WC: ACTION COMICS #324

There’s something that I don’t really like about this ACTION COMICS cover. I’m not sure what it is–it’s a nice piece done by the usually-winning combination of Curt Swan and George Klein. Possibly it’s the light green background that puts me off here, I don’t know. But the fact remains, I don’t find this cover especially appealing. This was another in the many issues of ACTION COMICS that I received as a part of my Windfall Comics purchase of 1988, wherein I bought a long box of around 150 Silver Age comic books from a guy I happened to bump into at the post office for $50.00, a great deal even at the time. There wasn’t a whole lot of interest in Silver Age ACTION COMICS issues on the fan market at the time, it was very much a title and an era that was considered out of step. So these books were plentiful, which is why I ended up with so many of them.

In a situation that was becoming more commonplace, the cover image doesn’t depict a scene from the lead Superman story, but rather a situation from the Supergirl back-up. Supergirl had a strong popularity during this time, one that really only waned once the 1960s transitioned into the 1970s. But that’s all for later–first, we need to see what her cousin, the Man of Steel, is up to. The lead story was written by Leo Dorfman and illustrated by Al Plastino, one of editor Mort Weisinger’s dependable second stringers. Plastino drew a large amount of Superman and Superman-related stories during this era. His work was straightforward, but not especially powerful or memorable. And his version of Clark Kent and Superman often looked as though they were in their forties, given how often their brows were wrinkled.

There’s actually precious little Superman in this story, as it focuses more heavily on his non-costumed identity as Clark Kent. While working at a secret Government “Base X” where efforts are underway to fly a man to the moon, Clark winds up being hurled out of an observational balloon when it passes too close to the rocket being launched, and he plummets towards the ground below. He comes to alight in Crater Valley, an area cut off from the surrounding territory and inhabited by a Quaker community that is unaware that there even is an outside world beyond their boundaries. In this place where nobody is aware of Superman, Clark finds that he can relax and be himself, and he doesn’t need to put up with the humiliation of having to pretend to be weak and mild mannered. It’s a bit of a welcome vacation for our guy.

Quick pause here for a House Ad showcasing the latest SUPERMAN 80 Page Giant release, dedicated to clashes between the Metropolis Marvel and his sworn enemy, Lex Luthor.

Along the way, Clark endears himself to Elizabelle, the niece of Peter Fry, a Perry White elder figure who is aware of the outside world and who wishes to keep the valley sealed off from its greed and avarice. When Fry grows ill, Superman is able to save him with modern medicine techniques. Clark is also able to get one up on a rival for Elizabelle’s attentions, a bully named Luke Robb who is distantly related to a reporter who gave Kent a hard time on the assignment. Eventually, though, Superman knows that he needs to return to the outside world and his normal life, but his spirits have been lifted and he resolves to keep the Quaker colony in Crater Valley a secret–liking it to Clark Kent’s own Fortress of solitude.

Next we get the Metropolis Mailbag letters page, which this time out includes a letter from future Superman writer Cary Bates. Bates would break into the business by selling cover ideas to Weisinger and his fellow editor Julie Schwartz, so this would have been a part of the process of getting those editors to recognize his name. It’s only a 2/3 page Letter Page this time so that an advertisement for Silly Putty can be squeezed in.

The cover image, as we’ve already discussed, represented the Supergirl back-up story. It was also the work of Leo Dorfman with artwork by Supergirl mainstay artist Jim Mooney. It opens with Supergirl coming upon a magician plying his trade in an “Oriental Bazaar”. But the snake that Abdul, the magician, is attempting to charm instead bites him, and Supergirl is unable to save his life. But because she tried, Abdul reveals his secret to her: he is really a demon, albeit one who is still vulnerable to cobra venom. He gives Supergirl the Satan Ring from which is power stem. It can be used three times, but at that point, its use will likewise transform its wielder into a horned demon like Abdul himself. There’s a way to reverse this curse, but that portion is missing from the instruction scroll, darn it!

A s luck would have it, while Supergirl has no intention of using the power of the Satan Ring, circumstances arrive three times in which she must: in order to save Superman from a kryptonite meteor, in order to save the life of a condemned man whose execution is being carried out while Supergirl is stuck holding up a damaged bridge, and in order to save the life of her own foster Father when he’s caught in an explosion in his lab. Afterwards, Supergirl is horrified to discover that she is indeed sprouting horns, and she has an overwhelming compulsion to use her magic for evil ends.

Another pause here for another House Ad, this one for an upcoming SUPERBOY Giant dedicated to the Boy of Steel’s greatest menaces and foes.

The curse even leads Supergirl to lash out at her cousin Superman in the manner of the cover, causing him to be rendered sightless so that he won’t see her horrible transformation. While searching for a cure to her predicament, Supergirl discovers that Abdul the magician is still alive, and possesses none of his demonic attributes nor any memory of his misdeeds. This leads the Girl of Steel to determine that it was the attempt to cremate Abdul that cleansed him of the Satan Ring’s influence–he was purified by fire! This presents a problem, as Supergirl herself is immune to any flames. Fortunately, she remembers an asteroid that contained Kryptonite Flames, and dives into them. Rather than being immolated without her super-powers, the impetuous girl is instead cleansed even as Abdul was (though she still retains her memories of events, go figure. The Satan Ring isn’t so lucky, though, and it is melted into nothingness in the blaze. So all’s well that ends well.