Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #104

Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #104 (On Sale: July 2, 1970) has a cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson featuring Lois Lane's Greatest Scoops.

We begin with "The Super-Prisoner of Amazon Island" by Otto Binder, Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye and reprinted from Action Comics #235. Lois and other members of her Super Sorority are shipwrecked on a small island. Superman comes to rescue them, but he has violated the laws of the native Amazons living there. He is declared a slave and his services are bid upon.

The queen, Elsha, wishes to make Superman her husband. When she loses in the auction, she abolishes the law and creates a new one. Superman must now perform a task for each woman, if he cannot he must marry them.

Superman agrees to the procedure in hopes of finding a cure for Kryptonite which he believes is on the island. Each woman takes her turn, but Superman completes each task. The final task is the queen’s. He destroys her crown to make her a commoner which was what she asked him to do. The Man of Steel is set free, but he realizes too late that the crown was the cure he sought. He and the sorority return home, leaving the Amazons behind.

Next is "The Monkey's Paw" drawn by Kurt Schaffenberger and reprinted from Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #42. Lois receives a box of strange curios from a recently deceased explorer. Inside is a monkey’s paw which legend claims will grant three wishes. Lois imagines possible wishes for herself, but she uses one to save an airplane and another to save Superman from Kryptonite. When she tells Lucy Lane and Jimmy Olsen about her wishes, they reveal that the wishes were not responsible for the rescues. Lois uses her final wish to give Clark Kent super powers. He fakes an illness, so Lois believes the wishes didn’t work. As a result, she throws the monkey’s paw away.

That is followed by "The Town of Supermen" by Edmond Hamilton, Curt Swan and George Klein and reprinted from Superman #153. Eight prisoners of the Phantom Zone escape and move to a ghost town, Drywood Gulch. They bring Lois to town and tell her that they are Kryptonian astronauts. Later, Lois returns with Jimmy and Perry to show them the town of Supermen, but the men pretend to be normal men. Finally, Lois convinces Jimmy of the truth and he summons Superman. The Man of Steel out duels the criminals and returns them to the Phantom Zone.

Next is "Lois Lane's Great Houdini Trick" by Otto Binder and Kurt Schaffenberger and reprinted from Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #58. Lois receives a request to expose a phony spirit medium. When she visits the swamis parlor, she discovers that the medium is Voodoo Vickers, a notorious gangster wanted for murder. Lois attends a séance in disguise and uses the swami's own tricks to force Vickers into revealing the location of the murder victim. Superman then apprehends the swami.

That brings us to "The Reversed Super-Powers" by Jerry Siegel and Kurt Schaffenberger and reprinted from Action Comics #274. During an experiment to find an antidote for Kryptonite, Superman’s powers are transferred to Lois Lane. Without powers, Superman proposes to Lois, but she decides to think about it first. When she discovers that she has gained powers, she decides not to marry Superman for fear that her enemies would harm him. Superman then passes out. Another Superman arrives through the window and explains that it was only a Superman robot. The robot wanted to see if Lois loved Superman only because of his powers. The real Superman apologizes for his robot’s interference and returns it to the Fortress. Lois’s powers wear off restoring her to normal.

We end with "The Girl Who Destroyed Atlantis" drawn by Kurt Schaffenberger and reprinted from Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #42. While touring Atlantis with Lori Lemaris, Lois Lane is transported into the past by a time-travel belt. She arrives in ancient Atlantis and soon meets Roh-Tul, a dictator who resembles Luthor. Roh-Tul convinces Lois that he is benevolent and that his for Klar-Kan is evil. However, Lois soon learns that Roh-Tul is the tyrant and spurns his affections. Roh-Tul then detonates a bomb. Lois is sent back to the present believing she was responsible for the sinking of Atlantis. Lori explains that the bomb was not the cause of Atlantis’ demise, but another later explosion caused the city to sink

Edited by E. Nelson Bridwell.

Superboy #165

Superboy #165 (On Sale: March 5, 1970) has cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson.

This issue begins with "The Super-Dog from Krypton" by Otto Binder, Curt Swan and John Fishetti and reprinted from Adventure Comics #210. This story tells the origin of Krypto, Superboy's dog. Superboy encounters a super powered dog on the streets of Smallville. The dog seems to recognize him and is friendly. Superboy follows the dog to a rocket that has recently crashed on Earth. Inside the rocket he finds papers which reveal that the dog came from Krypton. The dog was sent into space by Jor-El to test a rocket which was deflected by a meteor. The dog, Krypto, belonged to Kal-El as a baby. Krypto's ship eventually made its way to Earth.

Superboy is thrilled to have his dog back. However, Krypto's frisky nature and super powers cause several problems for Superboy including threatening his secret identity. Superboy constructs a super doghouse for Krypto, but the dog is easily able to free himself.

Eventually Krypto takes off into space to chase meteors. Superboy is happy that he won't have to deal with Krypto's antics anymore, but he is sad that his friend is gone.

Next we have "Superboy's Last Day" by Otto Binder and George Papp and reprinted from Adventure Comics #251. This story tells of Superboy's first encounter with Kryptonite. While cleaning house, Clark Kent recalls how one of his Superboy robots saved his life. Many years before, Pa Kent brought home a green glowing rock for Clark’s mineral collection. Clark immediately took ill and was on his deathbed. To replace him as Superboy, a recently constructed Superboy robot was sent out controlled by Jonathan.

When the robot returned, it inadvertently stepped in front of the Kryptonite. Being made of lead, the robot blocked the radiation. Superboy recovered but relapsed when the robot moved away. Pa Kent realizes that the rock must be responsible and places it inside the robot. Superboy recovers and learns that the rock was Kryptonite, a fragment of his home planet, which is deadly to him.

This is followed by "The Girl Who Saw the Future Superboy" by Jerry Coleman and Al Plastino and reprinted from Superboy #90. While helping her father clean a scientist’s lab, Lana accidentally activates a machine that allows her to see the future. Although the image only lasts for a moment, Lana sees Superman and his girlfriend, Lois Lane. Lana become jealous and tries to alter fate by getting Lois to enter a different career.

Lana visits Lois’s school and tries to sabotage Lois’s attempts to join the school paper. Failing in that, Lana tries to get Lois to pursue a career in science and later, sculpture. Each attempt fails due to the Unbeknownst actions of Superboy and Krypto.

Next we have "The Phantom Superboy" by Robert Bernstein and George Papp and reprinted from Adventure Comics #283. This is the first appearance of the Phantom Zone. Professor Lang discovers a box of Kryptonian weapons which he delivers to Superboy. While Superboy examines and tests the weapons, he is accidentally sent into the Phantom Zone, a dimension which exists near ours in which beings can only exist in a ghostly state. Kryptonian criminals were banished here before the destruction of the planet.

Unable to be seen or heard Superboy can not communicate with anyone in his own dimension. Eventually he discovers that his super thought is enough to activate an electric typewriter on which he types a message to Pa Kent. Jonathan rescues Superboy from the Zone, and then the Boy of Steel disposes of the box of weapons.

We end with "The Death of Ma and Pa Kent" by Leo Dorfman and Al Plastino and reprinted from Superman #161. While on vacation in the Caribbean, Jonathan and Martha Kent find a buried pirate’s treasure. The chest contains a scrap from the diary of Pegleg Morgan and presents them a mystery. Superboy carries them into the past to learn how Pegleg was stranded on the island by Blackbeard the Pirate.

When they return to present-day Smallville, the Kents become ill from jungle fever. Doctors are unable to find the cure, and Superboy is likewise helpless. Superboy tries to send them to the Phantom Zone, but solar flares prevent the projector from functioning.

Without a cure, the Kents die. Superboy blames himself for their deaths and gives up his Superboy career. He donates their money to charity, maintaining their house and store for himself. When searching through his father’s belongings he finds the diary scrap and learns that the chest the Kents found in the sand was the actually source of their illness. Relieved that his time-trip was not responsible for the death of his parents, Superboy resumes his career and treasures the memory of his Earth parents.

Edited by E. Nelson Bridwell.

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #128

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #128 (On Sale: February 24, 1970) has a cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson.

This issue begins with our cover-story "No Father for Jimmy" by E. Nelson Bridwell and Pete Costanza. The back-up is "The Story of Superman's Souvenirs" from Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #5 by Otto Binder, Curt Swan and Ray Burnley. Killer Burke, a hunted fugitive, hides in the apartment of Jimmy Olsen. Burke forces Jimmy to tell him the stories behind several of his Superman souvenirs, hoping one will enable him to escape. Burke then uses an invisibility belt invented by Luthor to slip past the police. However, the belt causes Burke to go blind. Without his sight, Burke is forced to surrender. When Jimmy turns off the belt, his sight is restored.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #100

Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #100 (On Sale: February 12, 1970) has a cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson.

This issue begins with our cover-story, "Lois Lane's Last Mile" by Robert Kanigher and Irv Novick. The back-up is from Showcase #9, "The Un-Curious Lois Lane" is by Otto Binder, Ruben Morira and Al Plastino. Superman has created a new identity for himself, salesman Allen Todd. He does this because two nosy crooks have been trailing Clark Kent in an effort to expose him as Superman’s other identity. The Man of Steel plants clues for Lois to lead her to Todd, but Lois has taken a new approach and is now trying to cover for Superman.

After she successfully protects his new identity several times, he sends a letter with the address of Todd to Lois and leads the crooks to believe Lois knows his secret. The crooks expose Todd in front of Lois, but Superman then takes them to jail because they tried to shoot him. He then vows to adopt a new identity, which is really his old one, Clark Kent. Lois is intrigued and returns to her old ways of trying to learn the big secret again.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Adventure Comics #390

Adventure Comics #390 (On Sale: January 13, 1970) has a Supergirl cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson featuring an All-Romance Issue!

This issue begins with Supergirl in"When Supergirl Played Cupid" from Action Comics #289 by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney. Supergirl embarks on a campaign to see Superman happily married. Traveling into the past, she unsuccessfully attempts to interest him in Helen of Troy. Her similar effort in the future era of the Legion of Super-Heroes also fails, when she learns that Saturn Woman, the adult Saturn Girl, is already married to Lightning Man, the adult Lightning Lad.

Finally, she locates Superman’s ideal mate on a distant world, where Luma Lynai, a superwoman who resembles Supergirl herself as an adult, falls in love with the Man of Steel. When it turns out that Luma Lynai cannot survive on Earth, however, the couple are focused to part, and Supergirl learns not to interfere in her cousin’s love life.

Next is Supergirl in "The Secret Identity of Super-Horse" from Action Comics #301 by Leo Dorfman and Jim Mooney. Supergirl and Comet visit the planet Zerox to help Superman’s friend Prince Endor. Comet allows Endor to ride him in order to complete a ceremony which allows the prince to retain his rule. In appreciation for Comet’s help, Endor places a spell on the horse, which allows him to temporarily become human, when a comet passes.

When they return to Earth, Supergirl leaves Comet with some other horses. A comet passes by, transforming Super-Horse into a man. He assumes the identity of Bronco Bill, a rodeo star. He later meets Supergirl at the rodeo, but decides to keep his identity secret from her. Eventually the effect of the spell wears off, and Comet is returned to his horse form.

This if followed by "Supergirl's Cowboy Hero" from Action Comics #311 and also created by Leo Dorfman and Jim Mooney. Comet travels back in time to visit his former love Circe in hopes that she may find a way to make him human. Circe creates a potion that will take effect shortly after Comet returns to the present. However, when Comet arrives back in his own time, he has amnesia.

A masked crook called the Hooded Demon finds Comet and uses him to commit a series of robberies. Comet's powers then begin to wear off and both he and the bandit are wounded. Comet's transformation then begins. He becomes human again.

A posse searching for the masked crook believe Comet is the bandit. Comet eludes them and manages to spend some time with Linda Danvers. She thinks he is Bronco Bill, whom she once met as Supergirl. The posse eventually catches up to Comet forcing him to flee.

Supergirl pursues him too, so Comet wishes Circe to reverse the effects of the potion. She complies, and Comet changes back to a horse. The real Hooded Demon is caught clearing Bronco Bill, and Supergirl still does not know that he was really Comet.

Next is "The Great Supergirl Mirage" from Action Comics #256 and created by Otto Binder and Jim Mooney. While secretly performing good deeds as Supergirl, a boy from the Midvale Orphanage, Dick Wilson, takes a picture of her. He suspects Linda Lee is Supergirl, when he sees her turn in a report that she finished at super-speed. Linda makes an excuse that she had a copy of the finished report elsewhere, but Dick is not convinced.

While looking for minerals for Geology class, Dick tricks Linda by throwing a dummy of himself off a cliff. Linda’s X-ray vision ignites chemicals which Dick coated the dummy with. Linda causes lightning to strike the dummy to cover her mistake. Dick is still convinced she is a Supergirl.

Dick tries to trick Linda again with heavy dumbbells. Linda falls for the trick, but her powers allow her to once again cover her mistake and protect her identity. She is distressed over the situation when a Supergirl robot arrives to perform amazing feats at a show. Dick is now convinced that he saw the Supergirl robot sent by Superman, and that Supergirl does not exist.

We end with "Supergirl's Wedding Day" from Action Comics #307 created by Leo Dorfman and Jim Mooney. Tor-An, a criminal from the Phantom Zone, escapes. He takes the identity of a teacher at Midvale High School in order to get close to Supergirl. He reveals his powers to her, but claims to be a survivor of Argo City.

Supergirl falls in love with the criminal and plans to marry him. Supergirl’s telepathic friends Jerro and Comet warn her about Tor-An’s evil intentions, but she does not believe them. When Superman returns from a space mission, he appears to give his approval. However, Tor-An has replaced the Man of Steel with a robot.

The wedding takes place at the Fortress of Solitude. Immediately after the ceremony, Tor-An reveals his true background. Supergirl then reveals herself to be Saturn Girl in disguise, therefore the marriage was illegal. Saturn Girl had been contacted by Jerro, Comet, and Lori Lemaris. Tor-An is taken to the future for imprisonment until he can be returned to the Phantom Zone.

Edited most likely by E. Nelson Bridwell.

Superboy #163

Superboy #163 (On Sale: January 8, 1970) has a superb Neal Adams' cover which seems inspired by Cool Hand Luke.

This issue begins with Superboy in our cover-story, "Reform School Rebel" by Frank Robbins, Bob Brown and Mike Esposito.

The back-up is "The Super-Robot" from Superboy #52 and produced by Otto Binder, Curt Swan and John Fischetti. Two swindlers build a Superboy robot. They then sell the robot to the gullible Pop Peabody who thinks the robot has super powers. Superboy tricks the crooks by posing as the robots and performing super deeds for Pop. When the crooks see that the robot possesses powers they offer to buy it back for twice the price. The crooks then take the real robot back to their workshop where they discover it to be worthless junk. Superboy explains his trick to Peabody and gives the extra money to charity.

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

From Beyond the Unknown #2 (On Sale: October 23, 1969) has a cover by Murphy Anderson.

We begin with "Parade of the Planets" by Otto Binder and Frank Giacoia from Mystery in Space #52. Next is "Giants of the Cosmic Ray" by France Herron, Carmine Infantino and Bernard Sachs from Strange Adventures #82. Lastly we have "The Brain-Masters of Polaris" by John Broome, Alex Toth and Sy Barry from Strange Adventures #12.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #125

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #125 (On Sale: October 14, 1969) has a cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson.

We begin with our cover story "Superman's Saddest Day" by Leo Dorfman and Pete Costanza. The back-up is "The Spendthrift and the Miser" from Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #28 and is by Otto Binder, Curt Swan and Ray Burnley. Jimmy is hyptonized by two con artists. During the day Jimmy spends all his money foolishly, then at night he turns into a greedy miser. The crooks force Jimmy to sell his Superman trophies which they wanted all along. Jimmy tricks them instead by selling them worthless junk. Superman frees Jimmy of the hypnotic spell, and the crooks leave town.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Strange Adventures #221

Strange Adventures #221 (On Sale: September 18, 1969) has an Adam Strange cover by Murphy Anderson.

We begin with"The Duel of the Two Adam Stranges" by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Bernard Sachs from Mystery In Space #59. A giant Adam Strange appears outside Ranagar and proclaims himself dictator. Alanna can’t believe that Adam has become evil, but he claims to have been altered by the gravitational pull of a radioactive planet. As the giant Adam begins demolishing Ranagar, the former dictator or Rann, Avanar Bar, rises to stop him.

When the real Adam Strange arrives, he explains that the giant is a robot. He tries to stop the robot as well, but when he can’t he realizes that Avanar is controlling it and in doing so trying to reclaim his position as ruler. Adam exposes the plot and gains control of the robot using a device Avanar had hidden under a wig.

Next is "The Square Earth" by Otto Binder and Sy Barry and reprinted from Mystery In Space #22.

We end with the Atomic Knights in "World Out of Time" by John Broome and Murphy Anderson and reprinted from Strange Adventures #129. Bryndon develops a machine that can tap into satellites in Earth's orbit. He uses the satellite cameras to view the world ravaged by World War III. Unexpectedly, the cameras reveal an island in the Atlantic that still has green trees. The Knights speculate that it might be Atlantis, so they leave to investigate.

The island is indeed Atlantis returned as a result of the war. The island is inhabited by Atlantean people planning to conquer the rest of the world. However, they cannot leave the island due to a radiation field surrounding it.

When the Atomic Knights arrive, they can safely pass through the radiation field. The Atlanteans capture them to find out how they are immune to the radiation. The Knights escape before their enemies learn that the armor they wear protects them. As they leave the island, an earthquake causes it to sink into the ocean. Marene manages to gather some seed and food before it sinks. The Knights hope plant life on Earth can be restored with what they've recovered.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #122

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #122 (On Sale: June 19, 1969) has a cover by Curt Swan and Neal Adams.

We begin with "A Date with Miss Metropolis" reprinted from Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #27 by Otto Binder, Curt Swan and Ray Burnley. Jimmy Olsen agrees to interview the winner of the Miss Metropolis contest. He thinks it was a beauty contest, so he tries to impress her. When he arrives though he finds out that she is ugly. He doesn’t want to hurt her feelings, but he tries to get out of dating her. However, everything Jimmy tries backfires. Finally, he disguises himself as an Englishman to romance Gloria. She jilts Jimmy, freeing him from her attention.

Next is "Jimmy Olsen, Freak" reprinted from Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #59 by Leo Dorfman, Curt Swan and George Klein. An alien girl comes to Earth and meets Jimmy. She wants to marry him and gives him a belt, which allows him to gain super-powers. Jimmy agrees to the marriage, but when he learns that Ilona has four other husbands, he wants to back out. Superman arranges to make Ilona believe Jimmy has two other wives, causing her to leave without him. Lucy Lane now wants to date Jimmy since he was seen with a beautiful woman.

That is followed by "The Girl Who Was Lucy Lane's Double" reprinted from Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #60 and by Robert Bernstein, Curt Swan and George Klein. Jimmy Olsen spots Streaky and sees the super-cat travel back in time. Jimmy uses the Sunevian Magic Belt given to him by Princess Ilona to follow Streaky back to colonial Salem. He meets a girl there named Lucinda Lawrence who resembles Lucy Lane. Jimmy’s actions using the magic belt get him branded a witch. Lucinda, who is a real witch, saves Jimmy from being killed and sends him back to his own time.

Our next story is "Jimmy Olsen, Wolf-Man" reprinted from Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #52 and by Jerry Siegel, Curt Swan and Stan Kaye. Mxyzptlk returns to Earth and becomes infatuated with Lucy Lane. When he approaches her however she claims to have a boyfriend already, Jimmy Olsen. The imp decides to eliminate Jimmy by once again using the wolfman potion to transform him into a Wolf-Man.

Superman arranges for Supergirl, whom Jimmy knows only as Miss X, to kiss Jimmy. This time however it does not revert Jimmy back to normal because of Mxyzptlk’s magic. Jimmy also receives kisses from Lois Lane, Lucy, Lori Lemaris and Lana Lang, but none are effective.

Miss Gzptlsnz, Mxyzptlk’s girlfriend, arrives, kisses Jimmy, and cures him. She then tricks the imp back to his own dimension and explains that her magic allowed Jimmy to return to normal.

Next is "Jimmy the Soda Jerk" reprinted from Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #58 by Robert Bernstein Curt Swan and George Klein. Jimmy Olsen goes undercover as a soda jerk to discover how ex-con drugstore owner, Legs Halleck is passing messages to his gang. Jimmy fumbles through his job trying to locate the hidden messages until he gets an idea. He asks a fat woman, Elsie, who has a crush on him to step on the scales of a weight machine. The machine dispenses a card with directions for the gang on it if the person is over 300 lbs. This helps Jimmy get proof against Halleck and his fat partner, Willie Paxton, who was receiving the messages.

That is followed by "The Human Porcupine" reprinted from Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #65 by Jerry Siegel, Curt Swan and George Klein. Miss Gzptlsnz from Mr. Mxyzptlk’s 5th dimension visits Earth seeking a husband. Jimmy tells her that he is not interested, then makes a cruel comment to Superman about her. Miss Gzptlsnz gets revenge by changing Jimmy into a human porcupine. She forces him to remain that way until he agrees to marry her. Jimmy tries and finally manages to get the imp girl to say her name backwards, returning her to the 5th dimension, reversing the spell, and returning Jimmy to normal.

We end with "Jimmy Olsen's Viking Sweetheart" reprinted from Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #69 and by Leo Dorfman and John Forte. Jimmy and his fan club visit a ski resort where Jimmy is once again jilted by Lucy Lane. The fan club uses a female robot to make Lucy jealous. Jimmy is unaware that his new girlfriend is a robot, but Lucy finds out and makes the robot dump Jimmy. When she is about to gloat, Lucy discovers that Jimmy was about to dump the robot himself because of his love for Lucy. Finally she decides to give Jimmy another chance.
Edited by Mort Weisinger.

World's Finest Comics #186

World's Finest Comics #186 (On Sale: June 12, 1969) has a cover by Carmine Infantino and Neal Adams.

We begin with Superman and Batman in "The Bat Witch" by Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito.

The back-up is a Johnny Quick reprint from Adventure Comics #202 "The Human Hot-Rodders" by Otto Binder and Ralph Mayo. Death row inmate Bull Barton is scheduled for execution. His gang begins a series of bizarre robberies involving ordinary animals; sometimes they steal the animals, other times they leave them behind. Johnny Quick uncovers their secret code to Bull, alerting him to a gun hidden inside the prison cake. Johnny stops the scheme and Bull is executed on time.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Strange Adventures #219

Strange Adventures #219 (On Sale: May 15, 1969) has an Atomic Knights cover (minus the Knights) by Joe Kubert.

Adam Strange stars in "Menace of the Robot Raiders" from Mystery In Space #53 and created by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Bernard Sachs. Adam Strange returns to Rann to find Alanna in control of a giant robot. The robot and others like it were given to the people of Ranagar in exchange for a mineral by some aliens, the Griks. When the robots rebel, the Griks are believed to be responsible. Adam fights to free Alanna, then he confronts the Griks, who claim to be innocent. Adam traces the controller to Vor Kan, the Ranagaran man responsible for keeping the robots operational. Adam destroys his control device and captures Vor Kan, before being sent back to Earth by the Zeta Beam.

Our cover-story is "The Cavemen of New York" featuring the Atomic Knights, reprinted from Strange Adventures #123 and produced by John Broome and Murphy Anderson. The Atomic Knights visit New York City to find a cache of food and supplies in a large fallout shelter. The city took a direct hit in the war and no life remains. The Knights enter the shelter and are attacked by a band of former men, who now resemble cro-magnons. After fending off the attack, the knights befriend one of the men. They are able to calm the rest of the group as well. After a brief respite underground, protected from the radiation above, the Knights leave New York and the cavemen behind.

Lastly we have a Space Cabbie story "Space-Flight to Danger," from Mystery In Space #28 and created by Otto Binder, Gil Kane and Bernard Sachs. Space Cabbie buys a new battery case for his taxi at an auto parts story. He chooses a case from the bottom of the stack because it is in the best condition. The salesmen doesn't want to sell it to him, but the cab driver refuses the give up the case.

After installing the new battery case, Space Cabbie takes on several jobs. He then notices several bizarre incidents designed to separate him from his cab. He finally allows one of the men to search his cab and steal the battery case. Space Cabbie then summons the Interplanetary Police and is able to lead them to the crook.

The crook is working for the auto parts salesmen. The battery case that Space Cabbie purchased contains a map to the gang's hidden loot. The police arrest the gang, and Space Cabbie earns a reward for their capture.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

House of Mystery #181

House of Mystery #181 (On Sale: May 8, 1969) has another beautiful cover by Neal Adams, with some wonderfully moody coloring.

We begin with "Sir Greeley's Revenge" by Otto Binder and Frank Springer. Except for a single story printed in House of Mystery #257 in 1978, this is the last DC story by the great Otto Binder. This is also the last DC story for Frank Springer for seven years. This is a great little story about orphan Tim Halloway taken in one cold winter night by the rich and powerful Sir Greeley. He is a kind man who takes an immediate liking to the poor child, particularly when he find that Tim has a natural ability on the piano. The Sir's affection for Tim does not sit well with his spinster sister Abigail and his nephew Percy.

They try to toss Tim back to the streets, but Sir Greeley steps in and lets them know that they too stay at his house solely due to his generosity. Sir Greeley provides Tim with the best of piano teachers and Tim's abilities grow, but death comes one night for Sir Greeley. At the reading of his will, Abigail and Percy learn that they are only given half of Sir Greeley's estate and the the other half goes to young Tim, provided he can perform at a concert and not make a single mistake, thus proving him worthy.

Abigail and Percy begin to distract Tim from his practicing for the concert, forcing him to ride horses, which they purposefully startle in an unsuccessful attempt to break Tim's arm. The ghost of Sir Greeley returns to keep young Tim on the right path. The next day Abigail makes Tim split logs for hours, creating swollen, bleeding hands that are unable to practice. Seeing the depths to which his kin will stoop, Sir Greeley's ghost lures Abigail and Percy to the basement where they uncover a cache of gold coins which rain down upon them. Suddenly they realize that the coins are filling the room and that it is too late for them to escape. They die swallowed up by the fortune they craved.

When the concert finally comes Tim plays flawlessly and wins the entirety of Sir Greeley's estate, which pleases the old ghost very much. Reprinted in House of Mystery #229.

After a Page 13 by Sergio Aragones we have "The Siren of Satan" by Robert Kanigher and Bernie Wrightson. The artwork is vintage very early Bernie Wrightson, with lots of cross-hatched backgrounds and Frank Frazetta-inspired figures, but the story by Kanigher is a real turd involving the ancient Egyptian princess Re-Na. She was the most beautiful of women, but the god Ro-Tan placed a curse on anyone who would fall in love with her. Even after her death, we see that throughout the centuries, one captive of her affection after another died from the curse of Ro-Tan. Her beautifully carved sarcophagus eventually makes it's way to America and is purchased at auction by Jason, who, believing that everyone is plotting to steal Re-Na from him, hides out at the House of Mystery and shelters the sarcophagus in a nearby cemetery.

When Jason's fiancé traces him to the House, Cain points her to the cemetery where she finds Jason slumped over the sarcophagus and at her touch his body turns to dust. We are then asked who will next fall victim to the curse? Could it be you?

Sergio Aragones ends the book with another round of Cain's Game Room. The entire contents was reprinted in Showcase Presents: The House of Mystery Vol. 1 TPB.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Action Comics #377

Action Comics #377 (On Sale: April 29, 1969) has another Curt Swan and Neal Adams Superman cover.

Superman stars in "The Cage of Doom" by Otto Binder, Curt Swan and Jack Abel. Except for a mystery story in next month's House of Mystery and another mystery story to appear in nine years, this is Otto Binder's last story at DC as he retired this month after working in comics since 1939.

In 1930 Otto Oscar Binder began writing science fiction in tandem with his brother Earl; they worked under the pen-name Eando Binder ("E" and "O" Binder). Though Earl stopped the writing partnership at some point, Otto kept the nom de plume. In 1935 Otto began writing for Mort Weisinger who was editor at Thrilling Wonder Stories at the time and Ray Palmer (can anyone say "Atom?") who was editor of Amazing. It was for Palmer that Binder created the Adam Link series, including the famous "I, Robot" short story which later inspired Isaac Asimov's book of the same name.

In 1939 Otto Binder took a job working with his artist brother Jack Binder at the Harry "A" Chesler shop and in 1940 began writing for Fawcett Comics on such features as Captain Venture, Golden Arrow and Bulletman. But Otto Binder's best known work at Fawcett was Captain Marvel. In 12 years Otto Binder wrote 986 of the 1,743 Marvel Family stories and co-created such characters as Mary Marvel, Uncle Dudley, Black Adam and Mr. Mind.

Binder didn't limit himself to Fawcett. For Timely Comics he wrote Captain America, The Human Torch, Sub-Mariner, Destroyer, Whizzer and the All-Winners Squad. He also co-created Captain Wonder, The Young Allies, Tommy Tyme and Miss America. For Quality Comics he wrote Blackhawk, Doll Man, Uncle Sam and the Black Condor as well as co-creating Kid Eternity. At MLJ Comics he wrote Steel Sterling, The Shield, The Hangman and The Black Hood.

He started writing for DC in 1948 where he wrote Merry, Girl of 1,000 Gimmicks for Star-Spangled Comics. Over the years he wrote Green Arrow, Johnny Quick, Robotman, Aquaman, the Start-Spangled Kid, Tommy Tomorrow, Shining Knight, Captain Compass, Congo Bill, Space Cabbie and the Metal Men. But most of the time he wrote for the Superman Family. Superman would never be the same. Otto Binder created or co-created The Legion of Super-Heroes, Jimmy Olsen's signal watch, Elastic Lad, Lucy Lane, Beppo, Titano, Brainiac, The Phantom Zone, Krypto and Supergirl.

After leaving DC, Binder would return to writing science fiction until he died at the age of 63 in 1974. In all Otto Binder wrote almost 50,000 pages of comics in more than 198 different titles. He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2004.

The back-up story is a reprinted Legion of Super-Heroes tale, "The Face Behind the Lead Mask," from Adventure Comics #300, produced by Jerry Siegel, John Forte and Al Plastino. During a routine meeting, the Legionnaires suddenly begin losing control over their powers. Even Superboy, whom they have summoned to the future, cannot discover the cause of their problem. After the World-Wide Police threaten to banish them from Earth, a lead-masked villain calling himself "Urthlo" appears and takes credit for their predicament.

Because Urthlo possesses a device that controls their powers, the heroes find themselves unable to stop him, until Saturn Girl and Superboy release Mon-El from the Phantom Zone, where he has been for 1000 years. After she provides him with Serum XY-4, a temporary lead-poisoning antidote, Mon-El defeats Urthlo, who turns out to be a robot sent into the future from Superboy’s time by a vengeful Lex Luthor.

After the battle, Mon-El must be returned to the Zone, but only after being voted into the Legion.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

World's Finest Comics #185

World's Finest Comics #185 (On Sale: April 24, 1969) has what the GCD calls a Neal Adams' cover, but you would have to be on drugs not to see that this was drawn by Curt Swan and only inked by Neal Adams.

Superman and Batman team up in "The Galactic Gamblers" by Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. The back-up story features Tommy Tomorrow in "The Amazing Future Toys" and is reprinted from Action Comics #223 and is the creation of Otto Binder and Jim Mooney.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Superman #217

Superman #217 (On Sale: April 8, 1969) has a cover by Curt Swan and the dreadful Vinny Colletta. featuring Famous Firsts!

We begin with "The Outlaws from Krypton" by Bill Finger, Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye and reprinted from Action Comics #194.

Next is "The Girl in Superman's Past" also by Bill Finger, Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye and reprinted from Superman #129. This is the first appearance of Lori Lemaris. Superman recalls an old romance from his college days. When he met Lori Lemaris, she was a college girl confined to a wheelchair. He began to date her as Clark after saving her from an accident. He found her mysterious because she always had to leave at a certain time of night.

Eventually, Lori told Clark that she must return to her homeland. Clark did not want to lose her, so he decided to give up being Superman and propose. Lori told him that she already knew his secret and could not marry him.

Clark investigated further and found a huge salt water tank instead of a bed in her bedroom, and he was able to guess her secret. Lori was a mermaid from Atlantis. She tells Clark the truth about herself, but she still must return to Atlantis forever.

"The Super-Duel in Space" is by Otto Binder and Al Plastino and is reprinted from Action Comics #242 and features the first appearance of the bottled city of Kandor. Clark Kent and Lois Lane are aboard an experimental rocket ship to cover the story for the media. The ship is attacked by a flying saucer. Clark exits the ship and arrives as Superman. Inside the saucer, an alien called Brainiac uses a shrink ray to steal Earth cities and place them in bottles. Superman is prevented from reaching Brainiac by a force field that surrounded the ship.

Superman returns to Metropolis where the rocket has landed. As expected, Brainiac shrinks Metropolis next and takes the tiny city aboard his ship. A tiny Superman escapes the bottle and tries to restore the captured cities to normal. He is forced to hide momentarily as Brainiac’s monkey attacks him.

Superman hides inside another bottle. The bottle contains a Kryptonian city called Kandor, taken from before Krypton’s destruction. Superman is powerless inside Kandor, so he seeks out a scientist, Kimda. Kimda has studied Brainiac’s machines and knows how to free everyone. Superman uses a rocket to escape the bottle.

Outside the bottle, Superman’s powers return. He reverses the controls to restore the Earth cities. There is only enough energy for one more use of the machine. He decides to restore Kandor rather than himself, but Kimda flies a rocket out of Kandor and presses the control which restores Superman. Kandor is stuck in it’s tiny form. Superman takes the city back to his Fortress of Solitude for safekeeping. Brainiac, who is now in suspended animation is sent into space.

Next we have "The First Supergirl" by Otto Binder, Dick Sprang and Stan Kaye and reprinted from Superman #123. Jimmy receives a magically totem which grants three wishes to him. The first wish brings into existence a Super-Girl, who Jimmy wishes to be the perfect mate for Superman. Unfortunately, the female heroine gets in Superman’s way and becomes a nuisance. She realizes her existence is becoming a problem, so she sacrifices her life to make the Man of Steel happy.

Crooks steal the totem and use the second wish to remove Superman’s powers. Jimmy and Superman then spend the day faking his powers to convince the crooks that the spell failed. After being tricked, the crooks allow the spell to be removed, restoring Superman’s powers.

For the final wish, Jimmy wishes for Superman to meet his parents. However, he has decided to type the wish and a typo causes Superman to "Mate" his parents. As a result, Superman travels back to Krypton and meets young Jor-El and Lara. They are working as undercover agents with Kryptonian Intelligence. With Superman’s aid, they stop a criminal, Kil-Lor, and the Man of Steel plays cupid, setting up his own parents, before returning to Earth.

We end with "The Menace of Metallo" by Robert Bernstein and Al Plastino and reprinted from Action Comics #252. Reporter John Corben is involved in a near fatal car accident. He is found by Professor Vale who rushes Corben to his lab. In order to save the injured man’s life, Vale gives Corben a metal body powered by uranium. After completing the operation the professor suffers a stroke.

Corben begins a criminal career as Metallo. He begins stealing uranium from secure places with his super strength that the robot body provides him. He also joins the staff at the Daily Planet.

When the professor recovers from his stroke, Corben learns that Kryptonite can also power his body. Corben is given a piece of Kryptonite by the professor, but he uses it on Superman who has been trying to capture him. He replaces his own Kryptonite with a sample from a display. The display Kryptonite was fake, so without power, Corben dies from heart failure..

Edited by Mort Weisinger and E. Nelson Bridwell.

Action Comics #376

Action Comics #376 (On Sale: March 27, 1969) has a nice cover by Curt Swan and Mike Esposito, who seemed to be inking a lot of DC covers this month.

"The Only Way to Kill Superman" is by Otto Binder, Curt Swan and Jack Abel. The Supergirl back-up is "The Hated Girl of Steel" by Leo Dorfman and Kurt Schaffenberger. Continuing from last issue, Marla Alexander blames Supergirl for the loss of her eyesight after studying the Claw Nebula. The students of Stanhope turn against the Girl of Steel when she is unable to find a cure. As a result, Supergirl avoids a science conference held at the Science Center.

At the conference, Marla and the other scientists are abducted by aliens from Rancor. The aliens explain to Marla that they were responsible for her blindness. They then plan to download the knowledge in the scientists' brains into their computers. Supergirl, who was disguised as Marla, destroys their machine that would have turned the scientists into vegetables. Supergirl then returns the scientists to Earth and uses the Rancor technology to restore Marla's sight.
Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Superboy #156

Superboy #156 (On Sale: March 6, 1969) has a cover by Curt Swan and Mike Esposito celebrating the 20th anniversary of Superboy.

We begin with "Superboy's Farewell to Smallville" from Adventure Comics #217 by Otto Binder, Curt Swan and Creig Flessel. A rocket ship lands on Earth. Two people emerge from the ship claiming to be Superboy's real parents, Jor-El and Lara. Superboy listens to their story in which they claim to have escaped Krypton's doom. Superboy happily believes them. Then they tell him that they want him to join them to live on another world. Superboy agrees, so he leaves Earth.

The story continues in "The Two Worlds of Superboy" from Adventure Comics #218 also by Otto Binder, Curt Swan and Creig Flessel. Superboy leaves Earth to live with two people claiming to be his real parents, Jor-El and Lara. When word of this reaches death row convict Duke Mason, he is angry. Mason has just deciphered a code which revealed Superboy's secret identity. With Superboy gone from Earth, Mason is unable to take revenge and dies in the electric chair.

Superboy witnesses the execution with his telescopic vision. He then decides that he can safely return to Earth. His parents were really actors hired by Superboy. The hoax was created in order to stall until Mason was executed.

Back on Earth, the Kents find a note left by Superboy revealing his plan. The note had been lost, so they were heartbroken over Superboy's decision to leave. They nearly reveal their son's secret to the people of Smallville, but find the note in time. Jonathan then uses a Clark Kent robot to protect his son's secret, until the real Superboy returns.

Next we have "The Super-Hungry Super-Heroes" from Superboy #91 by Robert Bernstein and George Papp. After an encounter with a metal-eating monster in space, Superboy and Krypto gain insatiable appetites which force them to eat strange objects, such as a park bench, a wooden statue, a pair of shoes, a painting, and a ladder. After realizing that he is eating only green objects and Krypto is eating red ones, Superboy realizes that the monster must have eaten some Red Kryptonite which caused its fiery breath to have an effect on Krypto and himself. To cure their condition, they travel into space finding a red and a green moon. They proceed to eat them until their hunger goes away, and they return to normal.

We end with "The New Boy of Steel" reprinted from Superboy #96 and by Robert Bernstein and George Papp. Lex Luthor creates a device designed to kill Superboy. In a fluke accident the device transfers Superboy’s powers to Pete Ross instead. Pete takes over as Superboy and flies three days into the future by mistake. When Pete returns, Clark believes his friend has changed and is out to get him.

Luthor tries to kill Superboy again; this time he destroys a Superboy statue and Pete loses his powers giving them back to Clark. Pete explains his odd behavior because when he was in the future, he saw a headline that Luthor destroyed Superboy. Pete missed the rest of the headline though which read "Luthor destroys Superboy statue."

Edited by Mort Weisinger (E. Nelson Bridwell).

Action Comics #375

Action Comics #375 (On Sale: February 27, 1969) has a cover by the unusual team of Curt Swan and Carmine Infantino. You don't see many Infantino inked covers.

We start with "The Big Forget" by Otto Binder, Curt Swan and Jack Abel. Superman decides to create a new secret identity since he cannot remember his old one. He becomes a reporter and attempts to get a job at the Metropolis Eagle. The staff their recognizes him as Clark Kent of their rival newspaper, the Daily Planet. Superman begins to suspect that he is Clark Kent. When he visits the Planet, he gets confirmation and knocks out the spy who was impersonating him.

Superman then pretends to be Zero-Zero and joins the other spies. Using his super powers he gathers evidence against them and delivers the spies including Zero-Zero to authorities. Superman then contacts Batman who helps him locate the Fortress of Solitude. By exposing himself to Bizarro-Amnesium, Superman is able to fully restore his memory.

The back-up Supergirl story is "The Woman Who Hated Supergirl" by Leo Dorfman and Kurt Schaffenberger. Stanhope science professor Marla Alexander discovers an odd nebula in space shaped like a giant hand. Supergirl offers to fly her closer to the nebula for study. While in space, the nebula flares suddenly, but Alexander appears to be unhurt.

Supergirl returns the professor to Earth where she receives rewards for her work. However, Professor Alexander becomes arrogant and selfish. Her actions cause the faculty to consider firing her. Instead, Marla quits.

Supergirl discovers that Marla is actually blind. Her odd behavior was done to disguise this from others. Marla also blames Supergirl for her condition, since the nebula was responsible, and the Girl of Steel failed to protect her.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.

Superman #215

Superman #215 (On Sale: February 6, 1969) and has another beautiful Neal Adams' cover. Wonderful drama, gorgeous coloring; who could resist this one?

"Lois Lane... Dead... Yet Alive" is by Otto Binder, Curt Swan and Jack Abel. In this imaginary story, Superman has married Lois Lane and has a super-powered daughter named Laney. One of his foes, the Dimension Master, tries to kill Superman, but instead succeeds in murdering Lois. Superman is heartbroken and is unable to forget Lois.

More than a year after Lois's death, Laney is playing in the Fortress of Solitude and accidentally exposes herself to Red Kryptonite. Superman watches as his daughter disappears. The Man of Steel deduces that she was transported to a parallel world and follows her.

On the parallel Earth Superman locates his missing daughter. Before returning to his own world, Superman learns that the Lois of this world is still alive. He impulsively proposes, and she accepts. However the Superman of this world is still around. The two Men of Steel agree to swap Earths. Laney and Superman remain with the new Lois as a happy family while the parallel Superman moves to the other Earth. Reprinted in Best of DC #19.

The back-up tale, "Superman's First Exploit," is reprinted from Superman #106 and is the work of Edmond Hamilton, Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye. Dr. Reese Kearns, a discredited scientist, approaches Superman with questions regarding his journey to Earth as a baby. Superman suspects the scientist of trying to discover his secret identity, so he refuses to answer the questions. Kearns then convinces Perry White to start a contest designed to learn Superman's earliest exploit. Though he opposes the contest, Superman must allow it to go on.

When it is time for Superman to verify the winner, Kearns forces Superman to tell everyone about his trip to Earth. During the trip, baby Kal-El diverted a meteor headed to Earth. Kearns was discredited because he predicted the meteor would strike Earth. Superman's recollections of his first super-feat restore Kearns' reputation as a scientist.

Edited by Mort Weisinger.