Thank You for Being a Friend - Action Comics 276

Action Comics #276 (May 1961)(cover by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye)
"Supergirl's Three Super-Friends!" (2nd story)
Jerry Siegel- Jim Mooney

Doug: Today's sort of a perfect storm, isn't it? Supergirl's a hot property these days due to the TV show. This short story was created by Superman's original scribe, Jerry Siegel, and the artist perhaps most recognized with Supergirl in Jim Mooney. Toss in the Legion of Super-Heroes and a whole bunch of new super-teens from the future, and I'd say this qualifies as a fun read. And boy, am I glad all that Civil War nonsense if over ;) ...

Doug: Around six months ago I reviewed Action Comics #267, where our heroine first met the Legion. If you'll recall, the Legion's founders (Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad) had offered Supergirl membership in their "superhero club". However, through a twist of fate Supergirl was aged to an adult -- thereby disqualifying her for membership in the teen supergroup! Once back in the 20th century, the aging process reversed and she returned to normal. One had the sense that she'd be seeing her new friends again at some point, and that's today's story. Action Comics #276 was only the 6th appearance of the Legion -- considering Superboy had only participated in Legion adventures four times before this story was published, I'd say it's pretty significant that Supergirl had 1/3 of the 20th century interactions with these 30th century kids so early in Legion history. Today I am using the Supergirl Archives, volume 2 for reading and scanning. I'd mentioned a few weeks ago that I was able to score volumes 1 and 2 in a lot for $30 via eBay. Not bad! How about a 100-Word Review?

Linda Lee sits with other girls, watching television at the Midvale Orphanage. She’s sad, however, because unlike other girls she has no girlfriend in which to confide. Getting out for some fresh air, Linda suddenly hears a voice in her head, telling her that she does have a super-girlfriend, and to go to Cranston Creek. Once there (as Supergirl), she meets Saturn Girl, Phantom Girl, and Triplicate Girl – they’ve come to invite her to another Legion of Super-Heroes tryout! This time she’s accepted, has a parade in her honor, and meets a boy who like her: Brainiac-5. But his heritage…

The story is 13 pages long, and follows the standard formula for these adventures: Our protagonist is faced with a dilemma, the dilemma is met, complicated, and resolved. The story concludes with an "aw shucks!" moment. Yep -- that's how this one runs, and that leads us into --


The Good: Do you remember our conversation based on Paul O'Connor's posit that Silver Age DC Comics can be enjoyed "with the right mindset"? I agree with his position, but strangely, this ain't that. Why? First of all, I love the Legion. So by extension I love Superboy and Supergirl, because you can take the Krypton Kids out of the Legion, but you can't take the Legion out of the Krypton Kids! At least that's the way I see it. I didn't feel like I had to put any haughty sensibilities aside to enjoy this story, and that's saying something as I'm not certain who the target audience was for these Supergirl stories. One might assume if Superman and Superboy were both written for "10-year old boys", then Supergirl should have filled that role for 10-year old girls. We'd be wrong if we didn't think she existed to somewhat broaden the demographic for Super-books -- and sales, man! I didn't approach this as if I was a 10-year old girl -- instead I just read it as I would have when I was a kid, and I thought it was great. It's tough to free oneself from the weight of nostalgia, but that's OK. I think it's the main reason I keep returning to characters and stories that are familiar.

Jim Mooney's art is wonderful. I don't believe we've reviewed too much of his work on Bronze Age Spider-Man, whether it be the Peter Parker book or in Marvel Team-Up. Some people criticize Mooney's drawing of eyes (seems to be his trademark), but here his style is perfect. Mooney does a fantastic job of making these characters look like kids, something that's not always all that easy -- particularly with teenaged characters. He employs a conventional 5-6 panel lay-out with the art contained within the borders -- this was pretty standard in the Silver Age, and long before the "innovators" (Adams, Steranko, etc.) came along. The story is well-paced, and efficient. Part of that is due to the length (again, 13 pages), but that in itself has to present a challenge.

As stated above, we see the debuts of several new Legionnaires: the aforementioned Triplicate Girl (later revealed as the team's 4th member), Phantom Girl (later revealed as the team's 5th member), Brainiac-5, Sun Boy, Shrinking Violet, and Bouncing Boy. With the founders and Superboy, plus those we'd seen debut in Action Comics #267 (Colossal Boy, Chameleon Boy, and Invisible Kid), Supergirl would bring team membership to 13! How exciting that must have been to a young Legion enthusiast. I am not sure if Jim Mooney is credited with designing the costumes of these new youngsters, but if he is then it must have been fashion design of the volume undertaken later by Dave Cockrum and Mike Grell!

There's no messing around with Supergirl's trial this time, which was welcome. Sometimes these stories from the 1960s try too hard in creating obstacles for our heroes. No, the focus here is on getting Kara into the group. The antagonist in the story is actually a teammate who also gains admittance -- a young genius named Brainiac-5. She is taken aback upon meeting this handsome green-skinned young man (you know what? Here's another "good" about this story -- all these kids with strange powers, different colored skin, etc. and no shaming, no prejudice... Of course, we all know that the DC powers wouldn't here of a Black Legionnaire... so maybe nevermind), thinking he looks familiar. But Brainy launches a pre-emptive strike, owning his heritage immediately. He is the great-great-great-great grandson of Brainiac, 20th century foe of Superman. I'm no math major, but it's tough to get 1000 years time out of only five generations, ya think? Minor quibble. Brainy quickly falls for Supergirl, and she apparently has eyes for him. He even saves her life from a green Kryptonite meteor by giving her his forcefield belt, and then gifts it to her. She later uses it to destroy a green Kryptonite meteorite on Earth in our century (with assistance from Lori Lemaris and Jerro), protecting Superman from any future trouble. The problem is, the forcefield belt malfunctions during the operation. But all's well.

Krypto makes a cameo near the end of the story -- gotta love that! And overall, what could be better than Supergirl not only getting some new super-girlfriends, but a new super-boyfriend as well?

The Bad: The more I think about it, the illusion that DC was "integrating" the Legion with characters like Chameleon Boy, Brainiac-5, and Shadow Lass but would not have a leading Black character is bad. That's not a gripe specific to this story, but across the line. And Marvel wouldn't deal with this until a few years hence. But as to elements directly tied to today's story, the only overall aspects I'd complain about are broad tropes in the Supergirl mythos: Linda Lee's placement in an orphanage, and Jerro the merman pining for Supergirl. He seemed a bit too eager. I'd have blown him off, too, if I was Kara.

The Ugly: Nada.

My burning question for DC Comics is: Why aren't there Superboy Archives? I know there is a trade that reprints his earliest Golden Age adventures, but I'd love to re-read the Silver Age material. It's great that there have been two Supergirl Archives, and looking at some advance solicits I see DC is going to release a Supergirl Omnibus. That really does not further what we already have available to us. Let's go, DC! And get that 14th volume of Legion Archives out, already!

Supergirl Almost Joins the Legion -- Action Comics 267

Doug: Since Supergirl is getting a lot of attention these days I thought it might be fun to review another comic that featured her. And what could be better than combining that goal in a book that features another Silver and Bronze Age favorite of many of our readers -- the Legion of Super-Heroes? We're jumping into the waaaaaaay-back machine today, friends, back to a time before the Marvel Age of Comics. Today's fare would have been on the newsstands in the early summer months of 1960, a time when my parents were finishing their junior years of high school and this BABer was more than half a decade away! So buckle in -- should be nostalgic, wholesome fun. By the way, I'll be reading and scanning from Legion of Super-Heroes Archives, Volume 1.

Action Comics #267 (August 1960)
"The Three Super-Heroes" (2nd feature)
Jerry Siegel-Jim Mooney

Doug: I had to do a little research before I chose the issue to review. I was actually going to try to find a Supergirl/Legion yarn from the days of Mike Grell or Jim Sherman, but had no luck. So I kept going farther back until I settled on Action #267. I was surprised to find that this story features only the Legion's 3rd appearance (following their debut in Adventure Comics #247 and the follow-up in Adventure  #267). Of note about today's issue is the artist, Jim Mooney. Mooney is known to many of us for his Bronze Age work on Spider-Man titles such as Peter Parker and Marvel Team-Up. But Supergirl is his signature character. Shall we?

Doug: We open with a Superman trope, that of affecting some situation to keep the world running on time. After all, if you or I had those powers you know darned good and well we'd use them to keep the buses running on time! A convoy of buses has left the Midvale Orphanage (home of Linda Lee) on its way to Metropolis to see the Superman Fair. But wouldn't you know it? There's a large ship about to pass under the bridge -- that's right, a drawbridge. Definitely gonna set everyone back a spell. Except that one of the passengers is indeed the lovely Miss Lee, who rockets out the emergency door (must have been in the days before they added the annoying sound to alert the driver that the door isn't latched) faster than the eye can follow. She flies straight into some shrubbery where she stashes her outer garments and wig, to emerge as the Maid of Steel. She hits the drink and pulls the ship's rudder, effectively causing the vessel to sail at a deeper depth (that sounds weird...). The guys in the bridge house see this phenomenon and decide to leave the bridge down -- "tragedy" averted for the fair-goers. But the best part of this scene is Supergirl shaking herself off like a dog before changing back to her Linda Lee outfit.

Doug: At the fair, we the readers are clued in that Supergirl is Superman's cousin and knows his secrets. Superman himself is present and does a few Super-feats for the attendees. As he flies away he gives Linda a knowing wink, which makes her feel warm and fuzzy. Moments later, however, one of the devices that had been used to test Superman's vulnerability goes all haywire and begins to emit electric charges at a dangerous level of frequency and intensity. Linda frets about giving up her identity, but like a true hero knows that in spite of her promise to Superman to remain his secret weapon, lives are in danger. But before she can act, a youth who could be Jimmy Olsen's twin brother points his hands at the cyclotron and fires electric bolts of his own at the chaos... and addresses Linda as Supergirl! Linda whispers back to the teen, who promises her that a) she won't have to give up her secret ID and b) she'll find out who he is and what he's all about at the proper time.

Doug: So, proper time must get closer to "now", don't you think? Later that day while at a circus-like exhibit Linda witnesses the escape of a male lion. The jungle king charges straight for Linda (natch), who recoils not in fear of harm, but in fear of what people will think when she's not harmed by the mauling she's about to get. But wouldn't you know it -- a pretty young lady emerges and orders the beast to return to its cage. As the lion complies Linda looks on in amazement, and is then addressed again as Supergirl by this teen beauty. And the message is the same -- secret's safe, and you'll find out more later.

Doug: So what's a super girl to do? Just what you and I would do: hop on the Kryptonian Rocketship ride. And wouldn't you know it? Dang ride breaks loose and hurtles through the air, sure to crack up on impact. And oh yeah -- Linda won't be harmed. You got it -- gonna give up that secret. And, here's where the third member of our mysterious party enters. Yup, magnetic powers catch the "rocket" and direct it gently toward some hay bales so that Linda won't have to face an uncomfortable situation. And you're right again -- the raven-haired youngster calls Linda "Supergirl".

Doug: Back at the orphanage, Linda Lee's head is spinning. She's still unsettled at what she'd seen, and even more fearful about her secret being out and what Superman will think. Just then she spies a bulldozer clearing land not far away. Trouble is, it's headed right at a tree that had been hollowed out to house the Linda Lee robot (because it was the Silver Age after all). New dilemma -- topple the tree and people find the robot, or go into action as Supergirl and some teens playing nearby see her rescue the robot. As the bulldozer strikes the tree, though, Linda sees that the tree is not hollow after all. Whirling around, her telescopic vision spies the robot emerging from a hollow tree in another forested area. What the what?!? Enough, she says, and changes to her Supergirl togs to investigate. And as she lands near her robot double, who does she find but the Legion of Super-Heroes!

Doug: The game is apparently still on as Saturn Girl gets a bit coy with Supergirl, who is having none of it. She wants answers, and now. Sensing that the time is now proper, Cosmic Boy says they'll reveal all, and Lightning Lad spills it. He asks if Supergirl has ever heard of the Legion. She tells them what Superman had told her, basically relating the events of Adventure #247. And then we get what surely must be one of the reasons for the Crisis... Supergirl says "You're the Cosmic Boy... Saturn Girl... and Lightning Lad he knew!" Not so fast, Girl of Steel! Saturn Girl says nope -- we're their children. Let me repeat... What the what?!? Why on earth did Jerry Siegel take that route? They're from the future, doggone it! They could land anywhere at any time -- second here, decade there. Why did he make these three characters the offspring of the originals? And in their third appearance, no less? The teens from the future tell Supergirl that all of the trouble they'd caused earlier was part of her initiation into the Legion, should she want to join. Of course she says yes. Saturn Girl invites her into the time bubble, but Supergirl says she'll breech the time barrier on her own (how did she know she could do this?). It's off to the Metropolis of 2960!

Doug: Once in Earth's future, the Legion shows Supergirl some of the modern miracles of science, like robot laborers and galactic sight-seeing tours. They do manage to work in a visit to a 30th-century ice cream parlor, though. And then it's on to the Legion's clubhouse. Once inside, Supergirl (and us -- yep, these characters all debuted in this issue) is introduced to Legionnaires Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, and Invisible Kid. Stepping outside, Supergirl takes Cosmic Boy up on his offer to see these other team members strut their stuff. And here I come back to the problem Siegel has created: are we now to assume that the "original" Legion was never more than the three founders? Because two appearances later (in Adventure Comics #282's "Lana Lang and the Legion of Super-Heroes" [March 1961]) we meet Star Boy for the first time and see him in the presence of the founders and Chameleon Boy. Crisis, indeed.

Doug: You know the drill here -- Supergirl must prove herself through use of her super-powers in order to be granted membership in the Superhero Club. She must do some feat that is better than whatever competition she faced for membership. Asking Saturn Girl what the major method of travel is on the Earth of 2960, she's told it is jet-craft. She's also told that there's gridlock in the skies. Supergirl then begins to use her hands and arms at super-speed, tunneling through the Earth's surface, only to emerge on the other side of the planet. She had created a super-tunnel to alleviate the congestion. Asking if she had made it, to her surprise she's told "no". Standing in front of reflective glass, Cosmic Boy says she's denied because she's over 18. "I'm only fifteen years old!" exclaims our heroine. But indeed, seeing her reflection, she's somehow aged to a Superwoman! Mystified, Supergirl turns her telescopic vision back to the tunnel she'd dug. And wouldn't you know it? Buried in the walls she's created and passed through was a chunk of a meteorite of Red Kryptonite. Talk about a temporary, unpredictable effect... Saddened, Supergirl returns to her time and waits for the change to wear off. It only takes an hour, but that makes her all the sadder -- Saturn Girl said she'd have to wait a year to apply again for membership (although she'll meet the Legion and the love of her life, Brainiac-5, again in Action #276 [May 1961]).

Doug: Don't think I'm a total curmudgeon on this story, because I actually had quite a fun time reading it. The art is so clean and the story is so formulaic to DCs of this era. But that's OK -- I think it would be swell (ha!) to use the word "charming" to describe the tale. And I've given the great Jerry Siegel a hard time, haven't I? I do think he and National's editorial felt stuck on the issue of time travel. Sure they'd opened that door, but as we've oft-remarked on DC's target audience of 10-year old boys, did they think those readers could deal with the notion that the kids from the future could be friends with youthful Superboy and Supergirl -- probably at least 10 years apart in age in "our time"? Obviously later on it would become a non-issue, but in these seminal tales told amidst the science fiction tropes of the Silver Age, erring on the side of nonsense (to me) was perhaps the better road to choose. Again, Jim Mooney's art was a treat -- I've always loved the way you can spot his work by the eyes of his characters. And in spite of some perspective/proportion issues, the Colossal Boy panel had some serious potential. This was 13-pages of solid time-well-spent -- no complaints out of me overall!

Guest Post - Inaugural Post: If I Had a Buck...

Doug: Boy, does Martinex1 have a cool topic for you today, kids! About two weeks ago a few emails landed in the BAB inbox with the title "The $1 Challenge". Unfortunately, I was too busy initially to give them a once-over. But when the time presented itself, I was asking "What the heck was I waiting for??" I hope today's going to be a fun conversation -- and we have a few more of these in the queue for our later amusement. Here we go.

Mike S.:One of my favorite topics on the BAB site is the “This Cover Made Me Buy This Book” feature. It never ceases to surprise me how much good conversation and memories can be generated from a single cover.  I have a slight variation on that approach, with a little game I call, “If I Had A Buck…” Back when I was a kid, I would scrimp and save, do extra chores for allowances, and work at my paper route just to have a little extra change (used mostly to buy comics, Slurpees, and candy). There were so many instances when I went to the local drug store that I said to myself, “If only I had a dollar; if I had a buck I would buy FILL IN THE BLANK”. A nickel was often the difference in being able to buy two, three, or four comics.  Should I get the Annual, or two of the “Still Only 25 Cent” issues? How do I mix or match to get the most out of my money? I would have loved to buy everything on the rack, but that was impossible.  

So this game that I propose is a mixture of history, cover art, an alternate world, and a little money. Let’s start with some history…

Carol Danvers has been a part of Marvel’s cast of characters for nearly fifty years, making her 1968 debut in Marvel Super Heroes #13 as an Air Force officer in charge of security and a foil to the original Captain Marvel.  Her persona has evolved much over the years, from a magazine editor to an Avenger, from Ms. Marvel to Binary to Warbird to Captain Marvel, from a legacy type character to a heroine currently more popular than her namesake.

In 1977, she first headlined her own title, Ms. Marvel, in a mostly forgettable and relatively short lived run. The series attempted to add a feminist character to the Marvel ranks. The modern approach may have been initially short circuited by clichés and a peekaboo costume. Following Gerry Conway’s intro, Chris Claremont took over writing duties with the third issue and shepherded the series through its finale.  Along the way Carol evolved into a true headliner with a lot of nuance, a compelling voice, and layered tales that set a foundation for the character’s decades of action.

But it is the art of this series that intrigues me. For so few issues (23 in all), the title seemed to tap into every available talent. The interiors were penciled by John Buscema in the first issues, Jim Mooney in the most issues, and intermittently by Keith Pollard, Sal Buscema, Carmine Infantino, Dave Cockrum, and Mike Vosburg. I am sure that inconsistency may have played into Ms. Marvel’s lack of longevity, but at least it was top notch along the way.

The cover art for the series was phenomenal and had an even broader list of creators  I counted nine different cover artists for the book (in alphabetical order): John Buscema, Sal Buscema, Dave Cockrum, Ed Hannigan, Al Milgrom,  John Romita,  John Romita Jr., Jim Starlin, and Ron Wilson. In my opinion this book had some of the best action covers of that era. The design benefitted from the flaming logo, the action oriented corner box, costume designs, colors, and of course that headliner talent.

So here is the question I have for all of you: If you had a dollar (and only one dollar) and walked into my alternate world corner store where the spinner rack had only nine issues of Ms. Marvel (the nine issues listed below), which would you purchase and why? And please note that some comics have 30 cent price points while others are at 35 cents; you can buy three but possibly not all three of your favorites.

So one hero, one title, nine covers, nine creators, and one dollar…

Ms. Marvel #1  John Romita cover

Ms. Marvel #3  Al Milgrom cover

Ms. Marvel #5 Ed Hannigan cover

Ms. Marvel #8 Ron Wilson cover

Ms. Marvel #10 Sal Buscema cover

Ms. Marvel #12 Jim Starlin cover

Ms. Marvel #13 John Romita Jr. cover

Ms. Marvel #15 John Buscema cover

Ms. Marvel #16  Dave Cockrum cover

I selected covers not only that matched the varied talent, but that I thought had a luring appeal. I would love to read your thoughts on Ms. Marvel, the series, the art, the stories, her history, character changes, and the covers.  Open the floodgates. Maybe next time I will make the game more challenging with more titles, artists, and price breaks. I will jump in later and share the issues I bought and my reasoning. Cheers all!

Arc of Triumph? Amazing Spider-Man 176-180

Doug: Here's a little run of comics that I actually just sold about three weeks ago. What recollections do you have of this 5-parter? I recall it being very exciting, and especially liking the redemption of Harry Osborn. The Ross Andru art was just very steady throughout the 1970s, and this arc was no exception. I'd have to read this again, but overall I have fond memories.

Arc of Triumph? Invaders 5,6, Marvel Premiere 29, 30

Karen: This four-parter, over four months, was the introduction of the Liberty Legion, the American homefront WWII super-team full of obscure characters that Roy Thomas plucked out of his old comics and brought back to give modern Marvel some history. I dug it, even if they didn't pop up too often. There were a bunch of artists who worked on these four books: Rich Buckler, Dick Ayers, Don Heck, and of course...Frank Robbins. Any thoughts on this hero-filled extravaganza?

Arc of Triumph? Daredevil 138 and Ghost Rider 20

Doug: I recall buying these two issues around August of 1976 while staying for a week with my aunt and uncle in the western suburbs of Chicago. They had a 7-11 about a block from their home. Not only was it my haunt for comics, but Slurpee cups as well! This 2-parter contained two of my favorite characters in DD and Ghost Rider (I really only warmed to him due to his appearances in the Champions mag), and the John Byrne art was no small attraction, too! What are your memories of this little tale?