Mark Engblom covers Adventure Comics 270

Original cover by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye; DC 1960. Mark Engblom's site is here.

Derek Charm covers Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen 53

Original cover by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye; DC 1961. Derek Charm's website is here.

Colton Somers covers Batman 119

Original cover by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye; DC 1958. Colton Somers's website is here.

Paulo Gerloff covers World's Finest 102

Original cover by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye; DC 1959. Paolo Gerloff's website is here.

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.

Batman #218

Batman #218 (On Sale: November 11, 1969) has a cover by Murphy Anderson. This is the last issue to feature this long-running Batman logo.

We begin with "Batman and Robin's Greatest Mystery" which is reprinted from Detective Comics #234 and created by Ed Hamilton, Sheldon Moldoff and Stan Kaye. Batman and Robin track down a crook, Jay Caird, who has stolen a sonic weapon. When the weapon is turned on the Dynamic Duo, they are knocked out and begin suffering from amnesia. Commissioner Gordon allows them to search the police files for clues to their secret identities in hopes that it will restore their lost memories.

Batman finds several clues while reading the files. He learns that he is wealthy, is a pilot, and a polo player. With the possibilities narrowed, Batman is able to guess that he is Bruce Wayne. He drives to Wayne Manor where his memories begin to return. With his recovery, he remembers where Caird was headed, and together with Robin, Batman captured the crook.

Next is "The Hand from Nowhere" reprinted from Batman #130 and created by Bill Finger, Sheldon Moldoff and Charles Paris. A giant hand appears above a factory. The hand is controlled by two alien creatures. Batman confronts the aliens who are making the hand steal metal ore. Batman is unable to capture the aliens because the giant hand protects them.

Batman follows the trail of the aliens as they steal several other metals. The aliens make a raid on some valuable platinum, and Batman is able to uncover their scheme. The whole setup has been a hoax. The aliens are really disguised crooks. Batman locates the hideout and finds that Superman’s frequent foe, Lex Luthor is behind it. Batman takes control of the hand, which Luthor invented, capturing Luthor and his gang.

That is followed by "The Man Who Couldn't Be Tried Twice" reprinted from Batman #118 and created by Bill Finger, Sheldon Moldoff and Ray Burnley. Batman testifies in a murder case to help free the defendant, James Lee, who is accused of killing his former trapeze artist partner. Lee is acquitted, then brags that he did kill his partner, Wyler. Batman’s name is ruined, but he uncovers evidence proving that the circus owner, David Dial, is the real killer. Dial bribed Lee to brag so that no one would find him. Batman then brings both men to justice.

That brings us to "The Body in the Bat-Cave" reprinted from Batman #121 and created by Bill Finger, Sheldon Moldoff and Charles Paris. Batman and Robin discover the body of electronics genius turned criminal Alec Wyre in the Bat-Cave. They believe wire and an associate discovered the cave, then the associate murdered him. Batman then tracks down three suspects, despite the fact that one must know his secret identity. All three suspects prove to be false leads. Batman then deduces that Wyre found the Bat-Cave on his own and was knocked dead when he hit his head on a stalactite. The location of the Bat-Cave and Batman's secret identity therefore remains a secret.

Next is "Four Hours to Live" which originally appeared in the Sunday Batman newspaper strip from June 11 to July 30th, 1944.

We end with "The League Against Batman" from Detective Comics #197 and created by David V. Reed, Dick Sprang and Charles Paris. A new hooded criminal known as the Wrecker strikes against Batman by destroying objects dedicated to the crime fighter. He destroys Batman toys, signs, and sculptures, claiming to seek revenge for his three brothers who were executed after Batman captured them.

Dwight Forrow, a man who wrote a book about Batman, receives a death threat and is assigned two police bodyguards. The Wrecker still succeeds in carrying out the threat, apparently killing Forrow.

Batman and the police believe that the Wrecker is Skip Denton, who had three criminal brothers. However Batman finds a clue that proves the real identity of the Wrecker. Police apprehend Denton, but Batman clears him by finding Forrow alive. Forrow and his brother were running an insurance scam and set Denton up. A sunburn on Forrow's hand gave the crook away and allowed Batman to apprehend him.

Edited by E. Nelson Bridwell.

Jon Adams covers Superboy 1

Original cover by Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye; 1949 DC. Jon Adams's website is here.

World's Finest Comics #188

World's Finest Comics #188 (On Sale: August 7, 1969) has a cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson.

We begin with Superman and Batman in "The Super-Rivals" by Ed Hamilton, Dick Sprang and Stan Kaye and reprinted from World's Finest Comics #85. Princess Varina visits the United States and meets her heroes Superman and Batman. The heroes begin competing for Varina’s affection because if she elopes with Stefan, her royal guard, a commoner, she must abdicate. Abdication would lead to civil war in Balkania.

The heroes continue their pursuit of Varina, but when Pete Kaney’s gang try to steal the royal jewels, the heroes make Stefan appear to be a hero. Stefan’s notoriety allows him to safely marry the princess without risk of war pleasing not only the princess but Lois Lane and Vicki Vale as well.

Next is Superman and Batman in "The Super-Newspaper of Gotham City" also by Ed Hamilton, Dick Sprang and Stan Kaye and reprinted from World's Finest Comics #80. Lois Lane and Clark Kent are asked to work for the Gotham Gazette temporarily to save it from ruin. Bruce Wayne also joins the staff as a reporter to help track down a large crime ring. Bruce and Clark compete for stories, while working on breaking up the crime ring as Batman and Superman. They eventually track down the ring with Robin’s help and deliver the story to the Gazette. The newspaper increases in circulation due to the story and is saved from bankruptcy.

That is followed by Superman and Batman in "The Negative Superman" by France Herron, Jim Mooney and Sheldon Moldoff and reprinted from World's Finest Comics #126. Luthor uses a new device to cause Superman to split in a positive and negative half. The Negative Superman begins helping Luthor and other criminals. The real Superman is unable to stop his duplicate because of an energy field.

Batman and Robin assist the Man of Steel in combating the super-powered menace. Batman uses Kryptonite, but the mineral causes the Negative Superman to grow more powerful. When Superman collides with his negative half, the increased power of the Negative Superman breaks the energy field and allows them to merge back into one being.

Next is Green Arrow in "The World's Worst Archer" by Robert Bernstein and Lee Elias and reprinted from Adventure Comics #262. Roy Harper, a promising athlete and archer, wants to become Green Arrow’s partner. His guardian is Brave Bow, an Indian chief whose life was saved by Roy’s late father. Brave Bow has trained Roy to master the bow and arrow, but is now too old to care for Roy.

Green Arrow gives the boy a chance to prove himself at the Greenville Fair. Roy’s arrow misses the target horribly. Roy doesn’t give up and follows Green Arrow after some crooks. Roy uses Brave Bow’s lucky flint arrow to catch the criminals. Green Arrow misses the action and believes the crooks were caught by a lucky accident.

G.A. gives Roy another chance after Roy wins a track meet. Again the boy’s arrow goes wide of the target. Roy is disappointed, but again trails Green Arrow after some crooks. His flint arrow punctures the tire of the getaway car, but the shaft breaks off leaving no evidence that Roy was responsible. Roy finally gives up, but Green Arrow returns later to explain to Roy that his arrowhead was in the tire. The shots he missed were metal arrows which had become magnetized at the fair, causing them to go wide of the targets. Green Arrow gives Roy the nickname Speedy and takes him as a partner.

We end with Superman and Batman in "The Batman Nobody Remembered" by Bill Finger and Jim Mooney and reprinted from World's Finest Comics #136. Batman is forced to crash land the Batplane during a lightning storm. When he returns to Gotham City no one remembers him. He also discovers that certain things are different. Bruce Wayne is really Superman and lives with Robin and Alfred; Vicki Vale looks like Lois Lane; and the Joker is a TV comic.

Batman’s behavior causes Superman and Commissioner Gordon to think he is a criminal, so he is hunted. He eventually proves himself by helping Superman rescue Robin. After relating his story to Superman, the Man of Steel reasons that Batman has been on a parallel Earth. Then he sends Batman to his own dimension, where he belongs.

Edited by E. Nelson Bridwell.

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.

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.

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.

Action Comics #373

Action Comics #373 (On Sale: January 7, 1969), AKA 80pg Giant #G-57 has a cover by Curt Swan and Neal Adams in a special Supergirl issue. With this issue the 80-Page Giant is no more and the age of the 64-Page giant began.

We begin with "The Battle of the Super-Pets," from Action Comics #277 and created by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney. Krypto helps Supergirl protect herself from being adopted which wins her favor. Streaky is jealous of the canine and when he regains his powers begins fighting with the Dog of Steel. Superman and Supergirl arrange a competition between the two animals.

They take the rivalry to an alien planetoid and compete in a series of events. Krypto and Supergirl fall in a hole and land near some Kryptonite. Before Streaky can rescue them, the cat loses his powers, however a wish from Supergirl makes the Kryptonite harmless. They soon discover that the planetoid is a playground for Mr. Mxyzptlk. The hole was really a wishing well, which allows Supergirl’s wish to come true. Streaky and Krypto become friends, but the arrival of Super-Monkey starts a new rivalry.

Next is "The Bride of Mr. Mxyzptlk," from Action Comics #291 and also the work of Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney. Mxyzptlk returns to Earth to plague Supergirl. First, he changes everyone in New York into a Bizarro, then he falls in love with Supergirl. To make her happy, the imp brings Zor-El and Alura back with his magic. Kara now has two sets of parents who fight over her.

Zor-El agrees to allow Mxyzptlk to marry his daughter, but instead slips him Kryptonian Truth Serum, forcing the imp to say his name backwards. When Mxyzptlk disappears back to the 5th dimension, Zor-El and Alura disappear as well since they existed only with the power of Mxyzptlk’s magic. The world forgets the events that happened while under Mxyzptlk’s influence, but Supergirl remembers that her parents were briefly restored to life.

"Supergirl's Farewell to Earth" from Action Comics #258 and created by Otto Binder and Jim Mooney is next. While saving two children from a falling tree, Supergirl spots Krypto. She introduces herself to the super-dog and plays with him. Superman arrives and is upset that Supergirl revealed her existence to his dog. He exiles her to an asteroid for a year.

From the asteroid, Supergirl keeps an eye on Earth and even puts out a forest fire. Krypto arrives a week later and warns Supergirl of a kryptonite cloud approaching. She is allowed to return to Earth for one day.

Her absence as Linda Lee has caused people to look for her. She gets her clothes dirty and pretends to have been lost in a swamp. Amazed by the girl’s ability to survive, a reporter checks her for mosquito bites. When he finds none, he guesses that she is a super-girl. Linda removes her disguise and reveals herself to the reporter. Then she tells the reporter that he is Superman. The reporter was Clark Kent.

The whole exile was a test by Superman to see if Supergirl could protect her secret. He wanted to see if she was worthy to learn his secret identity. She found out by herself which proved her ability to Superman.

Next is "The War Between Supergirl and the Supermen Emergency Squad" from Action Comics #276 and drawn by Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye. Clark Kent grants a dying man’s wish and reveals his secret identity of Superman. However, the dying man was faking his death. He is secretly the leader of the Anti-Superman Gang, John Kiley.

With knowledge of Clark’s secret, the gang traps him in a mine with a Kryptonite meteor. The gang also uses a device which disables Superman’s robots. Instead, the Man of Steel summons the Superman Emergency Squad and Supergirl for help.

They free Clark from the mine and then trick the gang into believing the drug Kiley used to fake his death gave him hallucinations. With Superman’s secret safe again, the crooks are sent to jail.

Lastly we have "Supergirl's Greatest Challenge." from Action Comics #287 and created by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney. The Legion of Super-Heroes summons Supergirl to defeat the Positive Man, a once-human changed into a massive destructive force by the explosion of his home planet. As they watch from their spaceship, the Maid of Might lures a Negative Creature, created by the same explosion, toward the Positive Man, and the resulting explosion causes both to vanish.

Upon returning to Earth, the Legionnaires learn that this explosion has also erased their powers. Supergirl decides to stay with them, and, working behind the scenes with Whizzy, the telepathic descendant of Streaky (aka Super-Cat), helps the Legion deceive criminals into thinking that they still possess their abilities.

However, the real reason that the Legionnaires are powerless is that they are actually members of an alien chameleon-like race who, in the aftermath of the positive-negative explosion, imprisoned the real Super-Heroes and took their places. Having fooled Supergirl and Whizzy, they project them into the Phantom Zone.

From here, the phantom heroes mentally command a scientist at an android factory to construct a bogus chameleon man, who infiltrates the Legion impostors and releases Supergirl and Whizzy from the Zone. Supergirl captures the aliens and rescues the real Legion.

Edited by Mort Weisinger (E. Nelson Bridwell).