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Mild Mannered Reviews - Classic Pre-Crisis Superman Comics

Jimmy Olsen #133

Jimmy Olsen #133

Cover date: October 1970

"The Newsboy Legion"

[Reprinted in Superman in the 70s, Jimmy Olsen: Adventures by Jack Kirby Vol. 1, and Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1]

Writer: Jack Kirby
Penciller: Jack Kirby
Inker: Vince Colletta
Superman and Jimmy heads: Al Plastino
Cover: Jack Kirby

Reviewed by: Charlie Niemeyer

Click to enlarge


We start off with Jimmy arriving at an old garage where he meets a group of kids who refer to themselves as the legendary Newsboy Legion. They, in turn, introduce him to the Whiz Wagon, which they will be using to get to the Wild Area.

Meanwhile, in the office of Morgan Edge, president of the Galaxy Broadcasting System (GBS), new owners of the Daily Planet, Edge and Clark Kent bring the audience up to speed on what's going on. It seems Edge has sent Jimmy to get the story on the Wild Area because the "Hairies" that inhabit it do not trust anyone over 25. He has also set up the Newsboys with the Whiz Wagon. As Clark leaves the office, Edge then contacts Inter-Gang, giving them the go-ahead for "a perfect accident." Downstairs, Clark is too busy going over Jimmy's assignment slip to notice a car speeding his way. It runs Clark down, but "miraulously" he survives.

As this is all happening, Jimmy and the Newsboys pilot the Whiz Wagon to the end of the Metropolis River, where they are attacked by 2 masked men, Iron Mask and Vudu, causing then to crash through trees and land on a magnetic rock. Escaping from the Wagon, they are soon pinned down by their attackers, but are saved by a sneak attack by Flipper Dipper. Jimmy and the Newsboys attack and finally end the fight when Jimmy punches out Iron Mask. Suddenly, they are surrounded by the "Outsiders," who inform the group that Iron Mask was their leader, and Jimmy KOing him means that Jimmy is their new leader.

Back in Metropolis, Clark changes to Superman and flies off to find Jimmy. Using his heat vision, he follows the heatwave after-image of the Whiz Wagon to when Jimmy and the Newsboys were ambushed. Surprisingly, they and the Whiz Wagon are gone, but Superman finds the magnetic rock. Lifting it, he finds a passageway into the Wild Area where he is attacked first by some gunners, then Jimmy and the Outsiders. Then, Yango, one of the Outsiders, blasts Superman with his Paralyzer Rod, which knocks out the hero due to Green Kryptonite in its beam. When he wakes up, the Newsboys bring him up to speed before introducing him to Habitat, the City of Trees. Turns out, the Outsiders found it, and just took over.

Then Jimmy and the Outsiders arrive and explain what has been going on. He shows Superman an old map made by the original discoverers of the Wild Area. He explains that his assignment was actually to find out about the mysterious Mountain of Judgement, which can only be reached via the Zoomway. Suddenly, everyone is rocked by a loud rumbling, which Yango identifies as the Mountain of Judgement moving. Jimmy sees strange lights in the distance and had the Outsiders rev up their vehicles. It's time to go to the Mountain of Judgement.

To be continued...

4Story - 4: Wow, Kirby arrives with a bang! This one issue introduces Morgan Edge, Inter-Gang, The Whiz Wagon, the Wild Area, the Outsiders and Habitat while also reintroducing the Newsboy Legion all in one issue. This story was a lot of fun for me, especially since all of these concepts also play a big part in Superman's post-Crisis continuity. On the other hand, it does feel like we're coming in on the middle of a story, without really going back to fill in the gaps. For example, it might have been nice to actually see a big game-changing event like Morgan Edge buying the Daily Planet. Another thing is that Edge just calls up Inter-Gang like it was a person ("Hello! Inter-Gang? Is your driving warming up?"). Which brings up another nitpick, Clark getting run over. First of all, this version of Superman would not have let himself slip like that. Second, at this point, Clark was very lucky that nobody saw his surviving unharmed as nothing more than a miracle. Plus, the dialog was a little stiff. But all in all, an enjoyable story.

5Art - 5: The art in this issue is classic Kirby. I don't know what else to say. The Plastino heads for Superman and Jimmy can be a little jarring though (not completely sure he did the Jimmy heads, but they don't look as "Kirby" as the other characters). They just don't fit with the rest of the art at all. Fortunately, Colletta's inks don't overpower any of the art this time around.

5Cover Art - 5: You can't talk about the art in this issue without mentioning the great cover. First of all, it announces Kirby's arrival at DC. Secondly, its an action-packed cover that grabs you and makes you want to pick up the issue to find out why Jimmy is going against Superman. Again, the only thing that really hurts this cover is that that is not a Kirby Superman.

This was a good issue. The writing is a little questionable in places, but Kirby brought his A-game for the art. If you can find this issue, I highly recommend purchasing it.

Pre-Crisis Superman Comic Book Reviews

1938-1949

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

1970-1979

1980-1986

Compilation Volumes

Miscellaneous

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