Action Comics #2

(July 1938)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 1)

Thrills! / cartoon / 1 page (report information)

Script

Terry Gilkison ?

Pencils

Terry Gilkison

Inks

Terry Gilkison

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Hunter narrowly escapes death...

Genre

adventure; non-fiction

Indexer Notes

Found on inside front cover.

[Revolution in San Monte] (Table of Contents: 2)

Superman / comic story / 12.67 pages (report information)

Script

Jerry Siegel (as Jerome Siegel) (signed)

Pencils

Joe Shuster (signed)

Inks

Joe Shuster (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

superhero

Characters

Superman [Clark Kent]; Lois Lane; Lola Cortez; George Taylor (cameo); Alex Greer (villain); Emil Norvell (villain)

Synopsis

Clark Kent and Lois Lane are sent by editor Taylor to San Monte in South America to cover a war that is brewing. Besides saving Lois from being executed as a spy, Superman proves the war is being fomented by munitions manufacturers led by Emil Norvell.

Reprints

• in Superman (DC, 1939 series) #[1] ([Summer 1939])
which is reprinted
• in Famous First Edition (DC, 1974 series) #C-61 ([March] 1979)
• in Supermann (Semic, 1977 series) #9/1979 (28. august 1979)
which is reprinted
• in Superserien (Semic, 1982 series) #9/1984 (uke 35 1984)
• in Superman Archives (DC, 1989 series) #1 (1989 [February 1990])
• in Superman #1 [Masterpiece Edition] (Chronicle Books, 1999 series) (1999)
• in Millennium Edition: Superman 1 (DC, 2000 series) #[nn] (December 2000), #[Chromium Edition] (December 2000)
• in Superman from the Thirties to the Seventies (Crown Publishers, 1971 series) (1971) [black and white]
• in Stålmannen (Semic, 1976 series) #9/1979 ([21 augusti] 1979)
• in Superman from the Thirties to the Eighties (Crown Publishers, 1983 series) (1983)
• in Superman in the Forties (DC, 2005 series) ([December] 2005)
• in The Superman Chronicles (DC, 2006 series) #1 ([April] 2006)
• in Superman: The Golden Age Omnibus (DC, 2013 series) #1 ([August] 2013)
• in Superman: A Celebration of 75 Years (DC, 2013 series) (2013 [January 2014])
• in Lois Lane: A Celebration of 75 Years (DC, 2013 series) (2013 [January 2014])
• in Superman: The War Years 1938-1945 (Chartwell Books, 2015 series) (2015)
• in Superman: The Golden Age (DC, 2016 series) #1 ([May] 2016)
• in Action Comics 80 Years of Superman: The Deluxe Edition (DC, 2018 series) ([June] 2018)

Indexer Notes

Originally prepared for newspaper publication, cut up and repaged. No black shading used. Clark works for the [Cleveland] Evening News. Superman wears blue boots. Modified synopsis added by Craig Delich.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 3) (Expand) /

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

[The Shipwreck] (Table of Contents: 4)

Scoop Scanlon, Five Star Reporter / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Bill Ely (as Will Ely) (signed as Will Ely)

Inks

Bill Ely (as Will Ely) (signed as Will Ely)

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

The private yacht of Sinclair Wentworth is anchored off the coast...

Genre

adventure

Characters

Scoop Scanlon; Sinclair Wentworth; Rusty James

Synopsis

A storm crashes a yacht onto a rocky reef and Scoop Scanlon helps the coast guard rescue the passengers.

[Glass Arm] (Table of Contents: 5)

"Pep" Morgan / comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Script

Gardner Fox

Pencils

Fred Guardineer (as Gene Baxter) (signed)

Inks

Fred Guardineer (as Gene Baxter) (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Pep Morgan has just recovered from an operation on his right arm which had...

Genre

adventure

Characters

Pep Morgan

Indexer Notes

Writer credit added by Craig Delich.

Elmer the Eel (Table of Contents: 6)

comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Script

Russell Cole (as Alger) (signed)

Pencils

Russell Cole (as Alger) (signed)

Inks

Russell Cole (as Alger) (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Thief! Police!

Genre

humor

Characters

Elmer

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 7)

The Adventures of Marco Polo / comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Sven Elven (signed)

Inks

Sven Elven (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

Sven Elven (signed)

First Line of Dialogue or Text

By the daring of the Polos, the bandits find themselves caught in their own trap.

Genre

historical; adventure

Characters

Marco Polo; Niku; Nicolo Polo; Uncle Maffeo

Synopsis

In a narrow mountain pass, Marco sends an avalanche onto the bandits threatening the Polo caravan. The few survivors are taken as hostage for save passage through this dangerous land.

Indexer Notes

Story continues from previous issue and continues in next.

Letterer credit added by Craig Delich.

South Sea Strategy [Part 2] (Table of Contents: 8)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Vin Sullivan (credited as Captain Frank Thomas)

Pencils

? (spot illustrations)

Inks

? (spot illustrations)

Colors

?

Letters

typeset

Genre

adventure

Characters

Bret Coleman; Cottonball; Samuel Newton; Merna Newton

Synopsis

Bret Coleman rescues a young lady from ritual sacrifice by island natives.

The Sealed City [Part 1] (Table of Contents: 9)

Tex Thomson / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Ken Fitch ?

Pencils

Bernard Baily (signed)

Inks

Bernard Baily (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

Bernard Baily

Genre

adventure; detective-mystery

Characters

Tex Thomson; Bob Daley (introduction); Gorrah (villain, introduction)

Synopsis

The One-Eyed Gorrah rules a legendary city that had been buried by a volcano. However, he had overthrown the “real” Gorrah and Tex Thompson and Bob Daley team up with the “real” Gorrah to retake his throne.

Indexer Notes

Letterer credit added by Craig Delich.

Gorrah returns later for revenge and apparently dies early in Tex's career as the masked patriotic hero Mr. America.

[Vindication] (Table of Contents: 10)

Inspector Donald and Bobby / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Leo O'Mealia

Inks

Leo O'Mealia

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Dad didn't come home last night.

Genre

detective-mystery

Characters

Inspector Bob Donald; Bobby Donald; Tom Faber; Tim Riley; Commissioner Harry

Synopsis

Disgraced police inspector Bob Donald disappears and his son Bobby is determined to find him.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 11)

"Chuck" Dawson / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Homer Fleming (as H. Fleming) (signed)

Inks

Homer Fleming (as H. Fleming) (signed)

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Chuck Dawson is felled by a bullet in a sidewalk encounter with Trigger and Butch...

Genre

adventure

Characters

Chuck Dawson; Notch Logan; Trigger Holt; Sheriff; Deputy; John Burwell

Synopsis

Having escaped from jail, Chuck continues his quest to bring down the A-G gang who stole his father's property.

Indexer Notes

Printed in black and white.

Story continues from previous issue and continues in next.

The Haunted Farm (Table of Contents: 12)

Zatara, the Master Magician / comic story / 12 pages (report information)

Script

Gardner Fox

Pencils

Fred Guardineer (signed)

Inks

Fred Guardineer (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Zatara is on his tour of the United States and travels cross-country in his car.

Genre

adventure

Characters

Zatara [Giovanni "John" Zatara]; Tong; Miss Hendrix; Jim Hendrix; Adam Springer

Synopsis

Zatara investigates a murder on a reportedly haunted farm.

Indexer Notes

Gardner Fox credit from interview in Alter Ego #20 (January 2003) in which Fox states this was his first Zatara story.

$25 Cash Prizes! (Table of Contents: 13) (Expand) /

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

Play Ball (Table of Contents: 14)

cartoon / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Sheldon Moldoff (signed)

Inks

Sheldon Moldoff (signed)

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

'Lefty' Vernon Gomez may be a nervous and jumpy person, but when he's on...

Genre

non-fiction; sports

Characters

Lefty Gomez

Indexer Notes

Starts with a mini-profile of "Lefty" Vernon Gomez, and then discusses pitching and various pitches. Found on the inside back cover.

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

Johnson Smith & Co. / advertisement / 1 page (report information)