Price: 0.10 USD
Pages: 52
On-sale Date: 1948-02-16
Editing: Whitney Ellsworth (credited) (editor); Jack Schiff (managing); Mort Weisinger (actual editor)
Cover Thumbnail for Action Comics (DC, 1938 series) #119 Edit Cover
Cover Gallery 

Superman for a Day
(Table of Contents)

Superman / cover / 1 page

Pencils:
Inks:
Colors:
?
Letters:
?
  • Genre:superhero
Characters:
Superman
Reprints (3)

Indexer Notes

Inks, formerly credited to Mortimer, look to be by regular Superman inker Stan Kaye.

Issue Data

Indexer Notes

On-sale date from copyright registration.

Editorial Advisory Board
(Expand) / (Table of Contents: 1)

promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.33 page

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

promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.67 page

Superman for a Day!
(Table of Contents: 3)

Superman / comic story / 12 pages

Script:
Pencils:
Inks:
Colors:
?
Letters:
?
  • Genre:superhero
  • First Line of Dialogue or Text:Try to look more like Superman, Clark!
Characters:
Superman [Clark Kent]; Lois Lane; The Helicopter Bandits (villains); Jim Banning (also spelled Blanning); Martin Grew
Synopsis:
Believing that Superman is away on a mission, Lois has a plan to capture the Helicopter Bandits which involves having Clark impersonate Superman.
Reprints (2)

Indexer Notes

This is the first issue with no by-line credit to Siegel and Shuster. One of the rare issues in which Clark Kent actually changes to Superman in a phone booth.

Leo Johnson
(Expand) / (Table of Contents: 4)

Wheaties / advertisement / 1 page

Death on the Speedway
(Expand) / (Table of Contents: 5)

The Adventures of Sam Spade; Wildroot Cream-Oil / comics-form advertising / 1 page

Treasure Trove!
(Table of Contents: 6)

Congo Bill / comic story / 5.67 pages

Script:
? (Writer S)
Pencils:
Inks:
Colors:
?
Letters:
?
  • Genre:adventure; jungle
Characters:
Congo Bill; Count Narski (villain); Greg Whitney; Otto
Synopsis:
Bill and his friend Greg are lured off course during a crossing of the Atlantic by marooned Nazi agents.
Reprints (1)

Indexer Notes

The script for this story is credited as possibly "Writer S" by Martin O'Hearn.

Superman's Secret Message
(Expand) / (Table of Contents: 7)

Supermen of America / in-house column / 0.33 page

Captain Tootsie Traps Killer Bear with Invisible Light
(Expand) / (Table of Contents: 8)

Captain Tootsie; Tootsie Roll / comics-form advertising / 1 page

Concert for Crime!
(Table of Contents: 9)

Zatara / comic story / 7 pages

Script:
Pencils:
Inks:
Colors:
?
Letters:
?
  • Genre:adventure; fantasy-supernatural; superhero
  • First Line of Dialogue or Text:Music has been known to do odd things to people...
Characters:
Zatara [Giovanni "John" Zatara]; P. Piper; the Mayor of Oak City (villain)
Synopsis:
P. Piper, who relaxes by playing his flute, cleaned out a bunch of crooks in Hicksville and has come to Oak City to repeat the process. This he achieves by luring crooks to steal his flaunted money, then gassing them. When he tries to collect the rewards he is cheated by the town politicians. He has a chance encounter with Zatara, who causes the flute to magically transform crooks into human sized rats. The incoming mayor then gives Piper his just reward.

[no title indexed]
(Expand) / (Table of Contents: 10)

Kellogg's Pep / advertisement / 1 page

Mystery on the Mountain
(Expand) / (Table of Contents: 11)

Ray-o-Vac Batteries / advertisement / 1 page

[no title indexed]
(Table of Contents: 12)

Cabbie Casey / comic story / 4 pages

Script:
Jack Farr (signed)
Pencils:
Jack Farr (signed)
Inks:
Jack Farr (signed)
Colors:
?
Letters:
Jack Farr (signed)
  • Genre:humor
  • First Line of Dialogue or Text:Here I am back, Moiph...
Characters:
Cabbie Casey; Moiph
Synopsis:
Moiph sells Casey a cab with no rivets, each part being welded together to another. While driving his first fare of the day the car literally falls to pieces.

Cooking with Gas
(Table of Contents: 13)

text story / 2 pages

Script:
Charles Winslow (credited) (house name)
Letters:
typeset
  • Genre:crime
Characters:
Unnamed escaped convict; Mrs. Garrick

Indexer Notes

Sequence added by Saltarella via the GCD Error Tracker.

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

Gang Busters / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page

The Birthday That Backfired!
(Table of Contents: 15)

Vigilante / comic story / 9 pages

Script:
Pencils:
Inks:
Colors:
?
Letters:
?
  • Genre:adventure; superhero; western-frontier
  • First Line of Dialogue or Text:How do you like your birthdays?
Characters:
The Vigilante [Greg Saunders]; Stuff, the Chinatown Kid; The Rainbow Man (villain); Pop Gunn
Synopsis:
The Vigilante rescues Stuff from the clutches of The Rainbow Man, and the delayed party for Stuff's birthday finally gets underway.

Indexer Notes

The cruder inking style confirms the hand of Roussos.

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

Western Comics / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page

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

Jerry the Jitterbug / comic story / 0.5 page

Script:
Pencils:
Inks:
Colors:
?
Letters:
  • Genre:humor
  • First Line of Dialogue or Text:Say, Dad let me do it!

[no title indexed]
(Expand) / (Table of Contents: 18)

Johnson Smith & Co. Catalog / advertisement / 0.5 page

[no title indexed]
(Expand) / (Table of Contents: 19)

Leave It to Binky / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page

[no title indexed]
(Expand) / (Table of Contents: 20)

Daisy Air Rifles / Daisy B-B Guns / advertisement / 1 page

Editing
Download: (JSON)
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Tracked in 13 collections.
Issue at my.comics.org
View Change History
Table of Contents ToC
    Table of Contents
  1. Superman for a Day
    Superman
  2. Editorial Advisory Board
  3. ["Want action???"]
  4. Superman for a Day!
    Superman
  5. Leo Johnson
    Wheaties
  6. Death on the Speedway
    The Adventures of Sam Spade; Wildroot Cream-Oil
  7. Treasure Trove!
    Congo Bill
  8. Superman's Secret Message
    Supermen of America
  9. Captain Tootsie Traps Killer Bear with Invisible Light
    Captain Tootsie; Tootsie Roll
  10. Concert for Crime!
    Zatara
  11. [no title indexed]
    Kellogg's Pep
  12. Mystery on the Mountain
    Ray-o-Vac Batteries
  13. ["Here I am back, Moiph..."]
    Cabbie Casey
  14. Cooking with Gas
  15. [no title indexed]
    Gang Busters
  16. The Birthday That Backfired!
    Vigilante
  17. [no title indexed]
    Western Comics
  18. ["Say, Dad let me do it!"]
    Jerry the Jitterbug
  19. [no title indexed]
    Johnson Smith & Co. Catalog
  20. [no title indexed]
    Leave It to Binky
  21. [no title indexed]
    Daisy Air Rifles / Daisy B-B Guns
Related Links
Issue was modified by, among others
  • Katie
  • mcomics
  • Keith Chandler
  • Peter Croome
  • Merlin Haas
  • Jan Roar Hansen
  • Matthew Head
  • Bob Hughes
  • John Monagle
  • John Pannozzi
  • Hyju Rocket
  • Tony R. Rose
  • Daniel Thingvold
  • Jim Van Dore
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