Action Comics #485 (July, 1978)
"The Experiment that Backfired on Superman!"
Writers - Denny O'Neil & Cary Bates
Penciller - Curt Swan
Inker - Josef Rubenstein
Letterer - Milt Snapinn
Colorist - Anthony Tollin
Editor - Julius Schwartz
Cover Price: $0.35
Well, wouldja look at that cover?
That's one helluva sight, ain't it? Not only for the awesome Neal Adams art... but, if you look at the top right corner... it looks like some newsstand "clearanced" this bugger out.
Now, I think many collectors might get angry when they see such a thing... and I'm fairly certain I used to feel the same way. Nowadays though, I kinda dig it. It makes it feel like the issue itself has a story. This must've sat in a spinner or on a tilted shelf for weeks... maybe months, until the proprietor thought to knock 30-cents off the price just to be rid of it. Maybe it sold for full-price, and the kid who bought it "repriced" it for a yard sale. Who knows, right? Still think it's pretty cool.
--
We open with Superman answering the call of Professor Bolden, the same fella who experimented with using Green Kryptonite as an energy source awhile earlier. Now he has a new experiment... unfortunately, it's been stolen by some crooks, who have decided to test it by using it against the Man of Steel himself! Superman plummets to the ground, shifting at the last possible moment to ensure a water-landing (as to not "scorch the town"). When he touches down, he's still so extraordinarily hot that he instantly evaporates the lake! As he lay motionless, his mind wanders back to his first run-in with Bolden.
As mentioned, Bolden was trying to finagle a way into changing Green Kryptonite into an energy source... and ya know, with the ubiquity of the stuff, it's not the worst idea ever! Anyhoo, if you've already read Superman #233, you know the deal... the K-Engine starts pingin' out of control... Superman arrives to "put a lid" on it...
... it goes boom, sending Superman flying back before plopping into some nearby sand.
One of the Docs takes note that the Green-K appears to have been altered... in fact, it's been transformed into iron... which proves to be harmless against the Man of Steel.
Superman takes a speedy global tour to check in on the rest of the world's cache of Kryptonite... because it's all over the place, and finds that it's all been "reduced" to iron. Back at the Daily Planet, Jimmy and Lois are overjoyed to learn that Superman now has zero weaknesses. Morgan Edge, however, is a bit ill at ease.
Clark Kent is then sent off to do a television broadcast to cove the launch of a "mail-rocket" for the Postal Service. What could possibly go wrong? As Clark delivers the news, his x-ray vision tips him off that there's a shady-looking creep hiding in the alley relaying information via a walkie-talkie. During a commercial break, CK "supes up" and confronts the geek... which leads to that famous scene of Superman chowing down on a harmless... though stale and lacking in salt, chunk of Kryptonite.
The baddie also reveals that the rocket will be intercepted and "heisted" by some jets... and sold to the highest international bidder. Good thing this guy wasn't around when there were mass-produced consumer-quality drones in the world. Anyhoo, post-launch coverage, Clark uses the cover of exhaust to change back into Superman and halt the heist. He approaches the first jet, and learns that his heat-vision isn't strong enough to cut into it... so he has to resort to a more physical approach.
He then noggin-knocks both sets of baddies, and once he's sure the "Mail Rocket" is safe, proceeds to drag the planes toward Metropolis Airfield so the nogoodniks can be arrested.
He's still a bit worried about his heat-vision's lack of "oomph"... and begins to feel rather woozy when they pass over the spot where he was splatted into the sand... but, everything winds up right at the end. Morgan Edge even, much to Perry White's annoyance, offers Clark a permanent gig on the news.
Then... he wakes up in the present, in that evaporated lake. He uses his super-breath to whip up a sandstorm to trap the thieves, and meets up with Professor Bolden to tell him he's gotta go "back to the drawing board". The End?!
--
Well... this kinda smells of "dreaded deadline doom", don't it?
Don't get me wrong, I'm always down for a take on Kryptonite Nevermore, but... this was just a partial reprint of the first chapter. Superman gets a "faceful" of Green-K, it's reduced to iron... his powers are a bit "off", he gets woozy over the sand... and that's it?! I mean, why bother to flash-back at all, if you're going to leave out all the "good stuff"? No Sand Superman? No Giant Ants? No... resolution?
I mean, if you just read this... and not the original story, wouldn't you wonder just why Superman felt woozy when he flew over the sand? Or why Superman's heat-vision couldn't cut through a tin can? Or why Green Kryptonite was turned into iron? The cover promises to share the story that "answers all your questions"... but, c'mon... I think it might make a reader ask more questions!
If you're wondering what I'm talking about, you can check out one of the earliest episodes of the Cosmic Treadmill where we cover the entire "Sand Superman Saga" or "Kryptonite Nevermore!" story.
Overall... I mean, this has an awesome cover, and will likely cost you a fair amount less in the bins than Superman #233... so, if you're interested in a partial retelling of the first chapter of this Saga, I suppose you could do worse. Otherwise, stick with the originals... or the (sorta overpriced) collected edition. This issue isn't available digitally, however, Superman #233 is. It's the same exact story, minus the framing sequence... plus a sandy cliffhanger (and a back-up).
--
Letters Page:
--
Interesting Ads:
797
Action Comics #474 (August, 1977)
"Will the Real Superman Please Show Up?"
"One For the Money!"
Writers - Cary Bates & Ben Toomey
Penciller - Kurt Schaffenberger
Inker - Tex Blaisdell
Colorist - Jerry Serpe
Letterer - Morris Waldinger
Cover Price: $0.35
I know what you're thinking... a cover with a bunch of Supermans's's on it, didn't we already do this one? Well, no... that was another issue of Action with a bunch of Supermans's's on it.
I guess we can never have enough covers with a bunch of Supermans's's on it. Don't look now, but I think the second from the right might just be our new pal Gregory freaking Reed!
Oddly enough, when I shared the post about that other issue of Action on social media, I joked about the reader "starring" with Superman on the Silver Screen...
... when this issue actually has the details on how a reader could actually DO just that! For completion's sake, I've included the "Great Superman Movie Contest" rules page below.
--
We open with Superman diverting a horrible sea creature from doing some nasty things above the surface... and wrapping up just in time for his appearance on The Midnight Show with Johnny Nevada. Ahh, because "Carson City" is in Nevada... I get it. I think maybe they should've called him "Johnny Reno" though... though, maybe they thought that sounded "too ethnic". Who knows? Anyhoo... Clark Kent is set to be a guest on the show, and shows up in full Superman attire! Buh, wha?!
Well, ya see... the theme of this episode of The Midnight Show is people who have been mistaken as being Superman! We've got an all-star panel including (in addition to ol' CK) Rick Stirling (who appeared in a single story back in 1961!), Jimmy Olsen, Steve Lombard, Olympic athlete Mike Talbot, and our old friend... Gregory Reed! If you've already read the post about the Candid Camera issue of Action... I mentioned that it's silly to keep putting Clark in these situations wherein people might notice that he and Superman, ya know... look exactly alike. Oh well... it's the Bronze Age after all, which means the secret identity is the straw that stirs the drink more often than not!
We pan over the audience and learn that... Dr. Light has taken the night off from being a creepy pervert and decided to sit in on the taping. He has a sneaking suspicion that one of the men in the Superman costume is the Real Steel Deal. In order to prove it, he uses some light device to... I dunno, bombard the studio with invisible light rays? Anyhoo... on stage, Jimmy tells his story of mistaken Super-identity... which is a callback to the mid 1950's! Wow, another deep cut!
Dr. Light sneaks out the back, with the full knowledge of Superman's secret identity. He knows that Superman is really... Mike Talbot! Buh wha?!
Later that night, Light disguises himself as a cabbie and picks up Talbot as a fare. He then drives them to a garbage dump, and reveals that the taxi was actually a light-construct... which he transforms into a tiny cage. Knowing Dr. Light, the cage is probably so small as to keep Talbot tender.
Suddenly... Superman arrives! Dr. Light is shocked... but not so shocked as to not engage his red-Sun light bubble... thing, which nullifies the Man of Steel's powers... until, of course, he leaps out of its radius. Well, the Doc tried...
Superman then bashes the cage... seemingly killing Mike Talbot! Dr. Light freaks out a bit, worried about what the rest of the supervillain community would think of Superman killing his hostage. I'd say, at least he has the Sue Dibny story to fall back on... but, ya know... mind-wipe.
Turns out... Superman didn't really kill Mike Talbot, but in making it look like he had, Dr. Light deactivated the construct. We then learn that Superman saw through Dr. Light's disguise at The Midnight Show taping... and used his vibrational powers to allow the invisible light beam to pass through him... he then used X-Ray vision to (somehow) deflect the light from Mike Talbot... making it look as though he was the real Kryptonian. You get all that? Ay yai yai. We wrap up with a gag about Clark Kent's glasses, because, of course we do.
As with many issues of Action Comics in this vintage... we're not done yet! Some Action-Plus is in our future. Thankfully, this comes from the always fun The Private Life of Clark Kent collection. This time around, Clark shares the diary-entry of a time he purchased a lotto ticket from his usual newsstand. His newsagent is a fella named Benny, who has a real knack for numbers... he immediately memorizes Clark's numbers.
The next day as he goes to enter the Galaxy Building, Clark is bumped into by a frantic Benny! He tells Clark that they're all sold out on The Daily Planet... which seems a bit far-fetched, but our man plays along.
Later on that day, Clark returns home. The doorman informs him that a he let a telephone repairman into his apartment to fix a street-wide outage. Clark, rightfully suspicious, heads inside. He peeks out his window and sees a man reading the latest edition of The Daily Planet... complete with the winning lotto numbers, his winning lotto numbers! Of course, this is Benny lurking outside... waiting for his opportunity to "cash in". That bump at the Galaxy Building was no accident, ya see... and there was no telephone "outage" either!
Clark decides to give Benny just what he's looking for... and "accidentally" bumps into him on the street. Benny fumbles in Clark's pockets for what must've been minutes before procuring the winning ticket and rushing off to "cash in". Clark gives a knowing look to the "camera" and makes a phone call to the Lottery Commission.
We join Benny as he tries to redeem the Million Dollar ticket... which, upon inspection is revealed to be counterfeit! Clark shows up and reveals that Benny'd been "had"... and also that he sent the winning ticket to the Metropolis Orphanage... just like he does every time he plays the lotto.
--
Two very fun stories here!
You know I'm not usually one for the back-ups... but when it's a "Private Life of..." or "Mr. and Mrs. Superman" story, I'm all over 'em. Let's get that out of the way first. I'm always kinda tickled at the idea of Clark Kent keeping a handwritten diary. Especially in the pre-Crisis world where he kept that giant journaling... thing back at the Fortress of Solitude. Gotta wonder, is he keeping secrets from that diary?
The lotto story is as good as any... stakes are (relatively) low, and we get to see what an altruistic fella Clark Kent is. It's funny though, we kinda "get it" because we know he's really Superman... gotta wonder, what do the people of Metropolis think when they find out Clark Kent just gave away a million bucks? I mean, that's a pretty big deal... and likely something that would come up a few more times, right?
Also, Clark's an anchor of the evening news and local celebrity... this would almost have to be a major news item, right? Seems kinda, I dunno... dangerous... almost inviting people to dig into Clark Kent's "story". Adjusting for inflation that's over four-million bucks in 2018 monies... you gotta figure people would be interested in such a selfless act, right? Ehh, that's probably just some of my patented "thinking too hard about old comics".
Onto the "feature" story. It's the Bronze Age, so... of course, the secret identity is our focus. Doesn't make for a bad story... at least, this time it doesn't. Thought it was pretty fun. Again though, we keep putting Clark Kent into these positions where folks should eventually catch on that he and Superman look, ya know, exactly alike. I mean, just look at those abs on the cover! Those ain't "newsman" abs!
I really appreciated the "deep cuts" here. I mean, mentioning that Stirling who appeared in a single issue 16 years before this one came out? You gotta love it! It'd almost be like an issue today bringing up Dr. Mohlman from the Chuck Austen run! Also, those (at this point) over twenty-year old Jimmy Olsen oddities... just so cool! Add to that, a Gregory Reed cameo... and we're in full-on callback heaven!
The Dr. Light caper was... ehh, silly... as was Superman's "big reveal". So many stories of this vintage are laid out the same way... so many pages of build to a (mostly) nonsensical info-dump reveal on the very last page. I guess I can't get mad at it for being what it is... but, still... it's more evidence that these stories need more room to breathe, and perhaps we could do without back-ups every now and again.
Overall, had a blast... silly storytelling at its best. It doesn't look like this one's been collected or made available digitally... but, as with most issues of Bronze Age Superman, it shouldn't break the bank to snag the single-issue.
--
Letters Page:
--
The Great Superman Movie Contest!
--
Interesting Ads:
796
Action Comics #846 (February, 2007)
"Last Son, Part Three"
Writers - Geoff Johns & Richard Donner
Artist - Adam Kubert
Color Artist - Dave Stewart
Letterer - Rob Leigh
Associate Editor - Nachie Castro
Editor - Matt Idelson
Cover Price: $2.99
We're really taking our time getting through "Last Son", huh? I guess I'm just trying to make this as similar an experience today as it was ten years ago. With our delays here, we're getting the "genuine" Last Son experience... delays aplenty!
I think by this point, the delays weren't so out of hand yet... but there will come a point where they fit whole story arcs between the chapters just to keep Action Comics on the shelves! Of course, that doesn't matter to we folks in the enlightened future... but, back in the day... boy howdy was it annoying.
We get the impression that comic creators don't sweat the delays these days... due to the fact that everything gets a "collected edition". While that's not incorrect... it's just so dismissive of the core-monthly-reader. Being one of those monthly readers... it often makes me wonder why I take funnybooks so seriously, when the folks being paid to produce 'em don't seem all that interested.
Anyhoo... there's a rant for another day! Let's get on with today's chat.
--
We open the same way we've opened the previous couple of chapters of "Last Son", right in front of the Fortress of Solitude projection of Jor-El. This time, however, he's not being summoned by his son... but General Zod and the gang! Zod decides to ask "Jor-El" to spill his digital guts about... General Zod. The projection then gives us the quick and dirty on the Phantom Zone.
Zod takes exception to his being referred to as a criminal, and claims that had Jor-El listened to him Krypton wouldn't have suffered the fate it had. The trio then take a quick tour of the facilities... and note both Kal-El's apparent sentimentality... as well as nabbing the Phantom Zone Projector! Worth noting, we can see that Mon-El currently occupies the space.
Back in Metropolis, Lois and Clark try to get their story straight about "Chris" Kent. In a cute bit, they pop a pair of glasses on his head and hope for the best.
Inside, just as the Kents are chatting up Jimmy Olsen... the Daily Planet Building is attacked by heat-vision a'plenty! Jimmy sets off his Signal Watch as Clark rushes off to "supe up". Before he can, however, he is attacked from behind by Non.
Superman hits the ground and finds himself knelt... before Zod. Thankfully they don't say that though. Zod is surprised to find that he doesn't need to introduce himself... Kal's done his homework on Krypton's history. It's pretty clear that this is intended to be their first face-to-face encounter, which kinda sucks... because that undoes a pretty important post-Crisis story arc.
Back inside the Planet, Ursa confronts Lois and "Chris"... and insists that her Son, Lor-Zod be returned to her.
Outside, Zod and Superman do the old pro-wrestling "test of strength" thang while they shout at each other. Zod claims that he will turn Earth into a "New Krypton"... and introduces us all to his Army... including a scientist named Jax-Ur, who thanks the quick and dirty "Phantom Zone 101" we just got, we know he was the first Kryptonian to have been exiled.
With Superman disoriented, Zod decides to play his trump card... he reveals that Jax-Ur is carrying a Phantom Zone Projector, and uses it to banish the Man of Steel.
To be (duh) continued...
--
Another very good chapter of "Last Son".
Before going into the... whatever it is we do under the second set of hyphens, I just want to express my relief that Johns and Donner fought the urge to include a "Kneel Before...". I was bracing for it, I'm not gonna lie. It was definitely a pleasant surprise not to be "memed" here. I think "Kneel Before Zod" is up there with "One Punch" in overused, overrated, and just plain annoying things about DC Comics. The less we see/hear both, the better.
As for the chapter... we get a fair amount of forward momentum, and have a question or two answered. We know that Chris Kent is really called Lor-Zod, and we get clarification on some post-Crisis events that never actually happened... or happened with other criminals?
Gotta remember, this is that era I refer to as the "Nebulous Interim"... that time between Infinite Crisis and Superman: Secret Origin, where everything is kind of "up in the air" (pun!). Nobody knew for sure what was coming along from the post-Crisis status quo into the post-(other)Crisis. I may not dig that the final John Byrne arc has been retconned out (or just plain erased), but was happy for any clarification we received at this point.
Overall... a fun, action-heavy issue. Might not be the best read on its own, but as part of the "Last Son" story arc, it's a really good time. Adam Kubert really shines here, and uses some very interesting and dynamic panel-placement. Definitely worth a look. Available digitally.
--
Interesting Ads:
795
That's one helluva sight, ain't it? Not only for the awesome Neal Adams art... but, if you look at the top right corner... it looks like some newsstand "clearanced" this bugger out.
