Issue Description

The Average American (Superman) -- 2. The Bengal Woman (Congo Bill) -- 3. The Amazing Mr. Minute (Vigilante) -- 4. Smoke Signal -- 5. Chief Hot Foot -- 6. The Rainbow Plot (Hayfoot Henry) -- 7. Daffy & Doodle -- 8. Lowdown on a High Hat (Zatara)

On cover: "Men at work" sign with men crossed off and Superman written over it. While Superman is digging with his bare hands, two average Joes are taking it easy. Don't you wish Superman was where you worked? 

Superman: When the Planet's circulation falls, Perry White decides they need some special feature to boost sales. Clark suggests a contest to find the ideal average American, with a prize of $10,000. As expected, the number of entrants is large, but one of them is Normie Norman, a crook who has never been caught by the police, and so thinks he has a chance at being judged 'normal'.  
A few days later, a list of finalists is published in the Planet, and Clark is dismayed to see his own name on the list. Feeling certain that Lois is responsible, he is about to confront her when Perry sends him off to cover the story of banker Homer Jordan who has awoken to find himself tied to a flagpole atop a tall office building. After Superman saves Jordan, he remembers seeing his name on the list of finalists. 
Later, Superman helps apprehend a man who has stolen a Shakespeare first folio from the main library, only to discover that he is another one from the list of finalists. The man insists he was threatened with death by a gang of masked men unless he stole the folio. 
Superman deduces that someone is targetting all the finalists in an attempt to make them look abnormal and thus remove their chance of winning the contest. Realizing that Clark is on the list, he decides to make himself available to the thugs to see what will happen. 
Soon, he is approached by a man who claims he has a scoop for Clark, and he takes Clark, with Lois in tow, out to a remote location where a missing airplane has crashed. The thugs' plan is to send in Clark's story to a rival newspaper to make him look like a traitor and ruin his reputation, so they tie up Lois and Clark and give the story to a messenger to take to the rival Morning Dispatch. 
Clark manages to escape as Superman without arousing Lois's suspicions and intercept the messenger before he can deliver the story.  
The next day, when the finalists are assembled for the final judging to decide the winner of the contest, Clark reveals that Normie is a crook and his gang had abducted Clark and Lois, and then puts on a show of bravery by tackling Normie when he pulls a gun, hoping to disqualify himself as 'average' in doing so. 
However, the judges decide that Clark's actions are typical of the average American and award him the prize (which of course he donates to charity).

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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