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Mild Mannered Reviews - Classic Pre-Crisis Superman Comics

Action Comics #5

Cover date: October 1938

Writer: Jerry Siegel
Artist: Joe Shuster

The issue starts off with the world being alerted to a terrible disaster as the Valleyho dam cracks under the strain of a huge down-pour. If the dam breaks the water will kill thousands and destroy the fertile land!

In the Daily Star office the editor in chief yells for Clark Kent to come to his office. Lois responds and lets the chief know that Clark isn't in the office. She is told that the story is no job for a woman and is ordered to go find Kent. After running into Clark on the street, she asks him if he would do a favor for her by covering her assignment, of course he agrees. She sends him to the maternity ward to cover a story on septuplets. Meanwhile, Lois is getting a round-trip ticket to Valleyho.

At the City Hospital a nurse tells Clark that someone has been spoofing him and that no one up there is having septuplets. Clark gets back to the office and gets a scolding from the Editor in Chief who tells him that the last train for Valleyho has departed so he might as well go to the cashier because he is fired. Meanwhile, Clark changes into Superman to get the story!

Superman makes his way to the story, but finds himself reaching a railroad trestle when it is beginning to lose its supports. A train comes and Superman dives down and holds onto the support, keeping it from collapsing. When the train passes over he lets go and down comes the trestle. Lois, along with other passengers, rush to the windows of the train to see what happened. The conductor told the other worker to send out a warning at the next junction that the bridge is out.

When Lois reaches Valleyho, she seems to be the only one at the station who is trying to get INTO Valleyho. When she asks a taxi for a ride to the dam he says that she can have the car because he's getting out of there. She drives herself to the dam.

Meanwhile, Superman is atop the dam battling like mad to keep it from breaking until everyone clears out. Suddenly with a great burst the dam collapses and Superman leaps above the water's turbulent fury. Lois on the other hand is directly in the path of destruction.

Superman notices the car and leaps down to get her, but before he can reach the auto it is caught up and swept along by the flood. When Superman reaches it he tears the car apart and rises with Lois in his arms to the surface. He gets them to shore and races with her in his arms as fast as he can to beat the rushing water. Getting ahead of the water he springs to a high pinnacle and uses his tremendous strength to push a great rock in the way. When the avalanche settles, it diverts the water away from Valleyho saving all the citizens.

Lois is so happy that she kisses Superman, he replies with "WOW, what a kiss!" Lois tells Superman that she used to be afraid of him, but that now she loves him. Later, Clark Kent calls from Valleyho and states that he got there by airplane and asks to be connected with a rewrite man. As Clark leaves the phone booth he encounters Lois and says that even though she pulled that stunt, he still likes her. She responds with, "Who cares", thinking to herself that she can hardly look at him after having been in the arms of a real man.

Story - 5: This was a great story that reminded me of "Superman: The Movie". I really like the "real" life problems of this issue. I very much enjoy the newer comics, but I wish they had problems like this, disasters that ACTUALLY happen. Now-a-days it seems that every little issue in the stories are tied to the end of the earth, if not, the end of the UNIVERSE!! That gets old, IMO. I love this version of Lois. She is pretty awful, she lies, she's rude, I really don't know what he sees in her, but it makes me want more of this old style Lois. I also find it funny that when they kiss at the end, the kiss is not shown. Oh, how the times have changed. I don't even like my niece to look at some of the pages of comics that I buy her.

Art - 5: There's a MAJOR improvement in Shuster's art this issue. It is crisp, there are no repeat characters and his backdrops are getting better and better (this evolves in all comics during this time).

Cover Art: Issue number 6 is a great cover with lots of emotion, but yet again it is not a Superman cover.

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 Lane� Dead� 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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