Mild Mannered Reviews - Classic Pre-Crisis Superman Comics
Many thanks to reviewer Wallace Harrington (wwh27539@mindspring.com).
Superman #38
Cover date: January/February 1946
Writter: Don Cameron
Penciller: Ed Dobrotka
Cover: Shuster Studio
"The Battle of the Atoms"
Driving along a desolate stretch of wilderness north of Metropolis, Lois Lane and Clark Kent followed up a bizarre tip sent to the Daily Planet that nature had somehow gone wild in the mountains. After hours of searching with no results, the two stopped for a rest thinking that this had to be a big mistake. However, just as Kent plopped down next to a tall tree, Lois saw a strange sight. There were trees twisted like pretzels, hills flattened like melted chocolate, and water towers struts twisted like licorice.
Deciding that it would be best to split up to look for clues to these strange happenings, Lois headed through a thicket of trees while Clark Kent, ran ahead and quickly changed to Superman. Even though Lois was supposedly on the lookout for unusual things in the woods, she completely missed seeing three hoods who watched her carefully. "Ya know what the Bid Shot said about snoopers," whispered one of the men, and the three jumped out of the bushes to grab her. No sooner had the word, "Help!" left Lois' lips than Superman sprang over the treetops confronting Nick Biggins, Slug Rickley and Vannie Winkler and knocking them into slumberland. With Lois safe, Superman changed back to Clark Kent and rejoined Lois at her car looking as confused as ever. "Lois, did you find anything?" asked Kent. "Enough to make the front page of the Planet sizzle," she said exuberantly. "Let's go!"
Meanwhile, at a secret underground workshop, Lex Luthor chuckled demonically to himself. "Success at last! The most potent weapon ever invented is mine - proved and perfected - ready to bring me what I desire!" Luthor's gloating was interrupted by the return of his battered and bloodied henchmen who told him that Superman had shown up and Lois Lane had escaped. "Do you mean to tell me you let her escape after she had seen the work of my molecular impulsion beam on steel, rocks and trees?" "We done our best," said Nick Biggins. "This means that I must start sooner than I planned!" Luthor screamed, and enraged he sent his men into action.
Eerily, a section of the hillside opened and a sleek, transparent metal craft streaked skyward setting its course for Metropolis. High over the city, Luthor took aim at the Daily Planet Building. Inside, Lois was excited that her story was going to run on the front page and began ribbing Clark. "I was afraid your typewriter would collapse if you ever started to write a good story on it!" said Lois, laughing. At that exact instant, Kent's typewriter did appear to collapse, twisting and turning like rubber. Then the whole building twisted as if there were no support. Metal moved like rubber, wood collapsed under the weight, and even the huge presses appeared to melt before the printers' eyes.
Hurriedly, everyone ran to evacuate the building. Only Clark's nimble mind grasped the complete explanation. "Only one thing could cause this... an atomic disturbance speeding up molecular motion in steel and stone making them fluid. Intense heat would have that effect or a beam of concentrated vibrations. And only one man could harness such a beam - Luthor!"
Kent quickly changed to Superman and rushed out to reconstruct the distorted shapes fixing walls, columns and the giant presses. However, no sooner had Superman finished this monumental task then he heard a cascade of emergency bells and sirens. Luthor had turned his beam on the financial district turning the streets to sticky bogs that trapped powerful trucks. Above the city, Luthor laughed in sadistic glee. Looking down, he prepared to turn his beam on the Truslow Trust Company. Inside, Luthor's henchmen had already taken over the building, and the ray made Truslow's giant steel safe move like jelly. In one second, Luthor's men had opened the safe. In the next seconds, Superman had arrived and quickly apprehended them, leaving them in the sticky pavement that was the city street.
Using his telescopic vision, Superman scanned the sky until he found his old enemy, then leaped skyward to apprehend him but Luthor spotted Superman and laughed. "No doubt he thinks himself safe because his atomic structure is different from that of ordinary people, but I'll turn the power full force and blast him into eternity!" Luthor turned his craft to face Superman and a crackling roar echoed across the sky as the beam hit Superman with all of its force and Superman dropped from the sky like a stone. Luthor is ecstatic. "I've done it. The world is mine for the taking!" he screamed.
Seconds passed as Superman fell to earth, crashing through the power plant roof and landing on the powerful condenser. Millions of volts flashed through every fiber of Superman's body, not hurting him but actually reviving him. Leaping back into the sky, Superman sped off toward Luthor. Seeing Superman in the air again, Luthor realized that, "I've failed! The beam failed me and I can't try it again. My only chance is to outdistance him!" But even the fastest plane from 1946 cannot outdistance Superman. It didn't take long before Superman overtook Luthor, first disabling the craft's steering, then tearing his way into the craft.
Once inside, Superman approached the demonic madman, and in an act of desperation Luthor pulled out a small bomb and hurled it at Superman. "Nothing can survive the blast of this atomic bomb!" yelled Luthor. But catching the bomb, Superman bent over and shielded himself with his cape, absorbing the complete blast. "I, I don't believe it," said Luthor in amazement. "That's the trouble with you," said Superman to Luthor punching him on the chin, "you're skeptical of everything. What you need is time to think things over...Twenty years sounds about right," said Superman who grabbed Luthor by the collar, leaped into the air and flew him to the Metropolis prison.
After the disaster passed, Perry and Lois entered the Planet offices to find the building exactly as it was before. "Superman...that's the only possible explanation," said Lois looking around. Suddenly they notice Kent busy at his desk. Turning toward Perry, Kent handed Perry a new story and said, "A fine pair of newspapermen you are, running out and leaving me to handle a whopping story all alone." Perry became ecstatic as he read. "You'll get a bonus for this, Clark." Turning to Lois, Kent can't resist a little jibe. "Too bad about Lois' little yarn," said Kent. "But maybe there'll be room for it on the back page." Lois could only grumble in disgust.
Story - 3: This story was originally scheduled to run in Superman #34 (May-June 1945). However, during the heart of World War II, security was high and even stories featured in comic books had to pass through governmental censors. Unbeknownst to the editors of DC, and writer Don Cameron, Enrico Fermi and Albert Einstein were among a group of select scientists busily at work beneath the football field at the University of Chicago creating what was to become known as "Fatman" and "Little Boy", the first two atomic weapons. This was one of the United State's greatest secrets, yet Cameron wrote a story in which Lex Luthor, Superman's archenemy produced his own "Atomic Bomb". The US Army didn't want anyone to know that the US was even thinking about such a weapon and, as a result, Army Intelligence demanded that this story be withdrawn from publication to prevent any sensitive information from being leaked to the Japanese. This story was officially labeled "Secret" until after the bombing of Hiroshima on 7 August 1945 and Nagasaki on 9 August 1945 and appeared in print over six months after the bombing. Newsweek told the whole story of this episode in its issue from 20 August 1945. Curiously enough, not only did this story mention an atomic bomb, but it also accurately described the use and effects of microwaves years before they were of practical use.
The story, itself, was typical of the Luthor-Superman battles in the mid-1940's. In each of those stories, the diabolical Luthor invented some amazing ray, bomb or device that he could use to kill Superman and take over the world. Just by a stroke of luck, the writer made this issue's doomsday weapon the real thing... an atomic bomb. However, in this issue, the atomic bomb Luthor uses was thrown like a hand grenade, so it was much smaller than the actual bombs dropped on Japan in 1945. Still, just the use of the name "atomic bomb" was enough to send ripples through wartime military intelligence and make this a historically significant Superman story.
DC comics of the mid-1940's contained 52 pages and routinely carried three 11-13 page stories in each issue. The second story in this issue was "The Bad Old Knights" featuring a Bill Finger story where Superman traveled to Camelot. The final story of the issue was "The Man of Stone" written by Don Cameron introducing two new characters Goon McGloon and the Literary Link.
Art - 3: The art from this story was penciled by Ed Dobrotka, one of the many artists to work in Joe Shuster's studio in the 1940's. The art for this story, like many of this period, gets the job done. Overall, it is not fancy in fact it is rather crude and simple using many of Shuster's classic elements. However the splash page, showing Superman being struck by the molecular ray, was very dramatic and could well have been the cover to the issue. Ed Dobrotka also contributed the art to "The Bad Old Knights". Several comic art scholars have attributed the art of "The Man of Stone" to Win Mortimer. If this was, indeed, a Mortimer story, this may be one of the earliest jobs by Mortimer in Superman.
Cover Art - 4: The image used for the cover of Superman #38 had absolutely nothing to do with any of the stories appearing inside. This was not uncommon for comics from the 1940's. Here we see Superman sitting in a barber chair, reading a copy of Batman Comics, while a frustrated barber attempts to give him a hair cut. Obviously, this is not an easy task since the barber is using a pair of hedge clippers, and a pile of broken scissors litters the floor. The cover is drawn in Shuster's "cartoony" style but is a lot of fun, even though it might appear odd to the modern comic reader who expects the cover to at least relate to the interior story.
Pre-Crisis Superman Comic Book Reviews
1938-1949
- Action Comics #1 (June 1938)
- Action Comics #2 (July 1938)
- Action Comics #3 (August 1938)
- Action Comics #4 (September 1938)
- Action Comics #5 (October 1938)
- Action Comics #6 (November 1938)
- Action Comics #7 (December 1938)
- Superman Archives: Volume 1 (1939)
- Superman #1 (Summer 1939)
- Action Comics #8 (January 1939)
- Action Comics #9 (February 1939)
- Action Comics #10 (March 1939)
- Superman #13 (November/December 1941) - The Archer
- Superman #19 (November/December 1942) - Case of the Funny Paper Crimes
- Action Comics #60 (May 1943) - Lois Lane - Superwoman
- Superman #30 (September/October 1944) - The Mysterious Mr. Mxyztplk
- Action Comics #80 (January 1945) - Mr. Mxyztplk Returns
- Superman #38 (January/February 1946) - The Battle of the Atoms
- Superman #42 (September/October 1946) - The Death of Clark Kent
- Superman #45 (March/April 1947) - Lois Lane, Superwoman
- Superman #53 (July 1948) - The Origin of Superman
- Action Comics #124 (September 1948) - A Superman of Doom
- Superman #60 (December 1949/January 1950) - The Two Identities of Superman & Superman Fights the Super-Brain
1950-1959
- Superman #76 (May/June 1952) - The Mightiest Team in the World
- Superman #80 (January/February 1953) - Superman's Lost Brother
- Superman 3D (1953) - The Man Who Stole the Sun, Origin of Superman and The Man Who Bossed Superman
- Superman #87 (February 1954) - The Prankster's Greatest Role
- Superman #88 (March 1954) - The Terrible Trio
- Superman #89 (May 1954) - Captain Kent the Terrible, Superman of Skid Row, and One Hour to Doom!
- Superman #91 (August 1954) - The Superman Stamp and Great Caesar's Ghost
- World's Finest #88 (May/June 1957) - Superman and Batman's Greatest Foes
- Superman #115 (August 1957) - The Midget Superman!
- Superboy #65 (May/June 1958) - The Amazing Adventures of Krypto Mouse
- Action Comics #242 (July 1958) - The Super-Duel in Space
- Superman #123 (August 1958) - The Girl of Steel
- Superman #127 (February 1959) - Titano the Super Ape
- Action Comics #252 (May 1959) - The Menace of Metallo and The Supergirl From Krypton
- Superman #129 (May 1959) - The Girl in Superman's Past
- Superman #130 (July 1959) - The Curse of Kryptonite!, The Super-Servant of Crime!, and The Town that Hated Superman!
- Jimmy Olsen #40 (October 1959) - Jimmy Olsen, Supergirl's Pal
1960-1969
- Superman #134 (January 1960) - The Super-Menace of Metropolis
- Jimmy Olsen #42 (January 1960) - The Big Superman Movie!, Perry White, Cub Reporter!, and Jimmy the Genie!
- Jimmy Olsen #44 (April 1960) - The Wolf-Man of Metropolis
- Adventure Comics #271 (April 1960) - How Luthor Met Superboy
- Jimmy Olsen #46 (July 1960) - Jimmy Olsen, Orphan
- Superman #141 (November 1960) - Superman's Return To Krypton
- Superboy #85 (December 1960) - The Impossible Mission
- Jimmy Olsen #51 (March 1961) - The Girl with Green Hair
- Jimmy Olsen #52 (April 1961) - Jimmy Olsen, Wolf-Man
- Superboy #89 (June 1961) - Superboy's Big Brother!
- Action Comics #279 (August 1961) - The Super-Rivals
- Superman #147 (August 1961) - The Legion of Super Villains
- Superman #149 (November 1961) - The Death of Superman!
- Jimmy Olsen #57 (December 1961) - Jimmy Olsen Marries Supergirl
- Superman #155 (August 1962) - Superman Under the Green Sun and The Downfall of Superman
- Justice League of America #13 (August 1962) - Riddle of the Robot Justice League
- World's Finest #129 (November 1962) - Joker-Luthor, Incorporated
- Superman #158 (January 1963) - Superman in Kandor
- Superman #160 (April 1963) - The Mortal Superman
- Superman #161 (May 1963) - The Last Days of Ma and Pa Kent
- Superman #162 (July 1963) - The Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue
- Superman #163 (August 1963) - Wonder-Man, the New Hero of Metropolis and The Goofy Superman
- Justice League of America #21 & #22 (August/September 1963) - Crisis on Earth-One! and Crisis on Earth-Two!
- Superman #164 (October 1963) - The Showdown Between Luthor and Superman
- Superman #165 (November 1963) - The Sweetheart Superman Forgot
- Superman #166 (January 1964) - The Fantastic Story of Superman's Sons
- Superman #167 (February 1964) - The Team of Luthor and Brainiac
- Superman #168 (April 1964) - Luthor - Super Hero and Lex Luthor, Daily Planet Editor
- Superman #169 (May 1964) - The Man Who Stole Superman's Secret Life
- Action Comics #314 (July 1964) - The Day Superman Became The Flash
- Justice League of America #29 & #30 (August/September 1964) - Crisis on Earth-Three! and The Most Dangerous Earth of All!
- Superman #173 (November 1964) - The Triumph of Luthor and Brainiac
- Action Comics #318 (November 1964) - The Death of Luthor
- Action Comics #319 (December 1964) - The Condemned Superman
- Superman #175 (February 1965) - Clark Kent's Brother
- Superman #181 (November 1965) - The Superman of 2965
- The Legion of Super-Heroes - Archives Volume 4 (1965)
- Superman #184 (February 1966) - The Demon Under the Red Sun
- Action Comics #338 (June 1966) - Muto - Monarch of Menace
- Action Comics #339 (July 1966) - Muto versus The Man of Tomorrow
- Superman #189 (August 1966) - Krypton Lives Again
- Action Comics #346 (February 1967) - The Man Who Sold Insurance to Superman and The Case of the Superman Imposter
- Superman #194 (February 1967) - The Death of Lois Lane
- Superman #196 (May 1967) - The Star of Steel
- Superman #199 (January 1967) - Superman's Race With The Flash
- Superman #200 (October 1967) - Super-Brother Against Super-Brother
- The Flash #175 (December 1967) - Race to the End of the Universe
- Justice League of America #63 (June 1968) - Time Signs a Death Warrant for the Justice League
- Superman #211 (November 1968) - The Name of the Game is Superman!
- Superman #215 (April 1969) - Lois LaneŠ DeadŠ Yet Alive
1970-1979
- Superman #224 (February 1970) - Beware the Super-Genius Baby
- Action Comics #393 (October 1970) - Superman Meets Super-Houdini! and The Day Superboy Became Superman!
- Jimmy Olsen #133 (October 1970) - The Newsboy Legion
- Action Comics #394 (November 1970) - Midas of Metropolis and Requiem for a Hot Rod!
- World's Finest #198 (November 1970) - Race to Save the Universe!
- Action Comics #395 (December 1970) - The Secrets of Superman's Fortress and The Credit Card of Catastrophe
- Jimmy Olsen #134 (December 1970) - The Mountain of Judgement!
- World's Finest #199 (December 1970) - A Race to Save Time!
- Superman #233 (January 1971) - Superman Breaks Loose!
- Jimmy Olsen #135 (January 1971) - The Evil Factory!
- Superman #234 (February 1971) - How to Tame a Wild Volcano
- Jimmy Olsen #136 (February 1971) - The Saga of the D.N.Aliens
- Superman #235 (March 1971) - The Sinister Scream of the Devil's Harp
- Superman #236 (April 1971) - Planet of the Angels and The Doomsayer
- Jimmy Olsen #137 (April 1971) - The Four-Armed Terror!
- Superman #237 (May 1971) - The Enemy of Earth
- Superman #238 (June 1971) - Menace at 1000 Degrees
- Jimmy Olsen #138 (June 1971) - The Big Boom!!
- Superman #240 (July 1971) - To Save a Superman
- Jimmy Olsen #139 (July 1971) - The Guardian Fights Again!!!
- Superman #241 (August 1971) - The Shape of Fear
- Superman #242 (September 1971) - The Ultimate Battle
- Jimmy Olsen #141 (September 1971) - Will the Real Don Rickles Panic?!?
- Jimmy Olsen #142 (October 1971) - The Man from Transilvane!
- Jimmy Olsen #143 (November 1971) - Genocide Spray
- Jimmy Olsen #144 (December 1971) - A Big Thing in a Deep Scottish Lake!
- Superman #247 (January 1972) - Must There Be A Superman
- Jimmy Olsen #145 (January 1972) - Brigadoom!
- Jimmy Olsen #146 (February 1972) - Homo-Disastrous!
- Jimmy Olsen #147 (March 1972) - A Superman in Super-Town!
- Jimmy Olsen #148 (April 1972) - Monarch of All He Subdues!
- Superman #292 (October 1975) - The Luthor Nobody Knows!
- Action Comics #458 (April 1976) - Make Me a Super-Hero! and Masquerade of the Nutty Kid!
- Superman vs. Muhammad Ali (Spring 1978)
- Action Comics #484 (June 1978) - Superman Takes a Wife!
- Superman #328 (October 1978) - Attack of the Kryptonoid
- Action Comics #489 (November 1978) - Krypton Dies Again and Where There's a Will... There's a Fray
- Superman #329 (November 1978) - I Have Met The Enemy... And He Is Me! and The Secret of the Talking Car
- Superman #330 (December 1978) - The Master Mesmerizer of Metropolis!
- Action Comics #490 (December 1978) - No Tomorrow For Superman
- Action Comics #491 (January 1979) - A Matter of Light and Death
- Superman #331 (January 1979) - Lockup at 20,000 Feet
- Action Comics #492 (February 1979) - Superman's Secret Afterlife
- Superman #332 (February 1979) - The Eternity Cage
- Action Comics #493 (March 1979) - The Metropolis UFO Connection
- Action Comics #494 (April 1979) - The Secret of the Super S
- Action Comics #495 (May 1979) - Attack of the Ultimate Warrior
- DC Comics Presents #14 (October 1979) - Judge, Jury... and No Justice!
- The Superman Story (1979) - The Life Story of Superman
1980-1986
- DC Comics Presents #57 (May 1983) - Days of Future Past
- DC Comics Presents #67 (March 1984) - 'Twas the Fright Before Christmas
- DC Comics Presents Annual #3 (1984) - With One Magic Word
- Superman: The Secret Years #1 (February 1985) - Dreams and Schemes and Feeling Proud!
- Superman: The Secret Years #2 (March 1985) - Reach Out and Touch
- Superman: The Secret Years #3 (April 1985) - Terminus
- DC Comics Presents #80 (April 1985) - A World Full of Supermen!
- Superman: The Secret Years #4 (May 1985) - Beyond Terminus
- DC Comics Presents #85 (September 1985) - The Jungle Line
- Superman Annual #11 (1985) - For The Man Who Has Everything
- World's Finest #323 (January 1986) - Afraid of the Dark
- DC Comics Presents #97 (September 1986) - Phantom Zone: The Final Chapter
- Superman #423 & Action Comics #583 (September 1986) - Whatever Happened To The Man of Tomorrow?
Compilation Volumes
- Showcase Presents: Superman Family - Volume 1 (October 2005)
- Superman/Batman: Saga of the Super Sons (December 2007)
Miscellaneous
- Not Brand ECHH #7 (April 1967) - The Origin of Stuporman
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