Adventure Comics #78

(September 1942)

The Little Man Who Wasn't There (Table of Contents)

Starman / comic story / 11 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Alfred Bester

Pencils:

Jack Burnley

Inks:

Jack Burnley

Colors:

Raymond Perry

Letters:

?

Content Information

Genre:

superhero

Characters:

Starman [Ted Knight]; Mike Muggins; Sonnie Hail (villain); Hartley Manners (villain); Van Camp (villain)

Synopsis:

Starman and Mike Muggins look into a case where people stage an act, pretending to be attacked by "the little man who wasn't there", and robbed of valuable gems, only to be discovered in the end as perpetrating the act themselves!

Reprints:

• in Golden Age Starman Archives (DC, 2000 series) #2 ([June] 2009)

Indexer Notes

Oddity: Starman seems to "adopt" Muggins in the last panel to be a partner of his in future adventures, but he never appears again.

The Man Who Played Death (Table of Contents)

Hourman and Thorndyke / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

?

Pencils:

Bernard Baily

Inks:

Bernard Baily

Colors:

?

Letters:

Bernard Baily?

Content Information

Genre:

Superhero

Characters:

The Hourman [Rex Tyler]; Thorndyke Tompkins; John Ward (death); Dr. Paul Hollman; Sir John Falstaff [Walker Cornell] (villain); Quanto (villain, Falstaff's butler)

Synopsis:

A criminal, having been committed to a mental hospital by two acquaintances of his, swears revenge on both of them after he escapes.

Indexer Notes

Writer credit revised from Ken Fitch? to ? by Craig Delich 2010-2-7. Thorndyke wears a partial Hourman costume in this story (red cape w/yellow trim and hourglass).

The Case of the Slap-Happy Jappy (Table of Contents)

Genius Jones / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Alfred Bester

Pencils:

Stan Kaye

Inks:

Stan Kaye

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Content Information

Genre:

teen

Characters:

Genius Jones

The Black Baron (Table of Contents)

The Shining Knight / comic story / 11 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Henry Lynne Perkins

Pencils:

Louis Cazeneuve

Inks:

Louis Cazeneuve

Colors:

?

Letters:

?

Content Information

Genre:

superhero

Characters:

The Shining Knight [Sir Justin]; The Black Baron (villain)

Indexer Notes

Writer credit verified by Martin O'Hearn.

The Lady and the Tiger (Table of Contents)

Manhunter / comic story / 9 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Jack Kirby

Pencils:

Jack Kirby

Inks:

Joe Simon?

Colors:

?

Letters:

Howard Ferguson

Content Information

Genre:

superhero

Characters:

Manhunter [Paul Kirk]

Reprints:

• in The New Gods (DC, 1971 series) #9 (June-July 1972)

The Miracle Maker (Table of Contents)

The Sandman / comic story / 10 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Jack Kirby (signed)

Pencils:

Jack Kirby (signed)

Inks:

Joe Simon? (signed)

Colors:

?

Letters:

Howard Ferguson

Content Information

Genre:

superhero

Characters:

The Sandman [Wesley Dodds]; Sandy [Sandy Hawkins]; Beezer Banos (villain); Magno [Mugger Magoon](villain); Slippery Smith (villain); Hard Luck Hogan (villain).

Synopsis:

A modern Houdini taxes the wits of the Sandman and Sandy, as the man accomplishes impossible feats while looting millions in riches and having airtight alibis.

Reprints:

• in The Sandman By Joe Simon & Jack Kirby (DC, 2009 series) #[nn] ([August] 2009)