Action Comics #51

(August 1942)

Editorial Advisory Board (Table of Contents: 1) (Expand) /

promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.33 page (report information)

Little Oscar's First Raid (Table of Contents: 2)

Good Books Worth Reading / text article / 0.67 page (report information)

Script

Josette Frank

Pencils

? (illustration)

Inks

? (illustration)

Letters

typeset

Indexer Notes

Shares inside front cover with indicia and Superman's Secret Message.

The Case of the Crimeless Crimes (Table of Contents: 3)

Superman / comic story / 13 pages (report information)

Script

Jerry Siegel (signed)

Pencils

John Sikela (signed as Joe Shuster)

Inks

John Sikela (signed as Joe Shuster)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

superhero

Characters

Superman [Clark Kent]; the Prankster (villain, introduction); Lois Lane; Sgt. Casey; Perry White

Synopsis

Clark and Lois are directed to a story involving a weird figure calling himself the Prankster, who breaks into a bank, only to leave a black bag "on deposit" that is chock full of money.

Reprints

• in Superman: The Action Comics Archives (DC, 1997 series) #3 ([October] 2001)
• in The Superman Chronicles (DC, 2006 series) #9 ([August] 2011)
• in Superman: The Golden Age Omnibus (DC, 2013 series) #3 (2016 [February 2017])
• in Superman: The Golden Age (DC, 2016 series) #5 ([June] 2020)

Indexer Notes

Archives credits pencils to Ed Dobrotka. Sikela credits per Craig Delich and Bob Hughes.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 4) (Expand) /

Supermen of America / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Captain Arthur Wermuth, One-Man Army! (Table of Contents: 5)

Supermen of the U.S. Army / cartoon / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Cliff Young ?

Inks

Cliff Young ?

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

non-fiction; biography; war

Characters

Captain Arthur Wermuth

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 6) (Expand) /

Kool-Aid / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Guns, Gold, and Glory! (Table of Contents: 7)

Vigilante / comic story / 12 pages (report information)

Script

Joe Samachson ?

Pencils

Mort Meskin (signed)

Inks

Cliff Young (signed as Cliff)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

superhero

Characters

The Vigilante [Greg Sanders]; Stuff; "Brain" Storms (villain)

Synopsis

Greg Sanders returns to his old home town out west, only to find criminals from the city have gone there to get away from him.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 8)

Silly Willy / comic story / 0.5 page (report information)

Script

Henry Boltinoff

Pencils

Henry Boltinoff

Inks

Henry Boltinoff

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Wow! Golly - That's something you see once in a lifetime!

Genre

humor

Indexer Notes

Script credit added by Craig Delich.

In Movies, Newspapers, Radio (Table of Contents: 9) (Expand) /

Superman / promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.5 page (report information)

The Valley of the Vultures (Table of Contents: 10)

3 Aces / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Gardner Fox

Pencils

Louis Cazeneuve

Inks

Louis Cazeneuve

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

adventure

Characters

Three Aces [Fog Fortune; Gunner Bill; Whistler Will]

[The Framer] (Table of Contents: 11)

Mr. America and Fat Man / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Ken Fitch

Pencils

Bernard Baily (signed)

Inks

Bernard Baily (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

superhero

Characters

Mr. America [Tex Thomson]; Fatman [Bob Daley]

Indexer Notes

Feature becomes "Americommandos" with the following installment.

Some Must Fight (Table of Contents: 12)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Ed McGee (credited)

Letters

typeset

Genre

adventure

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 13)

Rollin Stone / comic story / 0.5 page (report information)

Script

Ray McGill (signed)

Pencils

Ray McGill (signed)

Inks

Ray McGill (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

Ray McGill (signed)

First Line of Dialogue or Text

If I don't get a raise around here soon...

Genre

humor

Indexer Notes

Script and letters credits added by Craig Delich.

Honest Injun! (Table of Contents: 14) (Expand) /

World's Finest Comics / promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.5 page (report information)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 15)

Congo Bill / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Fred Ray (signed as FRay)

Pencils

Fred Ray (signed as FRay)

Inks

Fred Ray (signed as FRay)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

I'm Spud Williams...come from North Carolina --

Genre

jungle; adventure

Characters

Congo Bill; Spud Williams; Dave Bennett; Slim Kennedy; Tex Lee; Shorty Smith

Synopsis

Bill joins the Flying Tigers and exposes a spy in their ranks.

Keywords

American Volunteer Group; bomber planes; China; Curtiss P-40 Warhawk; fighter planes; Flying Tigers; Japanese Imperial Army Air Service; parachuting; sabotage; World War II

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 16)

Shorty / comic story / 0.44 page (report information)

Script

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Pencils

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Inks

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Gosh - Look at all those icebergs!

Genre

humor

Characters

Shorty

Indexer Notes

Script credit added by Craig Delich.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 17)

statement of ownership / 0.23 page (report information)

Script

?

Letters

typeset

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 18) (Expand) /

advertisement / 0.33 page (report information)

Now on Sale (Table of Contents: 19) (Expand) /

promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 20)

Jerry the Jitterbug / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Pencils

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Inks

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Ah - Beautiful spring - This walk in the woods should do me good!

Genre

humor

Characters

Jerry

Indexer Notes

Script credit added by Craig Delich.

The Case of the Coconut Crimes! (Table of Contents: 21)

Zatara / comic story / 9 pages (report information)

Script

Gardner Fox

Pencils

Joe Sulman (signed)

Inks

Joe Sulman (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

adventure; fantasy-supernatural; superhero

Characters

Zatara

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 22)

public service announcement / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

A special message to the boys and girls of America from Henry Morgenthau, Jr. - Secretary of the Treasury!

Indexer Notes

Inside back cover.

The Tootsie Roll of Honor (Table of Contents: 23) (Expand) /

Tootsie Roll / advertisement / 1 page (report information)