Issue Description

A Voyage to Destiny (Superman) -- 2. The Damaged Boulevard (Hayfoot Henry) -- 3. The Mountain without a Top (Vigilante) -- 4. Private Pete -- 5. The Trapped Trappers (Congo Bill) -- 6. Quiz Quix -- 7. On the Hoof -- 8. Walk of Death (Zatara)

Superman: Although this story was published in 1944, it is set in 1939, just before the start of the war. An old sea captain, Matt Carson, lies dying. Because his son Roger has turned into a playboy, Carson senior wants him to learn something of life before he can inherit his fortune. Carson's will states that in order for Roger to inherit the money, he must set sail to the same places his father did and take the same jobs. To ensure he lives up to the will's conditions, he sends his old first mate, Brad, along with Roger.

When Clark hears about the unusual will at the Planet, he decides to tag along as Superman to make sure Roger doesn't cheat. Roger sets sail in his father's old ship, the Destiny, and his first port of call is Madagascar. Here, he must take a job as a bouncer at a notorious bar called The Shark's Den. While there, however, he is spotted by Black Patch, a surly thug who lost an eye fighting with Roger's father. As Roger strongly resembles his father, Black Patch identifies him and decides to get his revenge on Matt Carson's son. Roger manages to beat Black Patch in a fight, but Patch returns later with a gang of thugs determined to kill Roger. Seeing that the fight isn't fair, Superman intervenes and saves Roger.

Roger's next stop is Sumatra, where he must take a job on a rubber plantation. While there, a gang of Japanese hijack a rubber shipment, but again Superman saves the day by defeating the hijackers.

Roger's final port of call is in Bengal, where he must bag a tiger (it was a less-PC age in 1944!) in a single day. While he is out hunting, a runner brings news that Black Patch has caught up with him and has captured Brad aboard his ship. Patch demands that Roger face him in a fight, otherwise Brad will die.

Realizing that abandoning the hunt to save Brad would cost him the tiger and his inheritance, he does the Right Thing and returns to the ship. Superman, meanwhile, bags a tiger for him.

Back aboard the ship, Black Patch again has stacked the odds and tries to kill Roger outright, but Superman again intervenes. Just as the fight is about to end, however, a tropical storm breaks, and a waterspout destroys Black Patch's ship. As Superman was not as powerful then as he later became, he is unable to save more than Roger and Brad, so Black Patch and his crew are lost with their ship.

Back in Metropolis, the lawyers decide that Roger is entitled to his inheritance, but he decides to give the lot away to charity anyway.

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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