Action Comics #54

(November 1942)

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

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

In the Stone Age (Table of Contents: 2)

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

Script

Josette Frank

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Letters

typeset

Indexer Notes

Inside front cover.

The Pirate of Pleasure Island (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]; Lois Lane; Perry White; Captain Ironfist [Stanley Finchcomb] (villain, introduction, death)

Synopsis

The Man of Tomorrow must face what appears to be the worst buccaneer that ever plagued the Seven Seas in years past, who has mysteriously returned to attack 20th Century merchantmen.

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)

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

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

Capt. Hewitt T. (Shorty) Wheless (Table of Contents: 5)

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

Script

?

Pencils

Cliff Young (signed)

Inks

Cliff Young (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

non-fiction

Characters

Captain Hewitt T. Wheless

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

Laffs / cartoon / 0.5 page (report information)

Script

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Pencils

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Inks

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Go ahead - Now tell me you didn't forget...

Genre

humor

Indexer Notes

3 gags. Writer credit added by Craig Delich.

Superman Gets Mixed Up in Everything! (Table of Contents: 7) (Expand) /

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

The Rookie Who Fought a Ghost (Table of Contents: 8)

Vigilante / comic story / 12 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Mort Meskin (signed)

Inks

George Roussos (signed as Inky Roussos)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

superhero

Characters

The Vigilante [Greg Sanders]

Hispaniola (Table of Contents: 9)

Stamps / text article / 1 page (report information)

Script

Sidney Elias

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Colors

?

Letters

typeset

Indexer Notes

Page includes many small ads from stamps dealers.

Fire over Yunnanfu Road (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 and inker credits added by Craig Delich.

Destination Berlin (Table of Contents: 11)

Americommando / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Joseph Greene

Pencils

Bernard Baily (signed)

Inks

Bernard Baily (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

war

Characters

Americommando [Tex Thomson]; Fatman [Bob Daley]

Indexer Notes

Writer per Jerry Bails via Craig Delich.

The Old Fireball (Table of Contents: 12)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Norman Goss (credited)

Colors

?

Letters

typeset

Genre

adventure

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

Chief Hot Foot / comic story / 0.5 page (report information)

Script

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Pencils

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Inks

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

-Out here all day, and not a single catch!

Genre

humor

Characters

Chief Hot Foot

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)

Idol of Doom (Table of Contents: 15)

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

Script

Whitney Ellsworth ?

Pencils

Ed Smalle ?

Inks

Ed Smalle ?

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

jungle; adventure

Characters

Congo Bill; Willis Pemberton; wolf cultists; Mafar [Martin Farrell]

Synopsis

Bill rescues an explorer from a Central American wolf cult and exposes their high priest as a treasure hunter.

Keywords

air planes; Central America; coins; gold; helicopters; human sacrifice; idols; wolf worship

Indexer Notes

Some of the hallmarks of Ellsworth's scripting -- double exclamation points and sound effects without exclamation points -- are here. Additionally, Bails' Who's Who credits him with some 1942 scripts for this feature.

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

Tickets, Please / comic story / 0.44 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Migosh! 1,000,000 round trip tickets...

Genre

humor

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

advertisement / 0.23 page (report information)

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

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

Don't Miss Your Favorites! (Table of Contents: 19) (Expand) /

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

Recipe for Robbery (Table of Contents: 20)

Zatara / comic story / 9 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Joe Sulman (signed)

Inks

Joe Sulman (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

adventure; fantasy-supernatural; superhero

Characters

Zatara

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 21) (Expand) /

American Specialty Co. / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

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

National Radio Institute / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Energy That's Ready for Action! (Table of Contents: 23) (Expand) /

Baby Ruth / advertisement / 1 page (report information)