Action Comics #53

(October 1942)

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

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

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 2)

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

Script

?

Letters

typeset

Indexer Notes

Inside front cover.

The Man Who Put out the Sun! (Table of Contents: 3)

Superman / comic story / 13 pages (report information)

Script

Jerry Siegel (signed)

Pencils

John Sikela (signed as Joe Shuster)

Inks

George Roussos

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

superhero

Characters

Superman [Clark Kent]; Lois Lane; Perry White; Sgt. Casey; The Night Owl (villain, introduction); Kelly (villain)

Synopsis

Superman must battle a renegade scientist who has mastered the ability to control darkness in order to subject Metrolpolis to a crime wave.

Reprints

• in Superman: The Action Comics Archives (DC, 1997 series) #4 ([July] 2005)
• in The Superman Chronicles (DC, 2006 series) #10 ([November] 2012)
• 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

Inks credit from Bob Hughes.

The last panel of the story promotes the story, "Superman, Matinee Idol," found in the pages of Superman #19 on sale September 4th.

Supermen of America (Table of Contents: 4) (Expand) /

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

He Blasted Tokyo! (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; war

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

Gags / cartoon / 0.5 page (report information)

Script

Henry Boltinoff

Pencils

Henry Boltinoff

Inks

Henry Boltinoff

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

I want to open a bank account...

Genre

humor

Indexer Notes

3 gags.

Boy! Is Clark Kent in Trouble!!! (Table of Contents: 7) (Expand) /

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

The Blackout Blues! (Table of Contents: 8)

Vigilante / comic story / 12 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Mort Meskin (signed)

Inks

George Roussos

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

superhero

Characters

The Vigilante [Greg Sanders]; The Rainbow Man (villain)

Energy to Get There! (Table of Contents: 9) (Expand) /

Baby Ruth / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Wings over the Pacific (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]

Indexer Notes

Writer credit added by Craig Delich.

Americommando and the Cinema Saboteur (Table of Contents: 11)

The Americommando / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Joseph Greene (signed)

Pencils

Bernard Baily (signed)

Inks

Bernard Baily (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

war

Characters

Americommando [Tex Thomson]; Fatman [Bob Daley]

Indexer Notes

Script credit from Jerry Bails via Craig Delich.

A Simple Job (Table of Contents: 12)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Norman Goss (credited)

Letters

typeset

Genre

adventure

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

Private Pete / comic story / 0.5 page (report information)

Script

Henry Boltinoff

Pencils

Henry Boltinoff

Inks

Henry Boltinoff

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Gosh! I never thought of those things...

Genre

humor; military

Characters

Pvt. Pete

Indexer Notes

Writer credit added by Craig Delich.

Biggest and Best! (Table of Contents: 14) (Expand) /

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

The Man Who Played King (Table of Contents: 15)

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

Script

Fred Ray

Pencils

Fred Ray

Inks

Fred Ray

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

jungle; adventure

Characters

Congo Bill; Snake-eyes

Synopsis

A gangster on the lam comes to Bill's jungle and sets himself up as a king.

Keywords

armor; Congo Bill's Trading Post; crocodiles; crowns; drowning; fireworks; gold; machine guns; prison breaks; prisons; whips

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

Clancy the Cop / comic story / 0.25 page (report information)

Script

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Pencils

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Inks

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Say, bub - this guy was hit by an auto...

Genre

humor

Characters

Clancy

Indexer Notes

Writer credit added by Craig Delich.

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

advertisement / 0.25 page (report information)

Slam! Bang! Boom! Crash! (Table of Contents: 18) (Expand) /

More Fun Comics / promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.5 page (report information)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 19)

Careful Chester / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

At last! The railroad station!

Genre

humor

Characters

Chester

Crooks -- Handle with Care! (Table of Contents: 20)

Zatara / comic story / 9 pages (report information)

Script

Gardner Fox

Pencils

Joe Sulman

Inks

Joe Sulman

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

adventure; fantasy-supernatural; superhero

Characters

Zatara

Now on Sale (Table of Contents: 21) (Expand) /

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

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

Muscle Power Co. / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 23) (Expand) /

Webster's Comprehensive Encyclopedic Dictionary / advertisement / 1 page (report information)