And, like a lot of DC Silver Age joints, this was a great set-up on the cover. A great Curt Swan job (inks by George Klein); excellent coloring, as the orange background is attention-getting without being ultimately distracting; The "shabby" Clark, in his tattered suits, with chain (with an X-Ray gun?!); the stunned look on the "real" Clark's face...the go-go checks!!
The beauty part? This scene actually happens on the inside of the book:
Still, even though Kal-El beats the Revenge Squad, he's left with a dilemma, as the "fake Clark" really did expose his identity in front of everyone. So what happens next?
But Clark has replaced the X-Ray gun...
I should have posted this last October, but not only did I see this cover, I believe it's the cover to the first comic I ever bought, when I was a stripling of six in the Pond Point Pharmacy on New Haven Avenue in lovely Milford, CT, excitedly imagining how impressed my older brother would be when he saw it, too. I don't remember his reaction to the cover, but I clearly recall feeling sorry for the android Clark Kent and liking him, (tho' we later learn that "Clark" was actually an unwitting pawn in a nonsensically-too-involved plot to destroy Superman), and I vividly remember my brother's disappointment after he finished the story.
ReplyDeleteI finally picked up a cheap copy on ebay a few years ago, and, yeah, the story still sucks, but I do believe this may have been the most intriguing cover the "Weisinger Bunch" produced in all of the sixties (and there was a lot of impressive competition). Thanks for rekindling ancient memories, Snell; I enjoy your blog, but I rarely can think of anything clever to add, so I keep my own counsel.