JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA
Golden Age DC Characters (1935–1942)
Action Comics
Compiled by Jason Greenfield
No
DC title holds more significance than Action Comics. Not only
did it's premier issue feature the debut of Superman, but the title
has been in continuous publication since 1938—the second longest running
comic book in history (after Detective).
Unlike other books, Action has featured the same character throughout its entire run as well. Because of Superman's popularity, comparitavely few supporting features were introduced in the pages of this book.
| Colored = masked or super-hero |
| Character | Appeared in Issues… | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| "The Adventures of Marco Polo" | #1-17 (June 1938–Oct. 1939) | historical circa late 13th century. |
| Bret Coleman | #1-2 (June 1938–July 1938) | text story called South Sea Strategy. |
| Chuck Dawson | #1-22 (June 1938–Mar. 1940) | Western |
| Mister America aka the Americommando | #1-74 (June 1938–July 1944) | Masked hero |
| Pep Morgan | #1-41 or 42 (June 1938–Oct. or Nov. 1941) | College athlete also in More Fun. |
| Scoop Scanlon | #1-13 (June 1938–June 1939) | Reporter. |
| Superman | #1-present (June 1938–) | Super-powered hero |
| Zatara | #1-138, 141 (June 1938–Nov. 1949) | Super-powered hero |
| Inspector Donald and Bobby | #2, 4 (July 1938–Sept. 1938) | |
| Bad Bill | #4 (Sept. 1938) | |
| Clip Carson | #14-36 (July 1939–May 1941) | Soldier of Fortune. Also in More Fun. |
| The Three Aces | #18-63 (Nov. 1939–Aug. 1943) | Fog Fortune, Gunner Bill and Whistler Will were a team. |
| Black Pirate | #23-36, 38-42 (Apr. 1940–Nov. 1941) | Historical—transfers over to Sensation Comics Jan. 1942. Jon Valor was a pirate in the 16th century serving Elizabeth I but later stories had him marry and his son grow to manhood by which time he served King Charles I so that takes his timeline to at least the 1620's. |
| Congo Bill | #37-92, 94-261 (June 1941–Feb. 1960) | Jungle adventurer. Much later becomes Congorilla. Previously appeared in More Fun |
| The Vigilante | #42-198 (Nov. 1941–Nov. 1954) • Detective Comics #140 • Leading Comics #1-14 | Masked super-hero |
| Steve Carter–G Man | #124 (Sept. 1948) | |
| Tommy Tomorrow | #127-196, 199-251 (Dec. 1948–Apr. 1959) | |
| Joanie Swift | #196 (Jan. 1954) |