WC: ACTION COMICS #352

We’re getting very near the end of the books that were a part of my Windfall Comics purchase of 1988, wherein I bought a box or around 150 silver age comic books from a guy I bumped into at the post office for only $50.00. So as usual, we’ll be looking at this issue of ACTION COMICS somewhat for how well it lives up to its title. Ever since the Comics Code had come into use, it had become difficult to find any action in Action Comics, as there was a fear that the Code would take the short step from action to violence and come down on DC. But this issue was released midway through 1967, at a point where the Marvel books were all but guaranteeing a fistfight in every story, so let’s see how well ACTION measures up to that standard.

The Superman story in this issue is the middle chapter of a memorable-if-insane three-part story that pitted the Man of Steel against Zha-Vam the Invincible. Zha-Vam was clearly inspired by Kal-El’s old rival in popularity Captain Marvel. Zha-Vam has been granted the powers of six Greek and Roman gods: Zeus, Hercules, Achilles, Vulcan, Apollo and Mercury, and he’s been given a magic belt with assorted lettered buttons through which he can deploy the abilities of a variety of other Greek and Roman deities as need be. So it’s no wonder that the story was written by Otto Binder, who had composed about 57% of all of the Marvel Family stories back in the day. The artwork was provided by Wayne Boring, a mainstay Superman artist in the 40s and 50s whose work was seeming more quaint and old-fashioned by the day. This was one of the last Superman stories he’d draw, ignominiously kicked to the curb by editor Mort Weisinger thereafter with no recognition of his many years of service. Comics can be a cruel business.

The story here is less a story than it is a display of all of Zha-Vam’s assorted abilities. He shows up as Superman is performing a feat for charity and one-ups the Man of Steel, thereafter challenging him to a contest of strength. Seeing no way to avoid a battle, Superman agrees. The terms are that Zha-Vam will best Superman with the powers of any one God whose belt-button Superman presses. Trying to reason out which letter would be the best to use (the letters are all in English, of course, which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense) Superman hits G and finds himself petrified into stone. Zha-Vam has manifested the powers of the Gorgon and turned into granite. Zha-Vam doesn’t want to finish off Superman that quickly, though, so he gives his foe a clue for how he can restore himself.

Superman, of course, figures out the clue and is able to return to normal by causing lightning to strike him. The rest of the story is a rinse-and-repeat of this first encounter, with Superman agreeing to choose a button, Zha-Vam overcoming him with the powers of the deity in question–Morpheus, Pluto, etc. As the story begins to reach its climax, the Man of Tomorrow consults his Fortress computers and realizes that Zha-Vam must have an Achilles Heel if he’s also got that god’s other attributes. So in their next encounter, Superman attacks that weak point–only to discover that Zha-Vam has protected it with a sheathe of Green Kryptonite. Superman is close to death at this point, but Zha-Vam is having too much fun to let the game end now, and he kicks the Man of Steel to safety. And that’s where this second part is To Be Continued, with Superman totally on the ropes and unable to best his foe. He doesn’t even yet understand who Zha-Vam is or why he’s attacking him. And i will give it to Mort and his guys–there’s a lot more action here than usual.

There isn’t a whole lot in terms of house ads in this particular issue, at least in the front half, but there is this ad for Batman posters, all of which seem to use artwork pulled from the books and penciled by Carmine Infantino.

As I’ve talked about before, by this time in his career, editor Mort Weisinger was getting a bit lazy, and so he started to fill the back pages of some of his comics with reprints from days gone by rather than producing more new stories. so it is that the Supergirl tale in this issue actually started life as a Jimmy Olsen story from six years earlier that was repurposed across two issues as a Supergirl imaginary story. It was written by Jerry Siegel and drawn by Curt Swan. In it, we learn what would have happened if Jimmy Olsen married Supergirl. This was still set during the time when Supergirl’s existence was a secret from the world, so the opening of this chapter deals with that. Having fallen for Jimmy and married him, Linda Lee now needs to tell him that she’s really Supergirl. She of course chooses to go about this in the most circuitous route possible.

A quick pause here for a House Ad for the latest BATMAN 80 Page Giant, which collects stories of the Caped Crusader taking on other roles and jobs.

Rather than just revealing to her husband that she’s a Supergirl from Krypton, Linda instead rescues him in her costumed identity and then flirts with him. How this is meant to work out well is a mystery to me–I guess courtship is different on krypton. Anyway, this sham goes on for a while, with Jimmy married to Linda but dreaming of Supergirl. But Jimmy is still loyal to his wife, and so Supergirl ups her romantic game, taking Jimmy on an adventure on a far-off world. Jimmy is torn between his wife and his mistress at this point, and the stress is getting to him. Linda, on the other hand, is enjoying this deception. We’re hardly talking about a model for romantic behavior and wedlock here.

In the end, after Supergirl has rescued him from being wed to the queen of a subterranean society that he happened to fall into (!!!) Jimmy tells his wife Linda that he’s really in love with Supergirl and that they have to break up. At this point, Linda reveals her true self to Jimmy, who is so confused by the whole incident that he passes out. Somehow, in the aftermath of all of this, Linda and Jimmy’s relationship continues along happily. Mort Weisinger had some strange ideas about male-female relationships when you come right down to it. We also get a final half-page ad for the latest issue of BATMAN with its super-cool Will Eisner-inspired image by Carmine Infantino that incorporates the logo into the image. Carmine would go on to do a bunch of covers along these lines in the months to come.

And there’s a half-page house ad for the Maniaks appearing in SHOWCASE. This was a humor series centering on a moptop-style rock band. It was an amusing strip, but it didn’t go far.

And the Metropolis mailbag this month is answered by Mort’s assistant E. Nelson Bridwell, whose writing style is becoming easier to spot. One faux letter is from a writer claiming to be Captain Nice. Nice was a short-lived live action super hero comedy programmed on NBC as something of a response to the BATMAN series. It wasn’t very good, and it only lasted a single season. Mort would do his own pastiche of Captain Nice in just a few issues’ time.

And we get another random house ad, this one for an issue of THE ATOM with a very striking cover. As Carmine Infantino had more influence over the covers, they became a lot more posterlike, incorporating contemporary graphics and more exciting color schemes such as this one.

And the very last page of the book is devoted to the Direct Currents checklist, which now is featured across an entire page and incorporates some artwork, probably a good decision. It really gives you a sense of the range of titles that DC was publishing at the time: OUR ARMY AT WAR with Sgt Rock, THE ATOM, BOB HOPE, CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN, THE FLASH, BATMAN, DOOM PATROL and TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED all get blurbs here.