Action Comics #3

(August 1938)

Big Shots of the Comic Field! (Table of Contents: 1) (Expand) /

More Fun Comics; New Adventure Comics; Detective Comics / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

[The Blakely Mine Disaster] (Table of Contents: 2)

Superman / comic story / 12.67 pages (report information)

Script

Jerry Siegel (signed as Jerome Siegel)

Pencils

Joe Shuster (signed)

Inks

Joe Shuster (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

A creaking of timber - an ominous rumble - and then, with a terrific crash...

Genre

superhero

Characters

Superman [Clark Kent]; George Taylor (not named); Stanislaw Kober; Thornton Blakely (villain)

Synopsis

After Superman saves a group of miners from a cave-in, Clark Kent senses a story that may mean that the mine's owner, Thornton Blakely, is actually running unsafe mine operations and blaming accidents on the miners themselves.

Reprints

• in Superman (DC, 1939 series) #[1] ([Summer 1939])
which is reprinted
• in Famous First Edition (DC, 1974 series) #C-61 ([March] 1979)
• 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 1 (Facsimile Edition) (DC, 2022 series) (1939 [December 2022])
• in DC Archiv Edition (Dino Verlag, 1998 series) #5 - Superman 1
• in The Superman Chronicles (DC, 2006 series) #1 ([April] 2006)
• in Superman: The Golden Age Omnibus (DC, 2013 series) #1 ([August] 2013)
• in Superman: The Golden Age (DC, 2016 series) #1 ([May] 2016)

Keywords

Blakely Coal Mine; Blakelytown

Indexer Notes

Superman appears in only one panel in this story. Wears blue boots. Modified synopsis added by Craig Delich.

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

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

[Murder at the Blue Bird Dance Palace] (Table of Contents: 4)

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

Script

?

Pencils

Bill Ely (signed as Will Ely)

Inks

Bill Ely (signed as Will Ely)

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Hey Scoop!

Genre

adventure

Characters

Scoop Scanlon; Rusty James; Butch

Synopsis

Scoop investigates an apparent murder at a dance hall.

Indexer Notes

This feature is printed in black and white.

Wins a Doubleheader (Table of Contents: 5)

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

Script

Gardner Fox

Pencils

Fred Guardineer (signed as Gene Baxter)

Inks

Fred Guardineer (signed as Gene Baxter)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Pep Morgan sits reading in his room the night before the $10,000 Speedway Auto Race in which he...

Genre

adventure

Characters

Pep Morgan; Blackie; Davis

Synopsis

Pep attempts to win race car prize, despite dirty tricks from his opponents.

Indexer Notes

Writer credit added by Craig Delich.

Opening frame shows Pep reading Action Comics.

Shifty Simpson (Table of Contents: 6)

comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Script

Russell Cole (signed)

Pencils

Russell Cole (signed)

Inks

Russell Cole (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

There's Shifty!

Genre

humor

Characters

Shifty Simpson

[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

Polo's party encamps for the night...

Genre

historical; adventure

Characters

Marco Polo; Nicolo Polo; Niku; Uncle Maffeo

Synopsis

Marco saves a guide from an attacking tiger. Upon reaching the flats of Iran, they release their mountain captives. A giant desert storm descends on their caravan.

Indexer Notes

Story continues from previous issue and continues in next.

Letterer credit added by Craig Delich.

Sports at Sea (Table of Contents: 8)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Dick Lawlor (credited)

Pencils

? (spot illustrations)

Inks

? (spot illustrations)

Colors

?

Letters

typeset

First Line of Dialogue or Text

The Harbor City, fifteen days out of Philadelphia and with the trade winds behind, slogged eastward.

Genre

adventure

Characters

Ted Farrell; Captain Blake

Synopsis

A giant storm pushes a freighter onto the rocks of the English coast. Ted summons his baseball skills to save the crew.

Keywords

shipwreck

[The Sealed City, Part 2] (Table of Contents: 9)

Tex Thomson / comic story / 12 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Bernard Baily (signed)

Inks

Bernard Baily (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

Bernard Baily

Genre

adventure; detective-mystery

Characters

Tex Thomson; Bob Daley; Gorrah (fake); Daroka; Scharem; Hawntem; Gorrah (real)

Synopsis

Tex and Bob discover the real Gorrah of the Sealed City and help him overthrow the one-eyed imposter who tried to kill them all.

Indexer Notes

Letterer credit added by Craig Delich.

In the previous issue, Daroka was called Doroka.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 10)

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

Script

?

Pencils

Homer Fleming (signed as H. FLEMING [currved H])

Inks

Homer Fleming (signed as H. FLEMING [currved H])

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

After Chuck's encounter with Notch...

Genre

western-frontier

Characters

Chuck Dawson; Trigger Holt; Butch; Sheriff; John Burwell; Steve

Synopsis

After Chuck escapes from Trigger and Butch, the Sheriff posts a $500 reward for his capture for murder.

Indexer Notes

This feature is printed in black and white.

Story continues from previous issue and continues in next.

Death from the Air (Table of Contents: 11)

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

Script

?

Pencils

Fred Guardineer (signed)

Inks

Fred Guardineer (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Zatara, I'm glad to welcome you.

Genre

adventure; fantasy-supernatural

Characters

Zatara [Giovanni "John" Zatara]; Tong; Tigress

Synopsis

Zatara foils the latest scheme of the Tigress where she uses airplanes to kill weathy men and then collects on their will.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 12)

Here and There / cartoon / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Vin Sullivan ?

Inks

Vin Sullivan ?

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

I wasn't speeding, was I, Uncle Henry?!

Genre

humor

Indexer Notes

Six unrelated gag panels.

$25 in Cash Prizes Waiting to Be Won by You! (Table of Contents: 13) (Expand) /

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

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 14) (Expand) /

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