ACTION COMICS 274, March 1961, was published around January 31, 1961. It contained 32 pages for the cover price of Still 10¢ (which meant that the cover price wouldn't be a dime much longer). Mort Weisinger was the editor, and the cover was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye.
The 13 page Superman story was titled THE REVERSED SUPER POWERS, written by Jerry Siegel and drawn by Kurt Schaffenberger. This was Siegel's 24th silver age Superman story and his 58th overall for this era. This story was reprinted in SHOWCASE PRESENTS: SUPERMAN vol. II. Before this story was published, Siegel wrote two stories for SUPERBOY 87, also cover dated March 1961, KRYPTO'S FIRST ROMANCE and THE SCARLET JUNGLE OF KRYPTON, both drawn by George Papp.
Supergirl starred in the 13 page story, SUPERGIRL'S THREE TIME TRIPS, also written by Jerry Siegel and drawn by Jim Mooney, and was reprinted in SUPERGIRL ARCHIVES vol. II and SHOWCASE PRESENTS: SUPERGIRL vol. I. This was Siegel's 35th Superman family story and his 59th overall for the silver age.
Since this episode only covers one comic book title, we also highlight the other ads and features in this issue, including the METROPOLIS MAILBAG!
Elsewhere in DC Comics, 27 titles carried the march or March/April 1961 cover date.
Next Episode: SUPERMAN FAMILY COMIC BOOK COVER DATED APRIL 1958: SUPERMAN'S PAL JIMMY OLSEN 28!
In 2 Weeks" SUPERMAN COMIC BOOKS COVER DATED APRIL 1961: SUPERMAN 144 & ACTION COMICS 275!
Check out SLIPSTREAM, the weekly web comic book I'm drawing and lettering, which is written by Jeffrey Taylor, co-host of the FROM CRISIS TO CRISIS PODCAST and contributor to the SUPERMAN HOMEPAGE. New pages of SLIPSTREAM can be found each Saturday at http://www.clockworkcomics.co.uk. Adam Dechanel, another contributor to the SUPERMAN HOMEPAGE, also writes and draws E. O. S. for Clockwork Comics, and new pages are available on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The theme of this podcast is PLANS IN MOTION, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.com/.
Superman and all related characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics. Any art shown on this podcast is for entertainment purposes only, and not for profit. I make no claims of ownership of these images, nor do I earn any money from this podcast. Thanks for listening to the SUPERMAN FAN PODCAST and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, creators of Superman!
This episode could be called The Jerry Siegel Show because he wrote all of the stories discussed in this episode. After these five stories, Siegel had written 13 silver age Superman related stories for DC Comics at this point. Before the stories discussed in this episode, he also wrote Prisoners Of The Super-Heroes for Adventure Comics #267, December 1959, and The Ghost Of Jor-El for Superboy #78, January 1960.
All of the Superman stories discussed in this episode have been reprinted in Showcase Presents: Superman vol. II.
Superman #135, February 1960, was published on December 17, 1959. It contained 32 pages for 10¢. Mort Weisinger was the editor, and the cover was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye.
The first story in this issue was titled When Lois Lane First Suspected Clark Was Superman, featured as An Untold Tale Of Superman, the 7th Superman story to carry this subhead.
At the Daily Planet offices, Lois Lane peered out the window and saw some robbers fleeing in a getaway car. Clark Kent went to the water fountain, claiming to feel faint. Lois thought it might be more than a coincidence that Clark disappeared every time Superman appeared. Clark was very aware of what Lois was thinking, and recalled when she didn't suspect he was Superman. Cue the flashback.
One day, sometime in the past, Lois saw Superman fly toward the Daily Planet building and grab the flagpole on the roof before disappearing behind it. That was when she first suspected that an employee of the Daily Planet might be Superman.
Once she arrived at her desk, Lois examined the hands of every man in the office for signs of wet paint, except for Clark Kent. She scoffed at the possibility that Clark could be Superman. As a matter of fact, Clark had already used his x-ray vision to melt the wet paint from his hands, but almost didn't know whether to be relieved or insulted that Lois found the possibility that he was the Man of Steel ridiculous.
On the following Saturday, during a beach party for the Daily Planet staff, Lois snooped through everyone's things for clues to Superman's secret identity. In a rare shirtless appearance, Clark buried himself in the sand so that Lois wouldn't suspect his too fit physique. He stuck a fake flabby arm on the outside if his mound, but Lois didn't notice as she passed by. She was listening to another woman talking about the possibility of finding Superman's secret identity at that evening's masquerade party. Clark was annoyed this time that Lois didn't notice him.
After the beach party ended, the Planet staff returned to the office to publish the paper's afternoon edition.Clark received a phone tip that Lex Luthor had just escaped from jail. In a flash of anger, Clark squeezed the phone receiver out of shape. Lois noticed it, and chastised Clark for switching his real phone for a fake one in order to play a trick on her.
Clark changed into Superman and began searching for Luthor. He found a truck carrying life sized was statues to a museum, and offered to melt the face of the Luthor statue in order to shape it more realistically. That blew Luthor's cover when he hid his face, and he was captured.
After returning to the Daily Planet office, Superman was changing into his Clark Kent clothes when Lois walked into the storeroom. She was annoyed at Clark for wearing the Superman costume in order to make her a laughingstock. After all, it's all about Lois.
Later, while plumbers were making repairs, Lois began to have second thoughts about dismissing the possibility that Clark could secretly be Superman. She decided to put him to the test by using a small piece of kryptonite that Perry had given her to photograph for a feature article she was writing. Lois placed the kryptonite in a pipe and showed it to Clark. He did a good enough job of hiding the agony he was under so that Lois tossed the pipe in the trash can. But after she reviewed the notes for her article, she noticed the one about lead shielding kryptonite radiation. Lois returned to Clark's office and retrieved the pipe, only to discover that it was made of aluminum, not lead. What she didn't know was that Clark had switched the pipes to throw her off.
Back in the present, as Clark stood at the water fountain, he used his x-ray vision to peer through the wall and see that a police car had stopped the crooks, and would not require Superman's assistance. To cover himself he placed his foot under the fountain's foot pedal, and "needed" Lois' help in getting unstuck. Lois scoffed at the notion that Clark could possibly be Superman. Or was it an act? The story ended before the circle could start all over again.
This was an okay, humorous story, but not great. There really wasn't a clear reason for Superman to touch the flagpole, unless wet paint is as irresistible to Superman as it is to the rest of us. Clark was very clever to always cover his tracks in this story. I did find Lois a little harsh in dismissing Clark, That weakling - Superman? Don't make me laugh. It would be a ridiculouswaste of time to study his hands! I liked that Clark didn't know whether to be relieved or annoyed. I've often thought the same thing. Lois was very nosy at the beach party, and it was smart of Clark to keep Lois from noticing his in shape physique. I couldn't help but think that wouldn't others notice Clark's build and suspect that he might be Superman. When Clark planted the fake arm, I wondered about what he would do if Lois picked up his "hand". His closest call was when Lois waved the kryptonite under his nose.
My favorite way that Superman has ever captured Lex Luthor was in this story. When the Man of Steel noticed Luthor posing as a wax statue in the back of the truck, I liked his comment, That wax face of Luthor doesn't do his ugly face justice. Superman caught Luthor off guard when he offered to use his x-ray vision to remold his face.
Jerry Siegel gave Clark and Superman more of a sense of humor than I've noticed in these silver age stories, especially when he captured Luthor. He showed more of an emotional response to Lois' scheme to discover Superman's secret identity.
I give this story 3 Superman Capes out of 5.
Superman's Mermaid Sweetheart was the second story of the issue. This 10 page story was pencilled by Wayne Boring and inked by Stan Kaye. It began as Clark was driving through a fishing village on his return trip to Metropolis after covering an out of town story, when he overheard a conversation about a mermaid.
Clark decided to check it out, and walked into a conversation between a group of fishermen. Hans Schmidt claimed a mermaid had freed his catch. Another fisherman told him that maybe he should stop fishing illegally in spawning waters.
After the other fishermen left, Clark asked Schmidt to describe the mermaid, and Kent knew that Hans was describing Lori Lemaris (who was introduced in Superman #129, May 1959, in The Girl In Superman's Past, which was discussed in Episode #158).
Clark rushed to the beach and telepathically called for Lori. After a false alarm that turned out to be only a dolphin, Clark, who had changed into Superman, found her on the beach. In a rare panel without a word balloon or narration caption, they shared a lingering kiss. Superman immediately proposed, but Lori declined. He did talk her into going on a date, but after dinner at a night club, Lori asked Clark to take her back to the beach.
Superman again proposed, and promised to leave the surface world and live with Lori in Atlantis. She swam back home to ask permission, which was granted. The Man of Steel didn't notice Schmidt eavesdropping on them, until Hans threw his harpoon at the dolphin Lori rode. She saved the animal from the harpoon but severely injured herself on the jagged rocks.
Schmidt fled a furious Superman, who rushed Lori to Atlantis. He first had to lead an atomic beast out of the water and into a volcano to its doom, after it began chasing them. Atlantian doctors saved her life, but informed Superman that she was paralyzed.
The Man of Steel searched outer space for someone with the medical knowledge to restore Lori, and found him on a water world. After Superman brought this merman to Earth, the alien physician cured Lori, but at the price of the two merpeople falling in love.
For a brief moment Superman was furious with jealousy, but was calmed by Lori, who told him that what he felt for her was pity, not love. After a final kiss, Superman returned to the surface world.
In the last panel, sometime later at the Daily Planet, Lois told Clark that he had been looking for a while as if he had lost his best friend. Clark thought to himself that it was more than a best friend, but it seemed as if he had awakened from a dream. Apparently, he had begun to bounce back, as he asked Lois for a date. The story ended before she responded.
This is my favorite of the few silver age Jerry Siegel stories we've covered so far. It was a sequel to the original Lori Lemaris story. Siegel gave Superman a range of emotions that has been rarely seen in one story, from love, rage to jealousy. While Lois has been Superman's main object of affection, here in the silver age it seems to have been Lori Lemaris, judging by the number of times he proposes to her in this single story.
If I were Schmidt, I would run for my life too, as well as a dry pair of pants, after causing Lori to be seriously injured, If the woman I love dies, there will be no corner in the universe where you can hide! Superman wasn't afraid to cause the death of a living being when he led the atomic sea creature out of the ocean, to fly into its own destruction in an active volcano.
Having read a little bit about the struggles of Siegel and Shuster in the late 1940's and '50's, I couldn't help but wonder if some of he poured his emotional turmoil into this story. I have to give it 5 Superman Capes out of 5.
The Trio Of Steel was the third and final story in this issue. This 8 page tale was drawn by Al Plastino. It began on a hot day, when Superman used his x-ray vision to evaporate a swimming hole, then melted the ice of a skating rink. Then he blocked the broadcast signal of a Metropolis TV station with his impenetrable body, causing a lot of interference.
A gleeful Superman changed into Clark Kent and returned to the Daily Planet offices. Perry White assigned him to write a story about Superman gone berserk. When Perry read the story he asked Clark if he thought he was Mr. Mxyzptlk, because he had written the story backwards. Clark asked if he could take the rest of the afternoon off, because he didn't feel well, and Perry granted his request, as long as Clark still attended Perry's testimonial dinner. Superman wouldn't be welcome, Perry added.
Superman attended the dinner anyway, and proceeded to humiliate Perry by making him dress as a rabbit, clown and bum. The Man of Steel then took Lois to Niagara Falls, where he proposed. Then his attention was drawn to a homely woman, and together they mocked Lois. After returning a furious Lois to Metropolis, Superman flew to an unnamed mountain where Mr. Mxyzptlk waited for him. After he snapped out of his hypnotic trance, a furious Superman made a deal with Mxy so he would return to the 5th Dimension. The Man of Steel would give him a Superman robot.
Instead of one robot, three robots flew to Mr. Mxyzptlk, a Superman, Superboy and Superbaby robot. None of the robots wanted to return to the 5th Dimension until Mxy talked them into competing against each other. The Superboy robot hit the mountain, breaking his arm, which was repaired by the Superman robot. He shook Mxy's hand until he made the imp dizzy. Superbaby began to cry, so the Superman robot carved some alphabet blocks. When Superbaby tried to spell the letters, Mxy helped the robot tot and unknowingly spelled his own name backwards. Before he vanished back to the 5th dimension, Mxy learned that the real Superman posed as a robot.
Clark Kent wrote an article exposing Mr. Mxyzptlyk's manipulations of the Man of Steel, much to the relief of Metropolis.
My first thought was that, early in the presidential campaign trail, how politicians wish they could blame Mr. Mxyzptlk for some of the dumb things they say. Siegel indulged his sense of humor writing a mischievous Man of Steel. This wasn't a bad story, but not a great one either. I can't give it a 2, so I'll give it a low 3 Superman Capes out of 5.
Action Comics #261, February 1960, was published around December 31, 1959. It contained 32 pages for the cover price of a dime. Mort Weisinger was the editor, and the cover was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye.
The first story of the issue was titled Superman's Fortress Of Solitude. This 12 page story was pencilled by Wayne Boring and inked by Stan Kaye.
It began when Superman had brought his Fortress of Solitude to Metropolis for people to tour, as a charity fundraiser. Superman and his robots used x-ray vision to ensure no criminals snuck anything into the Fortress to damage any of the displays, or tourists. Superman gave an oilman his autograph, and was gracious enough to allow a welder to eat lunch while he toured the Fortress during his lunch hour. Superman robots caught someone trying to sneak in a disguised homing beacon that would reveal the Fortress's secret location, and took him to jail.
The oilman and welder found a secluded spot, where the oilman emptied the ink from his fountain pen into the welder's coffee thermos. He wasn't laying a prank on the man, because it was revealed that the two men were members of the Anti-Superman Gang, and the two harmless chemicals individually, when combined, created a volatile mixture which would create a massive explosion in an hour.
Scientists in the bottle city of Kandor saw the exchange on their monitors, and attempted to warn Superman with a hyper sonic signal. They discovered that Superman's rainbow jewel was creating too much interference.
Someone asked Superman about a bust of Urko the Terrible. He declined to tell the story behind the bust, but we saw in a flashback how Urko, a cloud being, animated the statues of Superman's friends to attack him in his asteroid Fortress in space. Superman fled his Fortress and blew a star into Urko's path, which pulled Urko to his doom.
Another tourist asked Superman about a globe which displayed a flaming man. The Man of Steel again politely declined to explain this trophy, but we were given another flashback, showing Superman moving his Fortress from outer space and hiding it in the center of the Earth. He was attacked by flame beings, until he saved them from an underwater river their attack had broken through to.
Meanwhile, the "welder" had gloated about the soon to be destruction of the Fortress, when the "oilman" finally convinced him to leave with the departing tourists. The welder tossed to outer cap of his thermos on his way out.
After the tourists left the Fortress, the Mayor of Metropolis informed Superman that the display had earned Millions for charity. Then Superman returned the Fortress to its secret Arctic location.
The Anti-Superman gang waited at their hideout, watching a seismograph for a sign of the gigantic explosion. When they saw the needle move, they celebrated the destruction of the Fortress, until Superman smashed into the Fortress and arrested them. He wouldn't reveal how he foiled their plan.
After he returned to the Fortress, Superman communicated with the Kandorian scientists who had discovered the plot, and we learn that when the welder tossed the cap, it happened to cover the rainbow jewel and block its therapeutic radiations, and allow the Kandorians to alert Superman to the danger. That was because the cap was made of lead. The Man of Steel planned to destroy the Rainbow Jewel so that it wouldn't happen again.
The gang members had a clever plan to avoid Superman's security arrangements by bringing the two chemicals separately, but I don't know why Superman and his robots wouldn't sense the volatile liquid once they combined it. Maybe I gave his super powers too much credit.
I thought that it was poetic justice that the members of the gang brought about their own downfall. This was an interesting story about some of Superman's previous locations for his Fortress. I thought that he was a little unfriendly to some of the tourists when he refused to answer their questions about some of his trophies. If I had been one of the tourists, I would have felt disappointed. If Superman didn't want to answer questions about some of his trophies, I think it would have been better if he had sequestered those trophies from public view.
It was a clever way to create tension in the story with the jewel interfering with the Kandorians' signal. This story also had some of the over the top silver age touches of Superman stories, with the Man of Steel using his super breath in the vacuum of space to blow a star into Urko's path, causing the death of another being. This was rare for the silver age Superman, compared to his golden age roots.
This was another average, but fun, story, and I give it a low 3 out of 5 Superman Capes.
Congo Bill made his 13th appearance as Congorilla in the 7 page story, Congorilla's Last Stand, written by Robert Bernstein and drawn by Howard Sherman.
Supergirl's 8 page 11th story was titled Supergirl's Super Pet, drawn by Jim Mooney. This story has been reprinted in Supergirl Archives vol. I and Showcase Presents: Supergirl vol. I.
As some of the orphans watched a meteor shower, Linda Lee used her telescopic vision to notice a Kryptonite meteor. She secretly changed into Supergirl and traced its trajectory to where it landed, and retrieved it with a piece of lead. Back at the orphanage, after she returned to her Linda Lee identity, she experimented on the meteorite until she began to feel weakened by the rock. She used a pair of long tongs to toss it into the forest.
Later, Linda Lee finished an errand in Midvale, when she saw a dog growling at a cat. She used her super breath to pull the dog away from the cat in order to catch the attention of the dog catcher. Somehow, the cat followed her to the orphanage, and Linda was allowed to keep the stray cat as a pet. Because of the stripes on its sides, the cat was given the name of Streaky.
The cat explored the area, including the woods, when he came across the kryptonite that Linda had thrown away. In a narration box it was revealed that Linda's experimentation had created X Kryptonite, which gave Streaky super powers. The cat ran into a Superman doll, destroying it, but the cape looped around Streaky's neck.
He lifted the front of a milk truck, allowing a few milk cans to spill on the ground and feed a group of stray cats. When a big dog chased Streaky up a tree, he pelted the dog with apples. Supergirl heard Streaky's triumphant meow, and played with hew new super pet until his powers mysteriously vanished. They returned to the orphanage and Streaky dreamed of chasing dogs with his super powers. A narration caption asked readers to write in if they wanted to read more stories with a super powered Streaky.
This was an adorable silver age Supergirl story. I was glad that Supergirl, briefly, had a super powered pet, so that she wouldn't be quite so lonely. At first I thought she was careless to toss away the piece of kryptonite, but then I should have expected that it would play a part later in the story. While I have heard of dogs traveling long distances to return home, I've never heard about cats doing the same thing, but it didn't spoil this story. I thought that it was a coincidence that a discarded Superman doll was laying around, and when Streaky broke it, he happened to stick his head through the hole at the top of the cape. But of course a super pet needs a super cape.
Beyond seeing Supergirl getting a pet, I enjoyed watching Streaky's humorous super deeds and reading the animals' thought balloons, and I give it 3 Supergirl Capes out of 5.
Elsewhere in DC Comics, 31 titles carried the February or February/March 1960 cover date.
Next Episode: Superman Family Comic Book Cover Dated January/February 1956: World's Finest Comics #86!
In 2 Weeks: Superman Comic Book Cover Dated March 1960: Action Comics #262!
Check out SLIPSTREAM, a new web comic book written by jeffrey Taylor, co-host of the FROM CRISIS TO CRISIS podcast, and drawn by yours truly. Thanks to SUPERMAN HOMEPAGE .com contributor Adam Deschanel for putting the website together. http://www.clockworkcomics.co.uk/. It will begin November 2011.
Also, if you know the original publication information for a Superman story involving his alien zoo at his Fortress of Solitude, reprinted in the 1970 SUPERMAN BUMPER BOOK, a UK Superman hardcover anthology, post it in comments or through the contact information below.
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The theme of this podcast is PLANS IN MOTION, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.com.
MY PULL LIST is my spoiler free comic book review blog of the titles I read every week. It can be found at http://mypulllist.blogspot.com/. Send e-mail about this blog to mypulllist@gmail.com.
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Superman #134, January 1960, was published on November 5, 1959. It contained 32 pages for the cover price of a dime. The editor was Mort Weisinger, and the cover was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye. Rare for the silver age, this issue contained one three part story, or, as featured on the cover, A Great 3-Part Novel, titled The Super-Outlaw From Krypton. This 26 page story was written by Otto Binder, pencilled by Wayne Boring and inked by Stan Kaye.
The first chapter of the story was nine pages long and titled The Super-Menace Of Metropolis. It began with Superman rescuing a ship that had struck an iceberg. But instead of carrying the ship back to harbor, the Man of Steel ripped part of a cable from the bottom of the ocean, cutting off transatlantic communications. Superman used the cable to tow the ship back to safety.
Later, the Man of Steel smashed into a meteor. But instead of smashing it to bits, he only knocked a hole in it, allowing the meteor to strike a dam and flood farmland.
Superman saved some shipwrecked men from a sea monster, which looked like a dinosaur sized walrus. But instead of taking the castaways back to civilization, the Man of Steel carried the sea monster to Metropolis and walked it down the street. Its immense size caused property damage wherever it went. Superman raided a fish market to feed it, but he was not shown paying for it.
The leaders of Metropolis met and came to the conclusion that Superman needed to be captured and authorized a worldwide search for kryptonite, with which to subdue the Man of Steel.
A heartbroken Lois lured Superman to a super static device, in a desperate hope that this out of control Man of Steel was only a malfunctioning robot. Her theory was proved wrong when Superman was unaffected but the machine melted from the intense energy that was generated.
Afterwards, Superman flew to the top of a mountain, laughing maniacally and monologiung that his plan was working, but wasn't finished yet. To prove his point, he flew to a traffic tunnel, using his super breath to blow the vehicles out the other end. Superman followed it up by pulling a subway train up through the roof of the subway tunnel to street level, then pulling the subway train through the streets of Metropolis and leaving the train outside the city. This gave the Man of Steel a good belly laugh as he flew away.
Chapter Two was nine pages long and titled The Revenge Against Jor-El. Superman continued his mayhem by filling up the Grand Canyon with boulders. As he flew away, we learned through a thought balloon that he was not the real Man of Steel.
In the bottle city of Kandor the real Superman watched events unfold outside by watching a monitor. Through a flashback we saw that Superman flew to his Fortress of Solitude to check on the life support system of Kandor. Kull-Ex used a machine to activate an exchange ray, which switched the two men into each other's clothes. Using a life mask, Kull-Ex began his evil impersonation of Superman.
After continuing his campaign of mayhem, Kull-Ex continued his monologue, knowing Superman was watching on the Ultra Scanning Screen. Through a flashback in a flashback, we learned that Kull-Ex's father Zell-Ex, was a down on his luck scientist. His plans for an all purpose Kryptonian vehicle, which could drive on land, sea, underground, or fly in the air, were blown out of his window. By the time he could finish his plans and take them to the patent office, Superman's father Jor-El had been granted a patent for an almost identical vehicle. Zell-Ex fruitlessly accused Jor-El of stealing his invention.
Zell-Ex and his son happened to reside in Kandor, and that was how Kull-Ex happened to wind up in Superman's Fortress of Solitude. After his Father died, Kull-Ex vowed to carry out the family's revenge against the son of Jor-El.
Superman's greatest concern was the potential damage to Earth caused by a super battle between the two Kryptonians, if the Man of Steel somehow managed to escape.
The eight page third and final chapter was titled The Duel Of The Supermen. Linda Lee went into action as Supergirl out of concern for her super cousin. She learned that this Superman was an impostor when he did not recognize her. After giving him a brief summary of her origin, Kull-Ex disclosed his plan to Supergirl off panel.
Supergirl flew to the Fortress of Solitude and freed Kal-El from the bottle city of Kandor. Superman quickly whispered a plan into Supergirl's ear, then she dashed out of the Fortress. Kull-Ex quickly appeared, and Superman found that, even with super powers, he was no match for Kull-Ex, who eventually trapped the Man of Steel in a lead box containing a speck of kryptonite. A weakening Superman asked Kull-Ex to open the Fortress's observation dome, and he learned that Supergirl had lifted the mountain containing the Fortress into space.
They were far enough into deep space to overtake light rays that had reflected from long lost Krypton. In a very unique type of flashback, Kull-Ex learned that he had accidentally picked up his Father's plan and had colored on the back. Then he tossed it into the feed trough of a junk eating animal (about the size of a hippo). Kull-Ex realized that Jor-El had told the truth and his Father had been mistaken. To make things up for Superman, he used his super vision to find another nugget of the element of zenium. Kull-Ex returned Superman to Kandor with the zenium, which the Man of Steel used to power the exchange device one last time, returning both Kryptonians where they belonged, and reuniting them with their own clothes.
Kull Ex then broadcast a television signal worldwide, confessing his deeds and exonerating Superman. He vowed to Superman that he would dedicate the rest of his life to scientific study. Superman returned to Metropolis and his life as Clark Kent, as Superman statues were restored and Metropolis once again loved the Man of Steel.
This was a good average silver age Superman story about Superman going berserk. His exploits were more goofy than menacing, with no toppled governments or mass casualties. Kull Ex's plot reminded me of the story covered in Episode #192 from Superman #130, The Town That Hated Superman, except this time it was a Kandorian, not a human obsessed for revenge against Superman.
Lois was heartbroken, grasping for straws in the hope that the superhero she loved had not gone berserk. Supergirl quickly realized that Superman was an impostor when he didn't recognize her, and played a key role in making Superman's plan succeed.
I couldn't help but think that maybe Clark was a little selfish to lay low as Superman, with all the clean up that needed to be done after Kull-Ex's mayhem. The Man of Steel's reputation may have been restored, but it would have helped for Superman to help clean up after Kull-Ex, who, even though he repented of his evil, had not made restitution for the damage he called.
Wayne Boring's art did a great job of conveying the emotions on the various faces of the characters in this story, and I give this story 3 Superman Capes out of 5.
Action Comics #260, January 1960, was published around November 25, 1959. It contained 32 pages for the cover price of a dime. The editor was Mort Weisinger, and the cover was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye.
The twelve page Superman story in this issue was Mighty Maid, written by Otto Binder and drawn by Al Plastino. This story has been reprinted in Showcase Presents: Superman vol. II and Showcase Presents: Supergirl vol. I.
When Lois Lane got caught in a tornado while covering Tornado Alley, she was surprised to learn that it was a super powered female, not Superman, who rescued her. She introduced herself as Mighty Maid, and had traveled from another dimension to meet Superman, who was very famous there.
Superman and Mighty Maid fell in love and began a whirlwind romance. Superman showed her the wonders of the world. Perry assigned Lois to cover the story, and the heartbroken reporter witnessed Mighty Maid accepting Superman's proposal. She still managed to deliver the big scoop that the Man of Steel planned to leave Earth and live in Might Maid's dimension.
After a goodbye tour around the world, Superman and Mighty Maid appeared before TV and news cameras to say goodbye, then vanished in the blink of an eye.
Two figures splashed into the ocean at super speed, and Superman and Mighty Maid emerged in an underwater cavern. Mighty Maid removed her disguise and revealed her true identity of -- Supergirl!?
We learned that Superman created the ruse when he discovered an alien ship was approaching Earth to destroy it. Their motive was revenge for an attack on their fleet of migrating ships by Kryptonian forces, who mistook the fleet as an invading force. The alien survivors vowed to recover and send ships to destroy Krypton. When they later saw, through their telescopes, that Krypton exploded, they followed Kal-El's rocket and vowed to take out their revenge on his adopted world. Superman also learned that their monitors couldn't penetrate the oceans, hence their hiding in the underwater cavern.
Superman used his x-ray vision to see that the aliens had called off their attack since they were fooled into thinking that the Man of Steel had left Earth. On board the alien ship, the crew had gone into suspended animation for their long voyage home. Superman left a note explaining the misunderstanding, thanks to the memory of some Kandorians who remembered the incident. The Man of Steel hoped it would defuse the situation when the aliens reached their home world.
The Man of Steel returned to Metropolis, and explained to a surprised Lois that he returned because he found out that Mighty Maid's people aged differently. and she was only 15 years old. That was true, since Supergirl was only 15.
This had to be the creepiest Superman story I ever read. It was a clever ruse Superman pulled off, but did he have to pick his own 15 year old cousin to be a part of it? why not pick Wonder Woman (although crossovers were rare in this part of the silver age), or give Lois a temporary super power serum.
I could have just as easily believed that the aliens could have destroyed Earth out of spite, just to make sure that Superman wouldn't return.
Also, once again, to save Earth, Superman has to fool Lois as well. It was sad to watch a heartbroken Lois have to set aside her emotions to cover the story of the Century.
I give this story 5 out of 5 for being the creepiest Superman story ever. For a clever plot to fool the aliens, I would give the story a 3, but for picking his own 15 year old cousin to play his love interest, I have to drop the rating to 2 Superman Capes out of 5.
The eight page Supergirl story of this issue was titled The Girl Super Baby, written by Otto Binder and drawn by Al Plastino. This story has been reprinted in Showcase Presents: Supergirl vol. I.
Linda Lee was using her telescopic vision to watch life on a tropical island, when she saw a man about to drown. Keeping her promise not to reveal her super powers yet, she changed into Supergirl and burrowed underground until she emerged in the water under the drowning man. Supergirl pushed him onto dry land, making it look like a geyser pushed him out of the water. She noticed that he was younger than when she first saw him. As she flew through her tunnel back home, she began to de-age. Using her telescopic vision and super hearing she saw the man say he had discovered the Fountain of Youth.
When Supergirl returned home, she had become a Super Tot. She chased a butterfly until it flew into the trunk of a car. A jewel thief closed it, not knowing she had flown inside. Super Tot took a nap until the two jewel thieves arrived at an abandoned Indian camp, which had a legend that an Indian spirit would cause the downfall of evildoers. When the crooks opened the trunk, Super Tot squirted them in the eyes with their shaving cream before they could see her, then she flew away.
After changing clothes and hanging their wet clothes to dry, they used a scarecrow for target practice. Super Tot was behind it, and caught the lead bullets. She pressed them into a ball, which she threw.The lead ball melted because of the air friction, and happened to cover a kryptonite meteorite that Superman had accidentally dug up while unearthing fossils. Superman was able to recover and fly off, grateful for the happy coincidence, and unaware of his super cousin's involvement.
Super Tot's actions continued to plague the crooks, although they never saw her. When she was hungry, she ate everything in their pantry, and flew away before she was discovered. When she flew into a pipe, she accidentally discovered the crooks' hiding place for their stolen jewels. she used her x-ray vision to peek inside, but generated too much heat, igniting the bag. Smoke coming out of the pipe prevented the thieves from retrieving their loot, but attracted the attention of some forest rangers, who captured the crooks.
As she flew back home, Supergirl returned to her normal age as the effects of the Fountain of Youth wore off.
After the creepy previous story, this was a nice change. It was an average silver age Supergirl story, and the humorous antics involving the jewel thieves reminded me of the movie Home Alone. I give it 3 Superman Capes out of 5.
The final six page story starred Congo Bill, making his 12th appearance as Congorilla in The Gladiator Of The Jungle, written by Robert Bernstein and drawn by Howard Sherman.
Elsewhere in DC Comics, 26 titles carried the January or January/February 1960 cover date.
Next Episode: Superman Family Comic Book Cover Dated December 1956, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #17!
In 2 Weeks: Superman Comic Books Cover Dated February 1960: Superman #135 & Action Comics #261!
Check out SLIPSTREAM, a new web comic book written by jeffrey Taylor, co-host of the FROM CRISIS TO CRISIS podcast, and drawn by yours truly. Thanks to SUPERMAN HOMEPAGE .com contributor Adam Deschanel for putting the website together. http://www.clockworkcomics.co.uk/. It will begin November 2011.
Also, if you know the original publication information for a Superman story involving his alien zoo at his Fortress of Solitude, reprinted in the 1970 SUPERMAN BUMPER BOOK, a UK Superman hardcover anthology, post it in comments or through the contact information below.
You can join the SUPERMAN FAN PODCAST and MY PULL LIST groups or pages on facebook, and follow both the podcast and blog on twitter @supermanpodcast.
The theme of this podcast is PLANS IN MOTION, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.com.
MY PULL LIST is my spoiler free comic book review blog of the titles I read every week. It can be found at http://mypulllist.blogspot.com/. Send e-mail about this blog to mypulllist@gmail.com.
Superman and all related characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics. Any art shown on this podcast is for entertainment purposes only, and not for profit.
Thanks for listening to the SUPERMAN FAN PODCAST and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Action Comics #259, December 1959, was published around October 29, 1959. It contained 32 pages for the cover price of a dime. Mort Weisinger was the editor, and the cover was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye.
The Revenge Of Luthor was the thirteen page Superman story in the issue, written by Jerry Siegel (his 5th silver age comic book story) and drawn by Al Plastino. It was reprinted in Showcase Presents: Superman vol. II.
Superman caught a meteor that was heading toward an airliner, only to discover that it was red kryptonite. It made the Man of Steel dizzy enough to make him fall out of the sky and crash into the ground. He had a nightmare of the swirling faces of Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, Lana Lang and Superboy.
The Man of Steel awoke to find that he wasn't alone. He was joined by Superboy, his younger self. After using their x-ray vision to check their fingerprints, the Twins of Steel flexed their superpowers and realized they were the same person.
Superman changed into his Clark Kent identity, and so did Superboy. The elder Clark reminded his younger self that if people saw Superboy and Superman together, and then a younger and older Clark Kent, it would expose their secret identity. A very annoyed elder Clark Kent ordered his younger self to go the Fortress of Solitude and await his call by supersonic whistle.
Back in Metropolis, Clark worried about a dumb Superboy getting in the way of his Superman work, as Perry White assigned him to interview a bank president. As he neared the bank, a helicopter disguised as a flying saucer landed, and a gang of robbers disguised as aliens robbed the bank. Superman went into action, but Superboy collided with the Man of Steel. The robbers made their escape, and Superman took out his anger on Superboy, accusing him of being made stupid by the red kryptonite. Superboy accused Superman of becoming a grouch because of the red kryptonite.
Superman apologized to Superboy, and suggested they try to work together. They found a counterfeiter, but when Superboy examined a box with fake bills, his x-ray vision was too strong and ignited the evidence.
After they flew away, Superboy was distracted by a rodeo, and flew to the arena. Superman had to swoop in and corral the bulls which were driven berserk by Superboy's red cape. In front of the rodeo crowd Superman and Superboy made their disagreement public by arguing in front of the rodeo audience. The news flashed around the world, and caught the attention of Lex Luthor.
Superboy found a cage that had a sign posted above it, Luthor Trap To Capture Superboy! Enter Here, Please. Luthor may be an arch fiend, but at least he's polite. Superboy didn't think it could be a serious trap, so he entered it, only to discover that the bars of the sage were made of kryptonite.
Later, Superman was challenged to a fight by Superboy, only to discover that the Boy of Steel was a robot containing kryptonite, and was knocked out.
Superman and Superboy awoke to find themselves in Luthor's cave. Enclosed in a protective sphere, Lex had kidnapped Lois Lane and Lana Lang, to watch the two heroes fight to the death. Unfortunately for Luthor, they fought to a stalemate. Changing plans, Luthor made Superman lay face down on the ground. When he allowed the Man of Steel to stand, Luthor showed two lead cabinets. One contained Superboy, the other held kryptonite. If Superman opened Superboy's locker, Luthor would kill Superboy with the kryptonite. If the Man of Steel opened the kryptonite cabinet, he would die.
Superboy tapped the door to his cabinet, letting Superman know which one he was in. The Man of Steel was faced with an impossible choice.
Superman awoke to find himself alone. It had all been a dream. The story ended with the Man of Steel wondering what his choice would have been.
Of these early silver age Jerry Siegel stories, this has been my favorite so far. When I first read this story, I felt a little cheated by the cliffhanger ending. But after re-reading it and thinking about it, I decided to consider the story as a look into Superman's greatest fear: not being smart or powerful enough to save someone. Usually in stories that are mostly dream sequences, I can usually spot when the dream begins. This time I didn't. With the introduction of red kryptonite in the story, I accepted the appearance of Superboy as a believable result of red K exposure. Well done, Jerry, that was a good bit of storytelling.
Knowing some of the Siegel and Siegel story after Superman, I wonder how much, if any, of his own anger Jerry gave to Superman. In covering the Man of Steel's silver age stories, I don't think that I've seen him this angry in the stories we've covered so far. I admired Superboy for standing up to Superman, but he also showed himself to be an easily distracted teen. But then in dreams we don't always act as we do in reality. I wonder if Superman's treatment of Superboy was a reflection of how Mort Weisinger treated the talent working for him. But then, maybe I'm reading too much into the story.
Not only was Superman a grouch, he seemed to be a little full of himself when he thought of when he was Superboy, thinking that he wasn't this dumb. While Superboy stories showed him able to control his powers well, he didn't have the experience he's gained as an adult superhero.
After reading the story a few times, I decided that it really wouldn't have been a tough choice for Superman. I think that he would be willing to sacrifice himself to save others. He wouldn't want his adopted parents to suffer the loss of their son.
I give this story 4 Superman Capes out of 5.
Congo Bill made his 11th appearance as Congorilla in The One Ape Circus, written by Robert Bernstein and drawn by Howard Sherman.
Supergirl's 7th story was titled The Cave Girl Of Steel, written by Otto Binder and drawn by Jim Mooney. It was reprinted in Supergirl Archives vol. I and Showcase Presents: Supergirl vol. I.
Linda Lee secretly used her x-ray vision to save a toddler that had crawled into a plastic bag. While she was happy to use her superpowers in any way she could, she felt her super deeds were trivial when compared to Superman's.
As Supergirl, she decided to travel into the prehistoric past to have some exciting adventures without breaking Superman's ban on revealing herself to the world. (Leave it to a teenager to find a loophole.)
When she emerged in the prehistoric past, she saved a baby that had been snatched by a pterodactyl. She then tamed a brontosaurus (now called an apatosaurus) and rode it to explore her surroundings. Supergirl then used her pet brontosaurus to help some cavemen back across a river, after their crude bridge collapsed. The tribe's Chief invited Supergirl to dine with them, but she had second thoughts when she discovered that they ate everything raw.
A bolt of lightning struck a tree and began a fire, and so Supergirl showed the cave tribe how to keep the fire going. Their bonfire was doused by a wave from the river, caused by a fire breathing sea serpent. Supergirl saved the tribe from the serpent, and goaded it into using its fire breath to ignite the tribe's fire. She then returned to modern times.
The next day, the orphans toured a museum, and saw a stone carving from the stone age, which depicted a flying girl. Linda Lee saw that, as Supergirl, she had made history. I just hope Superman never sees this stone carving.
Obviously, cavemen and dinosaurs never existed together, but this was still a fun story, and better than the previous Supergirl story. It was quite a coincidence when she saved two young children in two different eras. She had a fun adventure, taming a dinosaur and interacting with cavemen. It was funny when she discovered they ate raw fish.
This was a fun, lighthearted prehistoric adventure, and I give it 4 Superman Capes out of 5, instead of 3, because it was such an improvement from the last Supergirl story.
Elsewhere in DC Comics, 32 titles carried the December or December 1959/January 1960 cover date.
Next Episode: Superman Family Comic Book Cover Dated November/December 1956: World's Finest Comics #85!
In 2 Weeks: Superman Comic Books Cover Dated January 1960: Superman #134 & Action Comics #260!
Check out SLIPSTREAM, a new web comic book written by jeffrey Taylor, co-host of the FROM CRISIS TO CRISIS podcast, and drawn by yours truly. Thanks to SUPERMAN HOMEPAGE .com contributor Adam Deschanel for putting the website together. http://www.clockworkcomics.co.uk/. It will begin November 2011.
Also, if you know the original publication information for a Superman story involving his alien zoo at his Fortress of Solitude, reprinted in the 1970 SUPERMAN BUMPER BOOK, a UK Superman hardcover anthology, post it in comments or through the contact information below.
You can join the SUPERMAN FAN PODCAST and MY PULL LIST groups or pages on facebook, and follow both the podcast and blog on twitter @supermanpodcast.
The theme of this podcast is PLANS IN MOTION, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.com.
MY PULL LIST is my spoiler free comic book review blog of the titles I read every week. It can be found at http://mypulllist.blogspot.com/. Send e-mail about this blog to mypulllist@gmail.com.
Superman and all related characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics. Any art shown on this podcast is for entertainment purposes only, and not for profit.
Thanks for listening to the SUPERMAN FAN PODCAST and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Superman #132, October 1959, was published around August 6, 1959. It contained 32 pages for the cover price of 10¢. Mort Weisinger was the editor, and the cover was drawn by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye.
This issue contained a single full length story, a rarity for the silver age of Superman stories, titled Superman's Other Life. It was written by Otto Binder, pencilled by Wayne Boring and inked by Stan Kaye, and was reprinted in The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told, Showcase Presents: Superman vol. I and Superman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told vol. II. The story was divided into three chapters:
Part I: Krypton Lives On!
Part II: Futuro, Super-Hero Of Krypton!
Part III: Superman Of Two Worlds!
Krypton Lives On began as Batman and Robin visited Superman in his Fortress of Solitude to express their gratitude for saving them from a recent crime trap in Gotham City. Their gift was to program the Man of Steel's Super Univac computer to show on a video screen what Superman's life might have been like if Krypton hadn't exploded.
The story began as Jor-El launched his infant son Kal-El in the small rocket. History in this story changed when Professor Zin-Da used his anti-atomic ray to defuse the chain reaction in Krypton's core. Jor-El launched a guided missile to steer Kal-El's rocket back to Krypton, and brought back the satellite which contained his son's pet dog, Krypto.
Various scenes showed Kal-El growing up, beginning school and joining the Krypton Youth Scouts. For one of his good deeds he used a telescope to observe an Earth couple in an out of control car, headed for a lake. Quick thinking Kal-El used a heat ray to evaporate the water, so that the vehicle came to a stop on dry land. It turned out that the couple was the Kents, who would later adopt a young girl.
Jor-El and Lara eventually gave Kal-El a younger brother, Zal-El.
Krypton began their own space program, and young Kal-El wanted to join Krypton's Space Patrol. Professor Xan-Du operated the Skill Machine, which used grades, mental capability and other data to determine what job the subject would have. The result was final. Kal-El was relieved to find that he would join the Space Patrol, but only as a dispatcher.
To ease Ka;-El's disappointment, Zan-Du demonstrated his latest invention, a Static Ray. It was anything but, as it transformed test Kryptonian rabbits to a variety of forms. After Kal-El left, Krypto entered the lab.Startled by a transformed rabbit, Krypto exposed both he and Xan-Du to the Static Ray, miraculously to no effect. Xan-Du sent Krypto home and dressed for that evening's Masquerade Ball.
Kal-El also attended, dressed in the fashion typical of Earth men, a business suit. Wearing a pair of glasses he looked exactly like Clark Kent. The Ball was held at the floating Sky Palace, and part I ended as the anti-gravity failed, and the Palace began to fall.
Part II: Futuro, Super-Hero Of Krypton began as a woman asked Professor Zan-Du to open the door to let the attendees escape. He surprised everyone, most of all himself, when he ripped the door off the hinges. That was how he learned that the Static Ray had given him super powers. He flew under the Sky Palace and flew it safely to the ground.
Before anyone could learn his identity, Xan-Du flew away. He decided to operate as the superhero Futuro and keep his identity secret.
Kal-El learned that Krypto had super powers when his pet dragged the equipment Kal-El had chained him to in Jor-El's lab, in an attempt to keep Krypto from chasing after him. When they saw Futuro flying over them, Kal-El had Krypto follow him in the air, and they flew to Xan-Du's lab where they learned his secret identity. So Kal-El became Futuro's version of Jimmy Olsen, and vowed to keep his identity secret.
The leaders of Krypton had a full size duplicate of the planet constructed as a decoy for any space invaders. The real planet would be shrouded by mist to hide it from any enemies. A construction worker was trapped inside the finished decoy, and dispatcher trainee Kal-El was unable to find any Spacemen available for the rescue. Futuro didn't respond when Kal-El alerted him with his signal watch, because he was rescuing some miners. After borrowing a Metal Eater, a hippo like creature, from a zoo, Kal-El flew to the decoy planet and had the Metal Eater chew a hole through which he could rescue the trapped worker. But Kal-El discovered that he was stranded when he discovered the Metal Eater making a second course of his rocket. Futuro rescued everyone and they returned to Krypton.
Futuro re-examined the Talent Machine with his x-ray vision and discovered that a loose wire was making the machine give inaccurate job decisions. Kal-El was retested, and was confirmed as a Spaceman. He would graduate the Academy and don the Spaceman uniform, which would be a duplicate of what humans would call Superman's uniform.
Part II would end when Jor-El's rocket, with the rest of his family on board, crashed on a magnetic asteroid which had drawn the rocket off course.
Part III: The Superman Of Two Worlds began as Spaceman Kal-El flew his rocket to rescue his family. Unfortunately, the crash caused a chain reaction in the asteroid, which exploded before anyone could be rescued. Futuro carved a monument to Jor-El and his family on the largest remnant left of the asteroid. So even in this alternate timeline, Kal-El would be orphaned.
Spaceman Kal-El would rescue an alien rocket which happened to come from Earth. Futuro discovered a stowaway aboard the Earth rocket, reporter Lois Lane, still risking her life for the exclusive scoop. Kal-El showed her around Krypton, including the Museum of weapons, which held all of the planet's weapons now that war was obsolete on Krypton.On board a Subsurfacer, a type of submarine that would burrow under enemy cities, Lois accidentally turned on the ship when she couldn't read the Kryptonian warning signs that it was powered by cosmic rays. It burrowed into the Electric Caverns, but Futuro rescued them before they could be struck by one of the underground lightning bolts.
Lois fell in love with Futuro, and he decided to follow his love to er home planet. Before he left, Futuro exposed Kal-El to the final charge in his Static Ray, giving him super powers. Kal-El decided to take the superhero name of Superman!
Back at the Fortress of Solitude, the Man of Steel appeared to have mixed emotions at the possible other life where he still wound up being Superman.
While this story was not labeled as such, this was like a classic "imaginary story." It had tragedy and triumph, most of the elements of Superman lore spun in a new direction. I did have a few very minor problems with the story. I couldn't help but wonder why Jor-El didn't bring Kal-El's rocket back by remote control. It would be much harder to send a missile at the same speed and trajectory to steer the rocket instead of just crashing into it.
Also, I had to wonder how the control board would work, when Lara ordered food from the Community Kitchen with the touch of a button. A complex web of underground pipes would have to be built to transport the dishes to the individual homes. Ah, but silver age superhero stories have fun creating overly complex solutions. If there was a Kryptonian version of the ASPCA, Professor Xan-Du would be in big trouble over his use of Kryptonian rabbits in his experiments.
Other than those minor points, I enjoyed this story very much. It showed that no matter what planet he was on, Kal-El would always become a hero, and I give it 5 Superman Capes out of 5.
Action Comics #257, October 1959, was published around August 27, 1959, the very day my parents got married. The editor was Mort Weisinger, and the cover was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye.
The Reporter Of Steel was written by Otto Binder, pencilled by Wayne Boring and inked by Stan Kaye. It was reprinted in Showcase Presents: Superman vol. I.
Lex Luthor, in his solitary confinement cell in prison, dismantled a radio and built a super ray projector and an image transmitter. A speck of the element xium he smuggled into his cell in one of the fillings of his teeth powered the super ray device.
Luthor used the image projector to beam his image outside the walls of his cell, and allowed him to see beyond the prison walls. He wanted to test the super ray device on someone before using it on himself, to be safe. Luthor found Clark and Lois, and he exposed Clark to the super ray device.
Clark noticed that a fly which had also been exposed gained super powers and was able to crash through a spider web. Luthor informed Clark that if he had no side effects from having super powers, then Lex would use the device on himself. Clark "tested" his powers by lifting a car. Luthor's image faded, and the projector device shorted out.
When Clark and Lois visited Luthor in his cell, he had dismantled his projection device and reassemble the still working radio. Clark took advantage of not having to keep his powers secret by typing a report at super speed, and spinning the rollers on the press so that the next edition could get printed.
Clark Kent put on an exhibition of his super powers, but charged the admission price of a dime to get rich off of his new abilities. He used his x-ray vision to activate one of his Superman robots from his secret closet in his apartment, so that Superman would still be seen. The robot subbed for Clark in exploring the moon for some scientists.
To add to his fortune, Clark searched for sunken treasure, mines, and the pearls of a million oysters. He even squeezed coal to diamonds until Perry reminded him that he would cause a crash on the diamond market. Clark stopped a robbery at the Superman Museum, and made sure he got the reward money for capturing the criminals. He even won a contest by defeating the heavyweight boxing champion. When Clark rescued the passengers of a dirigible which was about to fly into a skyscraper, Clark would only do it after the people gave him their cash and jewels.
When Lois questioned by Lois about his greed, Clark accused her of being a gold digger, only interested in him instead of Superman because of his fortune. Lois slapped him, but her hand didn't hurt as much as her heart.
Finally, Clark announced that he was donating his entire fortune to charity. That drove Luthor to destroy his super ray device, for fear that he would be compelled to give away his future ill gotten booty as a side effect of his invention. Clark's plan had worked to perfection. When the Superman robot returned from the Moon, Clark had it search the oceans for buried treasure in order to reimburse the blimp passengers and ease his conscience. A very relieved Metropolis was glad Superman was back, and that Clark Kent no longer had super powers.
This story had one of the most interesting challenges that Luthor ever devised against Superman. It was interesting to see Clark not having to hide his super powers. What was disturbing was his turn to greed, which obviously was a front, but he seemed to take it too far when he basically extorted the dirigible passengers for their lives.
When Clark used his x-ray vision to activate his Superman robot long distance, I couldn't help but wonder if he could use his x-ray vision to change the channel on his TV, since TV remote controls had been sold since around 1950.
This story was unusual in that Clark almost became a second villain in this story. It was certainly a change for him. I could see him faking greed, but not basically robbing the passengers. If not for the extreme Clark went to in this regard I would rate this story a 4, but I have to drop it to 3 Superman Capes out of 5 for that reason.
Congo Bill starred in the second, 6 page story of the issue, The Man Ape Skin Diver, written by Otto Binder and drawn by Jim Mooney. In his 9th appearance as Congorilla, Congo Bill salvaged a sunken experimental tank that was powered by a nuclear engine.
Supergirl starred in the 8 page final story of the issue, The Three Magic Wishes, written by Otto Binder and drawn by Jim Mooney. This story was reprinted in Supergirl Archives vol. I and Showcase Presents: Supergirl vol. I.
Linda Lee was reading the fairy tale Cinderella to some of the younger orphans, when Tommy Baxter barged in and interrupted Linda. He said he didn't believe fairy tales.
Later, she changed into Supergirl and decided to teach Tommy a lesson. After improvising a fairy godmother costume, she appeared before the orphans. Tommy agreed to believe in fairy tales if she could grant three wishes.
His first was to make plain looking Peggy look pretty. Supergirl took a photo of Peggy's Mother, hung it outside from a tree limb, and put a magnifying lens on a window. She had Peggy say the magic words and look out the window, and she saw her pretty "reflection."
Tommy's second wish was to change Johnny's rabbit into a horse. Supergirl flashed her magic wand (actually a sparkler) and at super speed lassoed a horse from a few miles away. Using her super breath, she returned the horse to his ranch, to land softly in a pile of hay. A carrot lured the rabbit back in its cage.
His third wish was to make a string that couldn't be broken. Supergirl used her fingernail to clip a few strands of her hair and combine them into one thin string. She tied Tommy with it, and he couldn't break it. He said he was only kidding when he said he didn't believe in fairy tales, but the Fairy Godmother Supergirl taught him a lesson for lying.
At super speed she placed a bit of yeast dough on his nose and heated it slightly with her x-ray vision, making it seem like Tommy's nose was growing like Pinocchio's. She hypnotized the children and they returned to the orphanage in a trance. She removed the fake nose and changed back into Linda Lee.
When the children awoke, it all seemed to be a dream, especially to a very relieved Tommy. Linda was satisfied that he had learned his lesson when he declined to listen to her read the story of Pinocchio to the younger orphans.
I thought Tommy was annoying, and didn't mind Linda teaching him to mind his own business, but I thought she went too far by humiliating him with the fake growing nose. Lassoing the horse at super speed would have killed the animal, if not severely wounding it, but other than that, it was a simple story about teaching a troublesome kid a lesson. I would have given this a 4, for the innocent charm of the tale, but the nose bit pushed it down to 3 Superman Capes out of 5.
Elsewhere in DC Comics, 32 titles carried the October, or October/November 1959 cover date.
Since this week was my 51st birthday, I also looked at the Superman titles which were published in September 1961. There were 5 such titles that month, carrying the November 1961 cover date: World's Finest Comics #121, Superman #149, Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #29, Action Comics #282 and Adventure Comics #290.
Next Episode: The Superman Family Comic Books Cover Dated September 1956: Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #15 & World's Finest Comics #84!
In 2 Weeks: The Superman Comic Books Cover Dated November 1959: Superman #133 & Action Comics #258!
Superman Fan Podcast is a proud member of the League Of Comic Book Podcasters at http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league and the Comics Podcast Network! http://www.comicspodcasts.com/, and is now a proud member of the Superman WebRing of websites, and the Superman Podcast Network at http://www.fortressofbaileytude.com/supermanpodcastnetwork. Check it out to discover other fine Superman podcasts.
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.
The theme of this podcast is Plans In Motion, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.com.
My Pull List is my spoiler free comic book review blog of the titles I read every week. It can be found at http://mypulllist.blogspot.com/. Send e-mail about this blog to mypulllist@gmail.com.
Superman and all related characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics. Any cover art displayed with the show notes is done for entertainment and educational purposes only. I post these episodes to share my enjoyment of Superman comics and do not earn any money from this podcast.
Thanks for listening to the Superman Fan Podcast and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
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