Action Comics #77

(October 1944)

Editorial Advisory Board (Table of Contents: 1)

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

Script

?

Letters

typeset

Indexer Notes

Inside front cover.

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

Action Comics; Detective Comics; All Funny Comics / promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.67 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Want action?

Indexer Notes

Inside front cover.

The Headline Hoax! (Table of Contents: 3)

Superman / comic story / 12 pages (report information)

Script

Jerry Siegel (signed)

Pencils

Sam Citron (signed as Joe Shuster)

Inks

Don Komisarow (signed as Joe Shuster)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

The Daily Planet prints a million newspapers a day, every one alike.

Genre

superhero

Characters

Superman [Clark Kent]; Perry White; Lois Lane; Amos Amster; Thomas Todd; Joe; The Prankster

Synopsis

The Prankster disguises himself as a blind news dealer and manufactures Daily Planet headlines to con certain people so that he can make a profit off of them!

Reprints

• in Superman: The Action Comics Archives (DC, 1997 series) #5 ([May] 2007)
• in Superman: The Golden Age Omnibus (DC, 2013 series) #4 ([July] 2017)

Indexer Notes

Siegel script credit from John Wells. Previously credited to Don Cameron. Action Archives credits this story to Don Cameron as well. Credits changed to match Siegel's records: Siegel and Shuster v. National Comics Publications, Inc. et al., case no. 1099 (Westchester Cty. Sup. Ct. 1947).

Oddity: in the last panel of page 10, Prankster is reading a copy of "The Daily Star" (the first newspaper Clark Kent worked for).

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 4)

Lighter Moments with Fresh Eveready Batteries / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Dick MacKay (signed)

Inks

Dick MacKay (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

I'm sorry, Sirs!

Genre

humor

The Punctured Picture! (Table of Contents: 5)

Hayfoot Henry / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

?

Inks

Stan Kaye

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Only a person mean and mephitic...

Genre

humor; detective-mystery

Characters

Hayfoot Henry

Indexer Notes

Alvin Schwartz script credit and Stan Kaye pencils credit removed by Craig Delich. The Who's Who lists Alvin Schwartz as writer only from 1946-48 and Stan Kaye only as inker in 1944.

The text is written in rhyming couplets.

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

Wheaties / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Roland Coe (signed)

Inks

Roland Coe (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Mind if I join you?

The Rainbow Man Sees Red! (Table of Contents: 7)

Vigilante / comic story / 10 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Mort Meskin (signed as Mort Morton Jr.)

Inks

Mort Meskin (signed as Mort Morton Jr.); ?

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

You've met that slickest scoundrel in the spectrum of crime, The Rainbow Man...

Genre

adventure; superhero; western-frontier

Characters

The Vigilante [Greg Sanders]; Stuff, the Chinatown Kid; The Rainbow Man (villain); Spike (convict); Egghead (convict)

Synopsis

The Rainbow Man, while in prison, fakes a debilitating illness. The warden calls in Vigilante to talk to him, but the villain is present in the room disguised as a doctor. Escaping, he then disguises himself as the Mystic Masked Marvel in the Royal Order of Scarlet Tanagars. At the climax of their parade through the streets, Rainbow Man demands the jeweled statue which is to be presented to their illustrious past president. His imperious manner prevails and he drives away with it. Vigilante sets a trap based on the realization that Rainbow Man is now colorblind.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 8)

Clancy the Cop / comic story / 0.5 page (report information)

Script

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Pencils

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Inks

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

First Line of Dialogue or Text

That must have been put there to keep the kids off!

Genre

humor

Characters

Clancy

Indexer Notes

Writer credit added by Craig Delich.

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

Supermen of America / promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.5 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Are you a good American?

Outsmarting a Saboteur! (Table of Contents: 10)

Adventures of "R. C." and Quickie; Royal Crown Cola / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Colors

?

Letters

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Genre

adventure

The Leaping Leopard! (Table of Contents: 11)

Congo Bill / comic story / 5.67 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Ed Smalle ?

Inks

Ed Smalle ?

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Congo Bill comes home after roaming the strange, far corners of the earth!

Genre

adventure; jungle

Characters

Congo Bill; Jack Blane; Farbach; Zollini

Synopsis

Bill exposes a jewel thief who has been disguising himself as a leopard, hoping that escaped circus animals will be blamed for his attacks.

Keywords

animal hides; circuses; disguises; jewelry; leopards

You Can Save His Life! (Table of Contents: 12)

public service announcement / 0.33 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Colors

?

Letters

?

Genre

advocacy

Keywords

Milkweed Floss

Terror's Victim (Table of Contents: 13)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Ted Udall (credited as Tod Lowry)

Letters

typeset

Genre

adventure

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

Wheaties / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Colors

?

Letters

typeset

The Pranks of Pan! (Table of Contents: 15)

Zatara / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

William White ?

Inks

William White ?

Colors

?

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

In the olden days, Pan was supposed to live on Mount Olympus.

Genre

adventure; fantasy-supernatural; superhero

Characters

Zatara [Giovanni "John" Zatara]; Pan; Jim Baker; Rocky Clark (crook)

Synopsis

The ancient god Pan, in the human guise of a curio shop owner, lets Jim Baker have a rare old coin on approval. Little realizing that the coin will manifest anything he says - a chauffeur-driven car, a mansion, a ship - a scared Baker turns to Zatara for help. Pan outwits him, but Zatara prevails and by the magical power of the coin, turns Pan into steam and forever banishes him from the earth.

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

X-acto / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

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Inks

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Letters

?

Indexer Notes

Inside back cover.

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

Baby Ruth / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Colors

?

Letters

typeset

Indexer Notes

Back cover.