See You April 1st, No Foolin'!

The End of Superman #176

Here is the ending of this great comic from 1965.

The letters pages were always fun, this one being a great example.  The first letter catches an "inaccurate" depiction of a Tommy Gun in a previous issue, to which the reply is, "This was a movie prop."

The second letter calls out a depiction of Clark wearing his glasses to bed, to which an inferior wisecrack was rejoined.  A much better response would have been, "He wore his glasses to see his dreams better!"

Note the third letter, from some MPs stationed in Korea.  Even the Army loved Superman!  The question posed, "Why does Superman need a Secret Identity," was answered in the tale that's plugged in the editorial reply.  It's Action #305, covered in this podcast.  It's a great tale, ripe for the page-by-page treatment.

The final letter to the editor basically brings up the whole "status quo" problem of serial fiction.  The reader wants something exciting to happen, but the creators are constrained by format to resolve the conflicts so that everything is back where the story started (generally).  "Dreams, hoaxes, illusions, pranks, doubles, and imaginary tales" were one way around this.

The inside rear cover page was another get-fit-quick come-on.  DARE you risk a dime?

And the rear cover, a color ad, was for the familiar "MAKE MONEY - GET PRIZES" attractions of American Seeds.  Thank heaven I never answered ads like these, or I would be a muscle-bound Green Nut!

Thanks for joining me on this roller-coaster ride through a great and somewhat representative Silver Age comic.  We're taking off the month of March.  Come back Wednesday, April 1st, for the beginning of 2015's April Foolishness !