Adventure Comics #491 [Direct]

(September 1982)

Announcing the Triumphant Return of Adventure Comics (Table of Contents: 1)

table of contents / 1 page (report information)

Script

Carl Gafford ?

Letters

typeset

Indexer Notes

Inside front cover.

The Confederation of Hell (Table of Contents: 2)

Captain Marvel / Shazam! / comic story / 9 pages (report information)

Script

E. Nelson Bridwell (credited)

Pencils

Don Newton (credited)

Inks

Frank Chiaramonte (credited)

Colors

Adrienne Roy (credited)

Letters

Phil Felix (credited as Philip Felix)

Editing

Dave Manak (credited)

Job Number

J-8279

Genre

superhero

Characters

Captain Marvel [Billy Batson]; Captain Marvel Jr. [Freddy Freeman]; IBAC [Stanley Printwhistle]; Kid Eternity [Christopher "Kit" Freeman]; Mary Marvel [Mary Batson]; Master Man; Mr. Keeper; Sabbac [Timothy Karnes]; Satan; Darkling; Zeus; Set (cameo); Ahriman (cameo); Cernobog (cameo); Tezcatlipoca (cameo)

Synopsis

The Marvel Family with Kid Eternity battle Ibac, Sabbac, and Darkling. Just as they defeat those villains, Master Man summons four gods of evil.

Reprints

• in Shazam!: The World's Mightiest Mortal (DC, 2019 series) #3 ([July] 2021)

The Legion of Super-Heroes (Table of Contents: 3)

Superboy / comic story / 12 pages (report information)

Script

Otto Binder (credited)

Pencils

Al Plastino (credited)

Inks

Al Plastino (credited)

Colors

Jerry Serpe (credited)

Letters

?

Feature Logo

Superboy

Genre

superhero

Characters

Superboy; Legion of Super-Heroes [Cosmic Boy; Lightning Lad [as Lightning Boy]; Saturn Girl]; Jonathan Kent (cameo)

Synopsis

Three teens from the future offer Superboy membership in their super-hero club. But when Superboy fails to complete three simple tasks, the Legionnaires pretend to reject him, until they reveal that the three tasks were merely intitiation pranks which proved he is a good sport.

Reprints

• from Adventure Comics (DC, 1938 series) #247 (April 1958)

Indexer Notes

Reprint of the first appearance of the Legion. Lightning Lad is called Lightning Boy in this story. There are several other unidentified Legionnaires in the story. The Legionnaires are not yet in their classic costumes in this story.

Sorcerers of the Sea (Table of Contents: 4)

Aquaman / comic story / 23 pages (report information)

Script

Steve Skeates (credited)

Pencils

Jim Aparo (credited)

Inks

Jim Aparo (credited)

Colors

Bob LeRose (credited)

Letters

Jim Aparo

Editing

Dick Giordano (credited) (original story)

Feature Logo

Aquaman [straight, shadow behind]

Genre

superhero

Characters

Aquaman; Mera; Aqualad; Aquagirl; Aquababy [Arthur Curry, Jr.]; Vulko

Synopsis

Mera vanishes abruptly and Aquaman begins a quest to find her.

Reprints

• from Aquaman (DC, 1962 series) #40 (July-August 1968)

[The Canary and the Cat! Part One] (Table of Contents: 5)

Black Canary / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Denny O'Neil (credited)

Pencils

Alex Toth (credited, signed)

Inks

Alex Toth (credited, signed)

Colors

Tom Ziuko (credited)

Letters

Alex Toth

Feature Logo

Black Canary

Genre

superhero

Characters

Black Canary [Dinah Drake]; Green Arrow [Oliver Queen] (image); Bertha Kane (villain, President of the Women's Resistence League); Timothy (villain)

Synopsis

Lonely because Green Arrow is off on another case, Dinah decides to seek out employment as a judo instructor...in the guise of Black Canary. She gets the job, unaware that the woman hiring her is in league with the students in her class for some unknown caper.

Reprints

• from Adventure Comics (DC, 1938 series) #418 (April 1972)

Indexer Notes

Title taken from this story's appearance in Black Canary Archives (DC, 2001 series).

The Man Who Couldn't Sleep! (Table of Contents: 6)

Sandman / comic story / 10 pages (report information)

Script

Jack Kirby (credited)

Pencils

Jack Kirby (credited)

Inks

Joe Simon (credited)

Colors

Nansi Hoolahan (credited)

Letters

Howard Ferguson

Genre

superhero

Characters

Sandman [Wesley Dodds]; Sandy [Sandy Hawkins]; Felix Black; Nick Parks

Synopsis

Tormented by insomnia, Felix Black turns to a life of crime.

Reprints

• from Adventure Comics (DC, 1938 series) #80 (November 1942)

Prisoner of the Super-Heroes! (Table of Contents: 7)

Superboy / comic story / 11 pages (report information)

Script

Jerry Siegel

Pencils

George Papp (credited)

Inks

George Papp (credited)

Colors

Jerry Serpe (credited)

Letters

Joe Letterese

Feature Logo

Superboy

Genre

superhero

Characters

Superboy; Legion of Super-Heroes [Cosmic Boy; Lightning Lad; Saturn Girl]; Krypto; Martha Kent; Jonathan Kent

Synopsis

The Legion returns to 20th Century to discredit Superboy and exile him from Earth.

Reprints

• from Adventure Comics (DC, 1938 series) #267 (December 1959)

Indexer Notes

Reprint of the second appearance of the Legion of Super-Heroes.

War That Shook the Universe! (Table of Contents: 8)

The Spectre / comic story / 23 pages (report information)

Script

Gardner Fox (credited)

Pencils

Murphy Anderson (credited)

Inks

Murphy Anderson (credited)

Colors

Anthony Tollin (credited)

Letters

Gaspar Saladino

Editing

Julius Schwartz (original story)

Genre

superhero

Characters

Spectre; Jim Corrigan; Azmodus; Stefan Miklos; Millicent Olcott; Paul Nevers

Synopsis

The Spectre confronts the evil Azmodus, who has taken over the body of Paul Nevers.

Reprints

• from Showcase (DC, 1956 series) #60 (January-February 1966)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 9)

The Story Behind the Stories / text article / 1 page (report information)

Script

Paul Levitz

Letters

typeset

Indexer Notes

Inside back cover. Levitz provides commentary on the two Legion stories reprinted in this issue.

100 Pages of Non-Stop Action and Suspense! (Table of Contents: 10)

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

Script

Carl Gafford ?

Pencils

Keith Giffen ?

Inks

Romeo Tanghal ?

Colors

?

Letters

Gaspar Saladino ?

Genre

superhero

Characters

Superboy; Legion of Super-Heroes [Saturn Girl; Cosmic Boy; Lightning Boy]; Spectre; Black Canary; Sandman; Aquaman

Indexer Notes

On back cover.