1031 - Adventure Comics 313 - The Condemned Legionnaires!

Index Number – 1031 - 1.0
Issue – Adventure Comics 313
Cover Date – October 1963
Title – The Condemned Legionnaires!
Characters – Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Lightning Lass, Night Girl, Polar Boy, Phantom Girl, Mon-El, Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy, Superboy, Supergirl, Triplicate Girl, Supergirl
Villain – Satan Girl
Synopsis – The female Legionnaires are infected with the Crimson Virus by Satan Girl, a evil duplicate of Supergirl formed by an encounter with Red Kryptonite.
Writer – Edmond Hamilton
Artist – Curt Swan / Sheldon Moldoff
Cover – Curt Swan / George Klein
Editor – Mort Weisinger
Reprinted – Legion of Super-Heroes Archive 2 – 1992
Showcase Presents the Legion of Super-Heroes 1 - 2007
Comments – Don’t you just love those Red K stories?

1030 - Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen 72 - The World of Doomed Olsens!

Index Number – 1030 - 1.0
Issue – Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen 72
Cover Date – October 1963
Title – The World of Doomed Olsens
Characters – Bouncing Boy, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy. Cosmic Boy, Fire Lad, Lightning Lad, Mon-El, Night Girl, Jimmy Olsen, Polar Boy, Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy, Stone Boy, Superman, Triplicate Girl
Synopsis – In their time honored tradition, the Legionnaires play a joke on Jimmy Olsen before inducting him as an honorary member
Writer – Jerry Seigel
Artist – Curt Swan / George Klein
Cover – Curt Swan / George Klein
Editor – Mort Weisinger
Reprinted – Legion of Super-Heroes Archive 2 – 1992
Showcase Presents the Legion of Super-Heroes 1 - 2007
Comments – Those wacky Legionnaires . . .

1029 - Adventure Comics 312 - The Super-Sacrifice of the Legionnaires!

Index Number – 1029 - 1.0
Issue – Adventure Comics 312
Cover Date – September 1963
Title – The Super-Sacrifice of the Legionnaires!
Characters – Chameleon Boy, Lightning Lad, Lightning Lass, Mon-El; Saturn Girl, Sun Boy; Superboy
Synopsis – To revive Lightning Lad, the Legionnaires compete to sacrifice their life-energy. Proty, Chameleon Boy’s shape-changing pet, wins.
Writer – Edmond Hamilton
Artist – John Forte
Cover – Curt Swan / George Klein, John Forte
Editor – Mort Weisinger
Reprinted – Legion of Super-Heroes Archive 2 – 1992
Showcase Presents the Legion of Super-Heroes 1 - 2007
Legion of Super Heroes – 1050 Years of the Future - 2008
Comments – Circumstances in this issue would have disastrous effects on plotlines in the nineties. More in a few years.

1028 - Adventure Cmics 311 - The War Between the Subsititute Heores and the Legionnaires!

Index Number – 1028 - 1.0
Issue – Adventure Comics 311
Cover Date – August 1963
Title – The War Between the Substitute Heroes and the Legionnaires
Characters – Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Chlorophyll Kid, Colossal Boy. Cosmic Boy, Element Lad, Fire Lad, Invisible Kid, Lightning Lass, Night Girl; Polar Boy, Saturn Girl, Star Boy, Stone Boy, Sun Boy, Superboy, Triplicate Girl, Ultra Boy
Synopsis – The Subs battle alien imposters of the Legionnaires and no one notices,
Writer – Edmond Hamilton
Artist – John Forte
Cover – Curt Swan / George Klein
Editor – Mort Weisinger
Reprinted – Legion of Super-Heroes Archive 2 – 1992
Showcase Presents the Legion of Super-Heroes 1 - 2007

1027 - Adventure Comics 310 - The Doom of Super Heroes!

Index Number – 1027- 1.0
Issue – Adventure Comics 310
Cover Date – July 1963
Title – The Doom of Super Heroes!
Characters – Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Element Lad, Invisible Kid, Lightning Lass, Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet, Star Boy, Sun Boy, Superboy, Triplicate Girl, Ultra Boy
Villain - Mxyzptlk V
Synopsis – After being rejected for membership, a masked man (a descendent of Mr. Mxyzptlk) attacks and apparently kills a number of Legionnaires.
Writer – Edmond Hamilton
Artist – John Forte
Editor – Mort Weisinger
Reprinted – Legion of Super-Heroes Archive 2 – 1992
Showcase Presents the Legion of Super-Heroes 1 - 2007
Comments – The Legion is attacked by a rejected applicant. Where have we seen this before? The previous issue!

1026 - Adventure Comics 309 - The Legion of Super Monsters!

Index Number – 1026 - 1.0
Issue – Adventure Comics 309
Cover Date – June 1963
Title – The Legion of Super Monsters!
Characters – Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Invisible Kid, Matter-Eater Lad, Mon-El, Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy, Superboy, Triplicate Girl, Ultra Boy
Villain - Jungle King
Synopsis – A rejected applicant used his power to control animals to attack the Legion
Writer – Edmond Hamilton
Artist – John Forte
Editor – Mort Weisinger
Reprinted – Legion of Super-Heroes Archive 2 – 1992
Showcase Presents the Legion of Super-Heroes 1 - 2007
Comments – The Legion takes over the main spot in Adventure with this issue.

1025 - Adventure Comics 308 - The Return of Lightning Lad!

Index Number – 1025 - 1.0
Issue – Adventure Comics 308
Cover Date – May 1963
Title – The Return of Lightning Lad!
Characters – Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Lightning Lass, Mon-El, Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy, Supergirl
Introduction – Lightning Lass (Ayla Lanzz)
Synopsis – His twin sister tries to impersonate Lightning Lad. After she is discovered, she is inducted into the Legion.
Writer – Edmond Hamilton
Artist – John Forte
Editor – Mort Weisinger
Reprinted – Legion of Super-Heroes Archive 2 – 1992
Showcase Presents the Legion of Super-Heroes 1 - 2007
Comments – When first reading this book my 11-year-old friend Ricky said, “How’d she hide her ____?” Another mystery of the Silver Age.

1024 - Adventure Comics 307 - The Secret Power of the Mystery Legionnaire!

Index Number – 1024 - 1.0
Issue – Adventure Comics 307
Cover Date – April 1963
Title – The Secret Power of the Mystery Legionnaire!
Characters – Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Element Lad, Invisible Kid, Saturn Girl, Sun Boy
Introductions - Element Lad (Jan Arrah)
Villain - Roxxas
Synopsis – The Legion defeats the space pirate Roxxas who killed the population of Trom. Jan, the only survivor, joins without recvealing his transmutation abilities.
Writer – Edmond Hamilton
Artist – John Forte
Cover – Curt Swan / George Klein
Editor – Mort Weisinger
Reprinted – Legion of Super-Heroes Archive 2 – 1992
Showcase Presents the Legion of Super-Heroes 1 - 2007

1023 - Adventure Comics 306 - The Legion of Substitute Heroes!

Index Number – 1023 - 1.0
Issue – Adventure Comics 306
Cover Date – March 1963
Title – The Legion of Substitute Heroes!
Characters – Bouncing Boy; Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Chlorophyll Kid, Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Fire Lad, Night Girl, Polar Boy, Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet, Stone Boy, Sun Boy
Introductions - Chlorophyll Kid (Ral Benem), Fire Lad (Staq Mavlen), Night Girl (Lydda Jath), Polar Boy (Brek Bannin), Stone Boy (Dag Wentim)
Villain – Plant Men
Synopsis – The Subs defeat an invasion of Earth while the Legionnaires are in space.
Writer – Edmund Hamilton
Artist – John Forte
Editor – Mort Weisinger
Reprinted – Legion of Super-Heroes Archive 2 – 1992
Showcase Presents the Legion of Super-Heroes 1 - 2007
Comments – Even as a kid, I thought “Legion of Substitute Heroes” was a dumb name.

1022 - Adventure Comics 305 - The Secret of the Mystery LEgionnaire!

Index Number – 1022 - 1.0
Issue – Adventure Comics 305
Cover Date – February 1963
Title – The Secret of the Mystery Legionnaire!
Characters – Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Colossal Boy; Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad; Mon-El, Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy, Superboy
Synopsis – After Brainiac 5 develops a permanent cure for Mon-El, he joins the Legion in disguise as Marvel Lad.
Writer – Jerry Seigel
Artist – John Forte
Editor – Mort Weisinger
Reprinted – Legion of Super-Heroes Archive 1 – 1991
Showcase Presents the Legion of Super-Heroes 1 - 2007
Comments – This issue includes a story titled, “Clark Kent, He-Man!” which features a cameo from Chameleon Boy.

1021 - Addventure Comcis 304 - The Stolen Super Powers!

Index Number – 1021 - 1.0
Issue – Adventure Comics 304
Cover Date – January 1963
Title – The Stolen Super Powers!
Characters – Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Invisible Kid, Lightning Lad, Matter-Eater Lad, Mon-El, Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy, Superboy, Supergirl, Triplicate Girl, Ultra Boy
Villain – Zaryan the Conqueror
Synopsis – When a computer predicts that a member will die, Saturn Girl tries to sacrifice herself. Lightning Lad is killed (temporarily) instead.
Writer – Jerry Seigel
Artist – John Forte
Editor – Mort Weisinger
Reprinted – Legion of Super-Heroes Archive 1 – 1991
Showcase Presents the Legion of Super-Heroes 1 – 2007
Legion of Super Heroes – 1050 Years of the Future - 2008
Comments – One of the staples of comics is the cover blurb that reads in some form, “In this issue, somebody dies!”. This issue did not feature such a warning/lure. As an 11-year-old, I was affected by the death of Lightning Lad, mostly because I was not aware of another staple of comics, good guys usually come back (in 8 months).
Revised Narrative - In Adventure Comics 517, 518 and 520 (October 2010, November 2010 and January 2011), Saturn Rising, Shadows of Doom and Tragedy: The Death of Lightning Lad, thisstory is expanded upon . After witnessing the death of a Science Police officer, Imra is determined to never let someone die in her place., which is why she concocted her plan to face Zaryan alone. The warning that Saturn Girl intercepted was actually sent by Nura Nal, of the planet Naltor, and destined to become a Legionnaire.

1020 - Adventure Comics 303 - The Fantastic Spy!

Index Number – 1020 - 1.0
Issue – Adventure Comics 303
Cover Date – December 1962
Title – The Fantastic Spy!
Characters – Bouncing Boy; Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad; Matter-Eater Lad, Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet,Sun Boy, Superboy
Introductions – Matter-Eater Lad (Tenzil Kem)
Villain – Dr. Landro
Synopsis – Suspicions point to newly inducted Matter-Eater Lad as a Legion traitor and criminal imformant.
Writer – Jerry Seigel
Artist – John Forte
Editor – Mort Weisinger
Reprinted – Legion of Super-Heroes Archive 1 – 1991
Showcase Presents the Legion of Super-Heroes 1 - 2007
Comments – Chameleon Boy disguises himself as a icky girl.

1019 - Adventure Comics 302 - Sun Boy's Lost Power

Index Number – 1019 - 1.0
Issue – Adventure Comics 302
Cover Date – November 1962
Title – Sun Boy’s Lost Power
Characters – Bouncing Boy, Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl; Sun Boy, Superboy, Ultra Boy
Villain - Kranyak
Synopsis – Sun Boy tries various methods to restore his lost heat powers.
Writer – Jerry Seigel
Artist – John Forte
Cover – Curt Swan / George Klein
Editor – Mort Weisinger
Reprinted – Legion of Super-Heroes Archive 1 – 1991
Showcase Presents the Legion of Super-Heroes 1 - 2007
Comments –

1018 - Adventure Comics 301 - The Secret Origin of Bouncing Boy!

Index Number – 1018 - 1.0
Issue – Adventure Comics 301
Cover Date – October 1962
Title – The Secret Origin of Bouncing Boy!
Characters – Bouncing Boy, Chameleon Boy, Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy, Triplicate Girl, Ultra Boy
Synopsis – Bouncing Boy tells his origin story to some Legion applicants
Writer – Jerry Seigel
Artist – John Forte
Editor – Mort Weisinger
Reprinted – Legion of Super-Heroes Archive 1 – 1991
Showcase Presents the Legion of Super-Heroes 1 - 2007

1017 - Superman 156 - The Last Days of Superman!

Index Number – 1017 - 1.0
Issue – Superman 156
Cover Date – October 1962
Title – The Last Days of Superman!
Characters – Bouncing Boy, Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Cosmic Boy, Invisible Kid, Lightning Lad, Mon-El, Saturn Girl, Shrinking Violet, Sun Boy, Triplicate Girl
Synopsis – With Superman near death, the Legionnaires contribute to an effort to a variety of projects for the benefit of Earth.
Writer – Edmond Hamilton
Artist – Curt Swan / George Klein
Cover – Curt Swan / George Klein
Editor – Mort Weisinger
Reprinted – Superman in the Sixties - 1999
Showcase Presents Superman 2 - 2005
Comments –

1016 - Adventure Comics 300 - The Face Behind the Lead Mask!

Index Number – 1016 - 1.0
Issue – Adventure Comics 300
Cover Date – September 1962
Title – – The Face Behind the Lead Mask!
Characters – Cosmic Boy; Lightning Lad, Mon-El, Saturn Girl, Sun Boy, Superboy
Villain – Lex Luthor, Urthlo
Synopsis – Teenaged Luthor sends a lead-covered robot to the future. Saturn Girl invents a temporary lead-poisoning antidote so that Mon-El can save the day.
Writer – Jerry Seigel
Artist – John Forte, Al Plastino
Cover – Curt Swan / George Klein
Editor – Mort Weisinger
Reprinted – Legion of Super-Heroes Archive 1 – 1991
Showcase Presents the Legion of Super-Heroes 1 - 2007
Comments – Mon-El is inducted as a member. This is the inaugural issue of the 81-issue run in Adventure Comics.

1015 - Superboy 98 - The Boy with the Ultra Powers!

Index Number – 1015 - 1.0
Issue – Superboy 98
Cover Date – July 1962
Title – The Boy with the Ultra Powers!
Characters – Superboy, Ultra Boy
Synopsis – As an initiation test, Ultra Boy must uncover Superboy’s secret identity.
Introductions – Ultra Boy (Jo Nah)
Writer – Jerry Seigel
Artist – Curt Swan / George Klein
Cover – Curt Swan / George Klein
Editor – Mort Weisinger
Reprinted – Legion of Super-Heroes Archive 1 – 1991
Showcase Presents the Legion of Super-Heroes 1 - 2007
Comments – Marla Latham introduced as chaperone.

1014 - Action 289 - Superman's Super Courtship!

Index Number – 1014 - 1.0
Issue – Action Comics 289
Cover Date – April 1962
Title – Superman’s Super Courtship!
Characters – Brainiac 5, Chameleon Man, Cosmic Man; Lightning Man, Phantom Woman, Saturn Woman, Sun Man, Triplicate Woman
Synopsis – Supergirl tries to fix up Superman with Saturn Woman
Writer – Jerry Seigel
Artist – Jim Mooney
Cover – Curt Swan / George Klein
Editor – Mort Weisinger
Reprinted – Legion of Super-Heroes Archive 1 – 1991
Showcase Presents the Legion of Super-Heroes - 2007
Comments – Chronicler’s Error – Triplicate Woman. Time Travel Travails – Wasn’t Supergirl at Imra’s and Garth’s wedding?

1013 - Action Comics 287 - Supergirl's Greatest Challenge!

Index Number – 1013 - 1.0
Issue – Action Comics 287
Cover Date – April 1962
Title – Supergirl’s Greatest Challenge!
Characters – Bouncing Boy, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad; Saturn Girl, Sun Boy
Villains – Chameleon Men
Synopsis – In the 30th century, Supergirl defeats a group on Legion imposters.
Writer – Jerry Seigel
Artist – Jim Mooney
Editor – Mort Weisinger
Reprinted – Legion of Super-Heroes Archive 1 – 1991
Showcase Presents the Legion of Super-Heroes 1 - 2007
Comments –

1012 - Superman 152 - The Robot Master!

Index Number – 1012 - 1.0
Issue – Superman 152
Cover Date – April 1962
Title – The Robot Master!
Characters – Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy; Cosmic Boy; Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl; Sun Boy; Supergirl, Superman
Synopsis – The Legionnaires travel to the 20th century to play a joke on Supergirl.
Writer – Jerry Seigel
Artist – Curt Swan / George Klein
Cover – Curt Swan / George Klein
Editor – Mort Weisinger
Reprinted – Showcase Presents Sperman 3 - 2005
Comments – This one gets an index number, because it features the Legion’s tradition of traveling through time to play a joke on someone.

Comic Books in the Sixties

Somewhere around 1962 or 1963, I received a post card from National Publications. It was magnificent. It featured a drawing of Superman on the address side, and Batman on the message side. The message? I was being thanked for writing a “letter to the editor”, and I was told that my letter might be printed in one of my favorite DC comic. It was the greatest thing to happen to me in my 11 or 12 years of existence.

I immediately ran out and showed it to all of my friends. I kept it on the top of my comic book box / old shoe box, so that when I got together to read comics with my friends, everyone could not help but see it. I was the king of the block until it became evident that my epistle was not going to be printed.

In the sixties, we were comic readers, not collectors. We sat on somebody’s porch and read our books. We traded books and borrowed books. We traced the artwork into our school notebooks. We mowed lawns, raked leaves, shoveled snow just to get money to buy more comics to read.

We stained them with peanut butter and jelly. We left them outside in the rain. We lost covers; we lost whole books. We did not read them once and place them in plastic bags never to be seen again. We went down to the drugstore whenever we had 10 cents, or 12 cents, or 25 cents. We didn’t wait until Wednesday to wheedle our moms to drive us across town to buy this week’s books.
Most of the time we didn’t even know when our favorites would be published. And if we missed an issue, we knew that Ricky or Dave or Frank had probably already bought it.

We were the target consumer for the “illustrated periodical” market in the Sixties. We wanted space adventures, super fights, and good guys in cool costumes beating bad buys. We didn’t want physics lessons, complex plots, examinations of social issues, and most of all we didn’t want to keep track of year-long storylines.

And people like Mort Weisinger knew that. Over the years, good old Mort and his contemporaries have been made the goat for publishing thousands of comics that were loaded with scientific errors, unrealistic personal relationships, glaring inconsistencies and plain old silliness (eg. Any Mr. Mxyzptlk story). They knew we wanted comics that were fun to read and that we wanted lots of them.

Mort introduced the Legion of Super Heroes, three teenagers with colorful costumes and amazing abilities, who brought Superboy 1000 years into the future with fantastic ice-cream parlors; just to play a joke on him.
What a great story. Plenty of pre-teen boys must have written to Mort, because they showed up again, this time to visit Supergirl. Then they were written into some Superman stories.

When they received their home in Adventure Comics, the Legion faced more incongruities (dozens of characters from different worlds and only the villainous aliens didn’t look like us) and more silliness (Bouncing Boy, the Legion of Substitute Heroes). And we loved it all.

Sitting here in the dawn of the 21st century and poking fun at the early Legion stories for being unsophisticated is like criticizing Shakesphere for being boring and obtuse. I admit that I have been guilty of such temporal bias, and I am a professional historian.

So, as we re-explore the beginnings of our beloved Legion, please remember this one important fact: It’s only a comic book!

1011 - Adventure Comics 293 - The Legion of Super Traitors!

Index Number – 1011 - 1.0
Issue – Adventure Comics 293
Cover Date – February 1962
Title – The Legion of Super Traitors!
Characters – Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Mon-El, Saturn Girl
Villains – Brain Globes of Rambat
Synopsis – Under the influence of the Brain Globes, the Legionnaires attack Superboy. He is saved by the (shudder) the Legion of Super Pets
Writer – Jerry Seigel
Artist – Curt Swan / George Klein
Cover – Curt Swan / George Klein
Editor – Mort Weisinger
Reprinted – Legion of Super-Heroes Archive 1 – 1991
Showcase Presents the Legion of Super-Heroes 1 - 2007
Comments – Even as a 10-year-old boy, I hated the Legion of Super-Pets.

1010 - Action Comics 285 - The World's Greatest Heroine

Index Number – 1010 - 1.0
Issue – Action Comics 285
Cover Date – February 1962
Title – The World’s Greatest Heroine!
Characters – Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl
Synopsis – The Legionnaires help Supergirl defeat an interdimensional beast.
Writer – Jerry Seigel
Artist – Jim Mooney
Cover – Curt Swan / George Klein
Editor - Mort Weisinger
Reprinted - Supergirl Archives 2 - 2001
Showcase Presents Superman 3 - 2005
Showcase Presents Supergirl 2 – 2008

1009 - Adventure Comics 290 - The Secret of the Seventh Super-Hero!

Index Number – 1009 - 1.0
Issue – Adventure Comics 290
Cover Date – November 1961
Title – The Secret of the Seventh Super-Hero!
Characters – Brainiac 5, Chameleon Boy, Cosmic Boy; Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Saturn Girl, Superboy
Synopsis – The Legionnaires disassemble a deadly weapon and hide it in the 20th century.
Writer – Robert Bernstein
Artist – George Papp
Cover – Curt Swan / Stan Kaye
Editor - Mort Weisinger
Reprinted – Legion of Super-Heroes Archive 1 – 1991
Showcase Presents the Legion of Super-Heroes 1 - 2007
Comments – What? Rather than destroy a deadly robot weapon, they hide it in the past? Anyway, the Legion must have caught someone's attention. Legionnaires appear in three books in one month.