I recently celebrated a birthday and my older brother promised me an excellent gift.
In his card, he talked about how he wanted to buy me Action Comics #252 but he couldn't afford it. (I mean, who can?) So he decided he would get me the next best thing.
What is the next best thing to Action Comics #252? Well, Action Comics #251 of course.
And it turns out for a Supergirl fan it is a great gift because there are some great things inside.
We'll start out with the ad inside promoting Supergirl's arrival in the next issue.
While I usually like the red skirt on Supergirl, it looks too strange here. Probably because I am so used to seeing the classic blue skirted Kara emerging from her rocket in this iconic scene.
But the ad also has great tag lines.
The heroine thousands of DC readers have been requesting for years!
And that yellow box wondering how she survived and will she be an ally?
Yes, thrilling answers in a brand new feature will happen the next month!
This ad is just fantastic history for a Supergirl fan!
But wait, there's more!
Supergirl replaced the Tommy Tomorrow feature in Action Comics.
Here is the announcement in the letter column!
As Mart Gray said to me, "the Girl of Tomorrow replacing Tommy Tomorrow".
And one more letter column anomaly.
What a sick burn about Captain Marvel!
Obviously he isn't as invulnerable as Superman!
Anyways, this was a great gift from my brother and a great addition to a Supergirl collection!
Happy birthday anj!
ReplyDeleteThat must be from,what,1959??
Looks like a great ish!
Recently got some LSH silverage archives
Stiruescfrom 1958~1965
Amazing stuff!😊
Stories from,rather.
ReplyDeleteI Shouldn't try to type & drink tea!
Multitasking is not for me!
That is a lovely gift, I can’t imagine either of my brothers getting me such a perfect pressie. Can you see a single kid reading this issue not hoarding their ten cents, eager to meet ‘The Supergirl from Krypton’.
ReplyDeleteWell, except those daft lads who reckoned girls were sissy! And I bet they soon fell in love with Cousin Kara.
A very nice gift indeed, I think if I am not mistaken the editors resolved "The Mystery of the Blue/Red Super Skirt" by asserting it was reversible, blue on one side red on the other...the exact color being subject to Kara's feminine whim. Boy 1959 was a different time indeed :)
ReplyDeleteJF
Thanks for comments.
ReplyDeleteYes, somewhere the reversible explanation did come into play!
Happy Birthday! What a great birthday gift.
ReplyDeleteT.N.
A very modest birthday present:
ReplyDeleteUpcoming Comic-Con@Home convention seems to think Supergirl is worth mentioning in bios. Or, the creators think so. (Or, these are old bios no one ever updated.)
Thursday schedule:
https://bleedingcool.com/comics/thursday-programming-for-san-diego-comic-conhome-is-here/
"A deep dive on Ian Fleming's James Bond in comics past, present, and future. Special guest Steve Orlando (Supergirl) reveals his upcoming new series."
Friday schedule:
https://bleedingcool.com/comics/friday-programming-for-san-diego-comic-conhome-is-here/
Return to the original world of Blade Runner 2019 with Titan's latest bestselling comic series! Hear from the awesome co-writer Mike Johnson (Supergirl)..."
You wouldn't think having written for Supergirl would be seen as a qualification for writing James Bond or Blade Runner stories, but who knows. Maybe someone thinks that's the peak of these guys' careers so far. And -- maybe it is?
Waiting to see what comes up for Saturday's panels.
T.N.
What a nice birthday gift! Not something you could easily pick up at your friendly neighborhood Walmart.
ReplyDeleteBoy, they really knew how to promote a new character in those days!
I wonder if Kara's skirt is red in the ad because the Super-Girl in Superman #123 had a red skirt? And by the way, the "skirt is reversible" answer appeared in Action Comics #264.
Interesting that Jim Mooney had been the artist on the Tommy Tomorrow feature and then became the regular artist on Supergirl. The same thing happened when "Tales of the Legion of Superheroes" replaced "Tales of the Bizarro World" in Adventure Comics. John Forte had been drawing the Bizarro feature and continued in the same spot with the Legion.
Speaking of Jim Mooney, I came across this exchange awhile back on nerdteam30.com. This is from an interview with Mooney conducted by Bryan Stroud on November 21, 2007:
Stroud:"...I see where the very first Supergirl was designed and drawn by Al (Plastino), but then it was immediately turned over to you. Do you know why that was?"
Mooney: "Yeah, so that I could never be called the creator on it."
Stroud: "Oh."
Mooney: "So in other words, I would have no legal means to sue or to say 'you owe me more money' or, 'I created it, so I should get more money.' That was a very slick thing on their part."
Stroud: "Oh, that's dirty."
Mooney: "...I'm the one who worked on Supergirl right to the very end, except for that one issue, but that was undoubtedly done by the legal department."
Finally, I found this letter in Action Comics #250. It was supposedly written by Kenneth W. Paul of East Rochester, New York:
"May I add my voice to the thousands of other fans who would like to see you publish a regular feature entitled "Supergirl". I'm certsin that such a character would gain the support of your readers."
Mort's answer was : "We plan to present Supergirl in a very early issue. Watch this department for a definite announcement next month."
I wrote "supposedly" because I've heard that Weisinger would sometimes have fake letters printed when he wanted to hype something that was coming up.
I wish that DC would include the letter columns in their Archives and Omnibus editions.
That's a nice gift Anj. Happy Birthday!
ReplyDelete