Action Comics #2 (July 1938)

Time for another thrilling adventure with Superman! I guess...



We learn a bit more about Superman in this issue. He lives, it seems, in Cleveland, Ohio. Slam Bradley, another creation of Siegel and Shuster, also lives there.



In this issue, he decides to stop a war, taking a very direct approach. He kidnaps the generals of the opposing armies, and...

...orders them to fight it out between themselves. "But why should we fight?" asks one. "We're not angry at each other!" declares the other. Wise men.



Also in this issue, Zatara has another adventure: "Zatara the Master Magician and the Haunted Farm". In this issue, it becomes clear that Zatara isn't the sort to save his powers for when they're really needed. No need to be economical with magic!

Tong, it seems, prefers chicken to steak. So let there be chicken for Tong!



Zatara brings out his power of astral projection, which he'll make frequent use of in the future as a tool for spying on his enemies.

We also see Zatara use is magic to transform an enemy into a sunflower. I know that in the last issue he turned a gun into a banana, but his repeat performance in this issue was absurd enough to bear mentioning. He'll make use of the power of transformation on many, many occasions--turning objects or people (including himself and Tong) into everything from flowers or ferns to clouds or a breath of air. It's one of his most commonly used abilities, in my experience.



One more thing:

If that's not an ending worthy of Scooby Doo, I don't know what is.

Posted in: Mixed