with the Batman of his childhood: the Adam West version of Batman from the popular '60s camp series. He dresses the part, his every task masks some secret mission against one of his foes, and he can usually be found going about his business while humming the "na-na na-na" Batman theme song.



When Charlie sees a childhood playmate -- his Robin in younger days -- gone bad, he knows only Batman can save her. But problems in the real world can't always be solved by a well-placed BIFF or POW, and the bad guys aren't always intimidated by a cape and cowl.



Then the Batman movie comes out and Charlie sees a whole new side to his beloved hero. Batman, he realizes, sometimes has to be mean to get the job done.



Realworlds: Justice League of America



A tale of young friends who loved the JLA, playing their roles as children, lost in wonder & fantasy ... and then grew up in this "real" world. The naive, optimistic memories of childhood heroes have been smudged & tarnished a bit as the friends go their separate ways, changing (sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse), and negotiating the more complex & often more muddled world of adulthood. Until one of their number arranges a reunion, complete with the costumes of their childhood favorites ...



What follows is a very funny, very moving tale of people who have both gained & lost something in the process of growing up, now reclaiming a little of that childhood magic, and perhaps carrying it with them as they move towards midlife & beyond.





Realworlds: Superman



In 1950s America, nerdy Eddie Dial has a red "S" tattooed on his chest. After initial embarrassment, he decides to make the symbol his own, first as a punk hoodlum, and then as something more befitting of the mark.



Eddie Dial looks like Clark Kent and gets treated like he would if he were just a normal guy. Greaser punk Pete, who looks more like Superman than Eddie, is a bully and a lout. As a prank, he gets Eddie good and soused, then has a giant Superman symbol tattooed on his chest. The symbol of Superman leads to a transformation in Eddie, but not at all what the reader suspects.



Realworlds: Wonder Woman



Actress Brenda Kelly is Wonder Woman...at least in the weekly movie serials of Hollywood's Golden Age. But as postwar America turns away from the threat of the Axis powers and declares a Cold War on a new enemy - Communism - Brenda soon finds both herself and the character she plays being used by Red-baiting politicians to further their own political careers while destroying the lives of innocent people. Among those accused of having Communist loyalties is Brenda's screenwriter boyfriend, whose career has effectively been ended by the policy Brenda - and Wonder Woman - have helped to promote. Can even the so-called Wonder Woman save the man she loves?