Action Comics #207 (1955)

Action Comics #207 (August, 1955)
"The Four Superman Medals!"
"Mystery of the Space Mutiny!"
"Man Against the Sea"
"Janu, the Human Chimp"
Writers - Otto Binder, Joe Malloy & Jack Miller
Pencillers - Wayne Boring, Jim Mooney & Edwin Smalle
Inkers - Stan Kaye & Wayne Boring
Editor - Whitney Ellsworth
Cover Price: $0.10

1955.  That's like the very start of the days of the Comics Code Authority... and, hot-cross buns wouldja look at the size of that CCA stamp!

Let's get to it... I have a feeling this is gonna be a long one.

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Our first story opens with Superman... and he's in quite the pickle.  Ya see, over the past four years he's presented Superman Medals to people deemed to be heroes at the annual Policemen's Dinner... and you'll never guess who's supposed to be the awardee this time around!  Okay, that's a lie... you know it's Clark Kent, I know it's Clark Kent... we all know it's Clark Kent.  Well, how can Clark Kent be there to get "pinned" by Superman... if he and Superman are one in the same?  In fact, Clark pretended to have to work late to excuse his absence in the first place... Before the ceremony can conclude, Lois runs back to the office to pick up her pal.

This leaves Superman and the Police Chief with the need to vamp for a bit... and so, Superman shares the story of his first Superman Medal presentation... when he awarded it to a coward!  Ya see, there was this jail break (featuring the Taylor Boys)... where one prisoner was too scared to flee.  This scaredy-cat was "Daredevil" Conners former high-diver... who landed kinda wonky this one time, causing him to completely lose his nerve... and turn to vagrancy!

Well, eventually Conners was released... and here's where it gets confusing.  He gets a letter from the Taylor Boys to meet them at the docks... but the letter was really from Superman... who knew the Taylors would be at the docks... but couldn't just round 'em up for... whatever reason?  I dunno.  Either way, at the docks Superman falls prey to a chunk of (gray) Kryptonite, and passes out.

The baddies tie Superman to the rock... and dump him into the drink.  As luck would have it, "Daredevil" Conners has seen the whole thing and decides he might just have one more dive in him!  We see Conners being awarded his Superman Medal, and during the ceremony he vows to "never be scared again".

One story down, and still... Lois has not returned with Clark.  More vamping!  Superman Medal numero dos went to a man who refused it!  Here we meet Officer Wilson... a man who hoped to one day work alongside Superman.  He took part in many daring rescues and heroic acts hoping to attract his hero's attention... but it seems like each time, Superman is busy elsewhere on the planet.

During the second annual Superman Medal presentation, Officer Wilson is presented with the award... but turns it down because he never actually worked with Superman, he was just doing his job!  Superman informs him that he had been watching him via his telescopic vision, and knows he's gone above and beyond to make the world safer.

Well, Superman's only got one story left to tell... so let's get right to it.  The third Superman Medal was awarded to... a criminal!  Ya see, sometimes heroes get their intel from shady sources... like say, a man in a lead mask.  This man tipped Superman off to some bad dudes... smugglers and counterfeiters and whatnot.

Turns out that the man in the lead mask had, gasp, an ulterior motive... he was just trying to wipe out some of his criminal competition so his gang could have full control over the underworld!  Plus, that snazzy Superman Medal might afford him deeper access into things like... armored car companies (for some reason).

Superman is Johnny on the Spot for Leadmask's first outing... because the Superman Medal he's wearing is actually a dupe!  It has a tiny wireless setup inside it which allowed Superman to listen in on all his nefarious plans!

Okay, all three stories have been told... but there's still no sign of Clark Kent.  Oh boy... at this point, Superman heads out "for some air", but really goes to rifle through the police department's Missing Persons files... where he finds a fella who looks exactly like Clark Kent... which, I dunno, doesn't that also mean he looks exactly like Superman?  I dunno... either way, Superman tracks down the look-alike, and finds him to be (conveniently) amnesiac "like most disappearance cases".

The story wraps with Superman actually being able to "pin" Clark Kent with a Medal.  Following the ceremony, the man asks why Superman had him pretend to be Clark Kent... to which, Superman grabs him and throws him into the Sun... er, takes him for a speed-flight.  Ya see, the faux-Clark used to be a test pilot... and the g-force of Superman's flight helped jog his memory.  Never mind that the story actually ends with the pair in space...

Our second story features... Tommy Tomorrow.  We open with he and his aide Captain Brent Wood on patrol.  They receive a distress call from a Captain Cryle, who between gasps is reporting that he's in danger and people are breaking down his door.  Tommy suggests Cryle was the victim of a mutiny and casually mentions that he didn't hear a door being broken down... which, well... that's going to be important... annnnd dumb.  Two weeks later, Tommy and Brent finally arrive to answer the call and meet with the Mutineers.

Tommy confronts the Mutineer's physician, Dr. Blair.  He admits that there was a mutiny, yet still pleads innocent of any wrongdoing.  Tommy believes him, however, they're gonna need to 'splain.  He leaves them to do some deeper investigation.

From here we get some silly science having to do with outrunning the speed of light via wormholes or something... which makes me wonder why they didn't just take a wormhole here to begin with... I mean, that beats the hell out of a two-week trek, right?  Anyhoo... he states if they can beat the light to where it would be in one week's time... they can film the entire mutiny and play it back.  Ay yai yai.

Whattayaknow, it works... Tommy returns to the Mutineers' planet with the footage... and learns that there was in fact a mutiny, just as Blair said... but also, the Mutineers (really, the "mutineers"?, oof) are completely innocent!  Ya see, Captain Cryle saw a meteor swarm approaching and planned to outrun it.  Seems fine... however, we now learn that Cappy had a bum ticker, and any increased velocity would likely cause him a fatal heart attack... and that's when the mutiny began.  The crew didn't want to lose their Captain.  Spoiler alert... he dies anyway.

But, what then of the distress call?  I'm glad you asked... well, that was just the Captain talking in his sleep while having a nightmare.  Toldja it was dumb.  Anyhoo, the Mutineers are cleared and everything's hunky dory.

Next up is a text piece, which is special because it's the first text piece I've ever read!  I usually skip these things... and after reading this one, I see how right I was to do so!  It's the story of a man heading from Ecuador to Fiji in order to take a job.  He travels via raft, and it's a heckuva trip.  Next!

Our final story is... oh, c'mon... Congo Bill?  Alright... we open with the thrilling scene of Bill, putting on his boots.  Suddenly a lion sticks it head into the tent-flap.  Bill, not having his rifle nearby (too bad, that) decides to try his luck taking the beast on in "bare-handed battle".  It turns out it's actually his... I dunno, primal pal (?) Janu playing a practical joke using a prop lion-head from a visiting acting company's trunk.  Wouldn't a master... whatever he is, like Congo Bill know the difference between a real lion and a prop?

 

Anyhoo, it looks like Congo Bill's current gig is escorting an actor named Tony across the jungle to a port town.  Their chat is interrupted by a geek named Lester, who claims to have caught a tiny animal in his snare.  Well, it turns out that "tiny animal" is actually a hippo... that's about to charge!  Congo Bill, friend to nature, punches it in the nose.

The practical jokes keep coming as Janu finds a (very lifelike) chimp costume... and puts it on, because he's a dumb kid.  At the same time, Congo Bill notes that a nearby volcano looks like it's getting ready to blow.

Lester sees Janu-as-chimp and decides to capture him as a pet... that costume is pretty convincing... even if Lester is a bit of a dope.  Janu-chimp is tossed into a cage, where he begins to plead his case.  Wha---?  A talking-chimp!

Lester runs over to the grown-ups to show off his fantastic find.  Mark Trail Congo Bill knows it's really his little pal Janu, but decides to play along to teach the kid a lesson.  While Lester and Tony consider taking the chimp to Hollywood, the volcano "blows it's top" sending a large rock into the tree they are standing under... causing a branch to come down and crush pin Bill down.  Oh yeah, and the animals begin to stampede.

Janu thinks fast and uses the momentum of one of the stampeders to break out of the cage.  From there he hops around the perimeter setting leaves on fire, knowing the animals won't cross.

Not only does Janu set the leaves on fire... his chimp-suit also goes up in flames!  The story ends with Janu being regaled for his heroic act, while Lester tries to get Janu's pet chimp Chota to speak.  Wonk wonk.

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Welp, can't say kids didn't get their dimes' worth back in the mid-50's.  But, whew... a lot of this was pretty boring.

I'm pretty sure I read the most boring story ever written today... but I'm not sure if it starred Tommy Tomorrow or an unemployed fella who rafted from Ecuador to Fiji.

Let's get Tommy out of the way.  This was almost aggressively dull, and I swear it took me multiple tries to get through the six-pages it spanned.  The thing of it is, though... it's not a completely terrible story.  There's some neat science fiction here, and the idea of beating the speed of light somewhere is interesting and fun in a tin-can robot sort of way.  That said, the story put me to sleep.  Though to be fair, I'm sure a child in the 50's would get more out of this than I did.

The Congo Bill story was... I wanna say, also pretty dull... while at the same time, decently fun.  It reminded me a lot of syndicated strip Mark Trail aesthetically, and it's light tone was appreciated after the slog that was Tommy Tomorrow and the text-piece.

The lead-off story was... eh.  It was a Superman story... but one I don't think I'd ever need to read again.  This is pretty much what I thought Superman stories were when I was a kid... just him trying to keep his secret identity a... secret.  Low-stakes storytelling with "creative" ways to keep his "C.K." under wraps.

The stories of the Medals were... I dunno, a way to fill pages, I suppose... and were decent enough "asides".  The bit with Superman digging through the missing persons files though... woof, that's some wacky and convenient stuff.  I know stories of this era really don't lend themselves to analysis... and it's probably a bit unfair for me to look at them like I would a (more) contemporary book... but, we're already here.

Overall... I think you could probably get through life just fine without reading this comic book.  Sure there's some fun here... if you're a fan of some sillier pre-Silver Age stories, there is a lot to dig.  If you're a fan of vintage ads... even more!  To my knowledge, this issue has never been collected (nor has it been made available digitally)... and I wouldn't recommend paying more than a few bucks for it should you come across it "in the wild".

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Justice League of America #109 (1974)

Justice League of America #109 (January-February, 1974)
"The Doom of the Divided Man!"
Writer - Len Wein
Penciller - Dick Dillin
Inker - Dick Giordano
Letterer - Ben Oda
Colorist - Glynis Wein
Editor - Julius Schwartz
Cover Price: $0.20

Another one from the iconic covers collection... surely this issue will feature a shocking betrayal and some great interpersonal drama, right?  Right?

Read on.

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We open on board the Justice League Satellite where Hawkman... resigns from the League!  Well, that was a quick reveal... wasn't expecting that so soon.  He claims that he and Hawkgirl have been summoned back to Thanagar, and interestingly enough, of all people it's Ollie who reacts the harshest to this, asking if there's anything that can be done to keep the Hawks around.  The meeting is interrupted by the sudden arrival of a battle-damaged Red Tornado being helped in by... Bruce Gordon?  Uh-oh.

Bruce reveals that... hey, get this... he's really Eclipso.  He explains to the League that he and "John Smith" (Red Tornado) were working on an experiment concerning controlled-light-transmission, when something went hinky... there was an explosion, and from the fallen body of Bruce Gordon arose... three Eclipsos (Threeclipso?), one of whom blasted Reddy with the black-diamond beam.

JLA Chairman Batman refers to the super-computers, and learns that the Threeclipsos are drawing their power from the Earth itself... and if they were to continue unhindered, the planet will be destroyed within the next six hours!  Wow, that's some amazingly specific data!  Bruce (Gordon) reflects on some vague memories he has to make some educated guesses as to which corners ofthe globe the baddies may be occupying.  The League then breaks off into smaller teams to divide and conquer the moon-faced menaces.  Ollie makes a special request to be teamed with Hawkman one last time.

The first folks we follow are Black Canary and the Atom... and they're unduh-da-sea.  They are approaching a submerged craft, from which a trio of frogmen... that is to day, three dudes in scuba gear, not actual "frog" men, attack.  Initially, the heroes attempts at thwarting the baddies is futile, however, it isn't long before Aquaman arrives to even the odds.

While Aquaman takes care of the minions, Dinah and Ray head inside... where they are greeted by One-Thirdclipso (yeah, that one doesn't really roll off the tongue).  Dinah hurls a piece of metal junk at a "gizmo" over Eclipso's head, shattering it into a blazing light.  Surprisingly, the light doesn't effect our two-toned pal.  Aquaman arrives and... sends a flying fish to knock the black diamond out of Eclipso's hand.  Can't make that up!  Amid the distraction, Arthur slugs him in the mush.

Our next visit is with Batman and the Flash as they head to a "G-Lab" which is basically an environmental facility.  When they see an "Eclipso-Type Energy Blast" originate from its antenna, they know they're on the right track.  Before entering, Batman swings up to dropkick the "death ray".

Inside, the heroes face off with Thirty-Three-Point-Threeclipso (yeah, that one doesn't quite work either!).  Batman hurls a light-bursty device... which is deflected by Eclipso's "personal force field"... which is pretty handy.  At this point, a gaggle of henchmen arrive to tackle the bat.  How did Eclipso gather a crew this quickly?

Either way, this leaves us with Flash and Eclipso, which ends with Flash running circles around Eclipso... force field and all, causing it to implode via the applied pressure of his g-force.  Two down, one to go!

Next we join Hawkman, Green Arrow, and Elongated Man... all soaring through the sky!  Wha--?  Well, Ollie and Ralph are wearing anti-gravity belts, natch.  It looks as though Eclipso is getting the better of the airborne scuffle, when Hawkman takes a page from Aquaman's book... and proceeds to talk to birds!  They swarm and... well, they kinda annoy the baddie, but don't do all that much damage.

The conflict comes to a head when Ollie and 'clips have themselves an old-fashioned shoot-out... wherein Green Arrow proves himself to be the "fastest bow in the west".  From there, it's academic.

Back on board the Satellite all Threeclipsos, black diamonds and all are contained.  To the shock of nobody... this was a pretty dumb move, as the trio melds into one giant Eclipso.  Whoops!  Business is about to pick up!

Or not.  Ya see, when Giant Eclipso attempts to use the three black diamonds to defeat the League... one explodes in his face!  The resulting light reverts him back to his Bruce Gordon form.  B-bu-but how did this happen?  Well... as always, Batman thinks of everything.  He figured something like this might happen, and so he treated the black diamond he and Flash retrieved with special chemicals so that it would produce immense light.

That's the end of Eclipso (for now), but not the issue.  We have ourselves an epilogue wherein Hawkman says his "final" goodbyes to the League.  All but Ollie are present.  Hawkman takes a bit of offense to this... however, elsewhere on the Satellite Green Arrow laments the departure of his friend, colleague, and political sparring partner.

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Well, this was not at all what I was expecting!

That cover says a few things to me... and battle with Eclipso isn't one of them!  I really thought (and hoped) this was going to be a story of betrayal, hurt feelings, and League drama... didn't see an all-out action tale.  Least it was a good one!

I think if we are looking for a theme here... and, this is me thinking far too hard here... one might be, necessary evils.  The strength of this issue for me is the Green Arrow/Hawkman dynamic (the epilogue is especially strong).  It's far less contentious than usual... and there's a melancholy about it.  Ollie doesn't deal well with loss, even of a fella who he butted heads with more often than not.  I've been on a bit of an Office kick of late, and it sorta feels like the Jim/Dwight relationship.  Both solid characters, but never stronger (as part of an ensemble) than when paired up with or against one another.

Keeping with "necessary evils", we've got the duality... or quadruality in this case... of Bruce Gordon/Eclipso.  Is the "other half" a necessary evil in order to produce the "whole"?  I mean, every time we visit with Bruce Gordon, he's working on some way to rid himself of the Eclipso persona... if he were without Eclipso, what would he do?  Would he still be as productive in the lab?  Would he work as hard?  Hard to say... I'd like to think he'd lose his mind without having anything to strive for, but what do I know?

To the structure of the story... I dunno, it seems like from the smattering of pre-Crisis Justice League I've read of late, we get about 18-19 pages of strong build, and a single page of (somewhat contrived?) blow-off... usually featuring Batman outsmarting/outwitting a threat.  It's not bad or anything, just maybe a bit weak.

This issue is available digitally, and it's definitely worth checking out.  It has also been reprinted in both SHOWCASE Presents: Justice League of America, Volume Six and Justice League of America: The Bronze-Age Omnibus.

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