Issue Description

Crime Paradise (Superman) (An atom bomb is the cure for Superman's insanity!?!) -- 2. Devilfish's Domain (Congo Bill) -- 3. The Perfect Hideaway (Hayfoot Henry) -- 4. When East Goes West (Vigilante) -- 5. Little Morton -- 6. The Man Who Didn't Dare (Zatara) Superman:   The story opens with Superman seemingly having taken leave of his senses, as he refuses to save a drowning man, dismantles a car instead of fixing it, and turns a skyscraper upside-down. For an explanation, the story flashes back a few days, and we visit the headquarters of Specs Dour, a criminal boss, who is reading up on ancient drugs. Specs has discovered a drug which causes insanity, and his plan is to drug wealthy men and then make their families pay for the antidote. Specs's first victim is politician Craig Dennison, who goes berserk at a banquet and tries to kill the other guests until Superman intervenes. When Clark visits Dennison in the hospital later, he passes Specs who is just leaving. Clark is surprised to discover that Dennison is now sane again immediately after Specs's visit. 
Specs's next victim is Bruce Doyle, a famous stage actor. During a sword-duelling scene in a play that night, Doyle tries to kill the other actor. Fortunately, Lois and Clark are in the audience and Clark slips away, changes to Superman, and prevents the murder. While Superman is dealing with Doyle on stage, Lois overhears a couple of Specs's gang talking about the plot to blackmail the victims' families and decides to trail them when they leave the theatre. Needless to say, Lois is captured by the gang and held hostage.
Meanwhile, Clark decides to talk to Doyle's wife, but as he approaches her house, he sees Specs calling on her, so he eavesdrops using super-hearing and x-ray vision, and discovers Specs's plot. 
When Specs leaves Doyle's house, Superman trails him back to his headquarters, where he discovers that Specs has given Lois the drug and refuses to give her the antidote unless Superman also takes the drug. Oddly enough, this drug *does* affect Superman, who becomes deranged and performs the bizarre acts that opened the story.
Confused, Superman drifts out over the Pacific and runs into an atomic bomb test, where the huge blast clears his mind. He rushes back to Metropolis and captures Specs and his gang, and repairs the damage he did while deranged.

Action Comics (1938)

Publisher

DC Comics

Volume Description

In the early days of comics books, it was not the convention to name comics after specific characters. Rather comics bore generic names such as this one. Although this series featured Superman throughout, it thus bore this name, one which it has become famous for (and the name was kept after the launch of The New 52.) It was the fourth DC Comics title, and the first new one produced after Detective Comics spread beyond the one title (this was after it purchased More Fun Comics and New Adventure Comics.)

Starring: Lex Luthor (starting #890) until #900.

Second Feature: Captain Atom (#879-#889), Superboy (#892), Jimmy Olsen (#893-#896)

(Issues #601-642 are filed under Action Comics Weekly)

Collected EditionsSuperman: The Golden Age Omnibus vol. 1 (#1-31)Adventures of Superman: Gil Kane vol. 1 (#539-541, 545, 546 & #551-554)Superman vs. Darkseid (#586)They Saved Luthor's Brain (#600, #668, #670-673, #676-678 )Panic in the Sky (#674-675)Death of Superman (#683-684)World Without Superman (#685-686)Superman: Funeral For A Friend (#685-686)Superman: Reign of the Supermen (#687-688)The Trial of Superman (#716-717)Transformed! (#729 & 732)DC Comics Presents: Superman #4 (#768, #771-773)Superman: Emperor Joker (#769-770)President Lex (#773)Superman: Our Worlds At War, Book One (#780-781)Superman: Our Worlds At War, Book Two (#782)Superman: Ending Battle (#795-796)DC Comics Presents: Superman #2 (#798)Godfall (Action Comics #812- 813, Adventures of Superman #625- 626 and Superman #202- 203)Superman: The Wrath of Gog (#814-819; backups #812-813)Superman: Sacrifice (Action Comics #829, Superman #218-220, Adventures of Superman #642-643 and Wonder Woman #219-220)Superman: Up, Up and Away! (#837-840)Superman: Back In Action (#841-843, plus stories from DC Comics Presents #4, #17 and #24)Superman: Last Son (#844-846, #851 and Action Comics Annual #11)The Third Kryptonian (Superman #668-670, Action Comics #847, Superman Annual #13)Redemption (Superman #659&666, Action Comics #848-849)3-2-1 Action (Superman #665, Action Comics #852-854, Legends of the DC Universe #14)Superman: Escape From Bizarro World (#855-857)Superman And The Legion of Super-Heroes (#858-863)Superman: Brainiac (#866-870)Superman: New Krypton Vol. 1 (#871)Superman: New Krypton Vol. 2 (#872-873)Superman: Nightwing And Flamebird Vol. 1 (#875-879 and Action Comics Annual #12)Superman: Codename Patriot (#880)Superman: Nightwing And Flamebird Vol. 2 (#883-889, Superman #696 and Adventure Comics #8-10)Superman: The Black Ring Vol. 1 (#890-895)Superman: The Black Ring Vol. 2 (#896-900; Action Comics Annual #13; Secret Six #29)Secret Six: Caution To the Wind (#897)Superman: Reign of Doomsday (#900-904)For Post-Flashpoint refer to Action Comics (Vol. 2)

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