Wednesday, 30 April 2025

The SUBSTITUTE SUPERMAN...


Copyright DC COMICS

Recently, as I familiarised myself with my replacement issue of Action Comics #367 (shown in an earlier post), I realised the Supergirl back-up strip wasn't a two-part tale, but rather a three-part one, so I promptly bought the preceding issue, #366.  I already had #368, having owned it for around 45 years, so that's one I don't have to worry about acquiring.  Funny thing is, I no longer remember whether I bought 367 and 368 (which were back issues at the time) in sequence or not, and it's even entirely possible I acquired both of them on the same day from the same place (but maybe not).


It wasn't always clear with DC how many issues a story was comprised of, so that if you started with part two, you might never know there'd been a part one.  In fact, with some three-part tales, it was possible to read the third part without realising there were two instalments before it.  Action Comics #s 351-353 serve as a good example (see here).  It was decades before I learned 353 wasn't a single adventure, thinking it started in the middle for dramatic effect (to hook the reader), then used 'flashbacks' to reveal what had happened up to that point.  I didn't realise the flashbacks were referencing preceding issues, not hitherto unrevealed aspects of the plot.

Anyway, perhaps all that proves is what a thicko I am, though I'll strenuously deny it in court.  While you're making up your own minds on the matter (if you haven't already), enjoy the images on display and feel free to comment if you so wish.

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8 comments:

  1. Monty30 April 2025 at 19:59

    Being a thicko as well, I immediately went to check #366 and thought "What's he talking about now? The Superman story ends this issue" then I realised it was the Supergirl story you were referring to. That's a clever way to get readers to buy the next issue, having stories finish in different issues i.e. Superman one issue, Supergirl the next. I noted at the end of this Supergirl installment, they refer to the title as 'Action' and not Action Comics. Similarly Amazing Fantasy #15 refers to it as 'Amazing' on the cover. I'm a stickler for accuracy. On the cover of #366, Superman extreme right looks as though he is about to check-out rather than become a replacement man of steel.

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    1. Kid30 April 2025 at 21:13

      The one you mention has a face like a pensioner who dyes his hair, M, and perfect builds aside (just like my own - cough), the rest of them look like a right motley crew. I've just bought #355 to get the first part of the Superman story, but the Supergirl one will likely be the last part of a longer tale.

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  2. Terranova471 May 2025 at 21:46

    The real nostalgia is for the Thorpe & Porter 1/- stamped on the cover.

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    1. Kid1 May 2025 at 22:50

      Yeah, it was great when US comics were only a shilling, eh? T&P lasted until 1979, I think, but their stamp would've disappeared a few years before that.

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  3. McSCOTTY2 May 2025 at 11:40

    I love those old DC comic cover they just make you want to pick them up. I've been picking up a few reading copies of Action and World Finest comics recently from this time ( in Forbidden Planet , Glasgow) which has been fun, like visiting an old friend.

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    1. Kid2 May 2025 at 11:47

      I find, even with old comics I never had at the time, that I'm returning to the period (in my mind) of when they were on sale. Funny that, eh?

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  4. McSCOTTY2 May 2025 at 12:15

    Exactly how I feel Kid and the best thing is the reading copies are around the same price as a new comic ( a wee bit more) so it's a cheap nostalgia trip.

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    1. Kid2 May 2025 at 14:02

      I like my comics to be in better condition than a mere 'reading' copy so I'm prepared to pay a bit more, McS, but I consider it money well-spent in most cases. Obviously, though, I'd like to get them as inexpensively as possible.

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