A Little Archie In Riverdale

Archie Andrews and the town of Riverdale were introduced back in Pep Comics #22 (December, 1941, by Vic Bloom and Bob Montana), along with his pal, Jughead Jones, as Archie tries to impress the new girl who moved into town, Betty Cooper as kids.  Starting in the next issue, Archie and his friends were tracked a little further in their lives, as teenagers.  Betty's rival, rich girl, Veronica Lodge, appears soon after, in Pep Comics #26 (April, 1942), with Archie's nemesis, Reggie Mantle and Mr. Weatherbee being introduced in Jackpot Comics #5 (Spring, 1942)....all continuing to grow the cast and expand upon the high school activities of Archie and his friends, until they could stop sharing a magazine with heroes like the Shield, Black Hood, Steel Sterling and the Hangman, and Archie Comics was born (starting in Winter, 1942).

But, what about the kids younger lives?  Well, here a little history of Little Archie...

Little Archie

Little Archie #1 premiered in 1956, when the company publishing Archie had changed from MLJ to Archie Comics, with the adventures of Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Reggie and even Moose Mason as kids, written and drawn by Bob Bolling, with inks by Bob White (at least for the first issue, Bob Bolling having more to do on the later issues).

These were cute little tales of the kids of Riverdale, working things out as they played war, pretended marriage, played doctor and nurse, pretended to go to court and other activities kids did as they figured out their world (though not quite matching up with regular Archie Comics, as Betty didn't move to Riverdale until she was a little older....).

The Little Archie run lasted until issue #4, in the Fall of 1957....

Little Archie Giant Comics

...to become Little Archie Giant Comics, starting with issue #5 in Winter 1957-1958, and continuing under that title, with more of the same hijinks, with the title actually becoming giant-sized starting with issue #13 of Winter, 1959/1960...

...through issue #18 of Spring, 1961 (where Archie headed out to Mars in "Little Archie On Mars")...



....establishing a more fantasy/science fiction feel for the Little Archie series, which would continue on as the series continued on....

The Adventures Of Little Archie

...being retitled as The Adventures Of Little Archie with #19 (Summer, 1961), continuing the fantasy elements in the issues, as well as adding new ones....


....like a reoccurring villain, the Mad Doctor Doom (no relation to Fantastic Four's Doctor Doom)...

....adding a young version of Archie's super-hero identity of Pureheart the Powerful with Little Pureheart the Powerful...


....even creating a mod band for the kids as the Little Archies, as Dexter Taylor came on board to handle some of the Little Archie tales as well along with Bob Bolling, all the way through issue #53 of May, 1969....

Little Archie

....with the title reverting back to Little Archie with #54 (July, 1969), which remained as the title of the book until its end with issue #180 in February, 1983.

During this run, a Little Sabrina (a younger version of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch) was added to the mix as well, with the title remaining a giant sized through issue #84, and the stories were more fantastic than ever.

A little fun in Riverdale, separate from all the other Archie Comics, before comic books and the world got so serious!

Flash Facts: Flash Annual of 1963

Flash was the envy of all the other DC heroes except for Superman, Batman and Lois Lane, as the fastest man alive got his first annual in the Summer of 1963.


This book featured reprints of the first appearances of important characters to the Flash mythos....


....and we'll take a look at these stories below!

Katmos

The first reprinted story is from Flash #105 (February-March, 1959) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella, with Barry Allen facing off against the "Conqueror From 8 Million B.C."....that being the menace of Katmos (though the cover of the original issue features the Mirror Master, who was in the other story of that book).


After a brief recap of the Flash's origin, Barry faces off against the ancient threat of Katmos, freed by archeologist John Haines (as the metallic monarch used his mind control ray on the man).  Katmos then encountered the Flash, even taking control of him for a time, but Barry Allen proved to be too fast for this  menace, beating his plans....and still being able to go to dinner with Iris West!

Mr. Element

Next up is the first appearance of another enemy of the Flash, from Showcase #13 (March-April, 1958) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Frank Giacoia, that of the "Master Of The Elements", Mr. Element (though this also was not the feature of the issue to make the cover).


Barry faces Mr. Element and his gang (Argon, Krypton, Xenon and Radon, named after the inert elements of the periodic table), with the tricky Mr. Element using pre-prepared tricks with elements to halt the fastest man alive.  Mr. Element evades capture, and even calls out the Flash while Barry is on a dinner date with Iris...the villain ruins Barry's night, but the Flash proved he could think fast enough to dash the hopes of his enemy.  Mr. Element returns later, in a new identity, that of Dr. Alchemy!

Elongated Man

Flash really needed a friend, and he found one in the Flash #112 (April-May, 1960) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella, at least he would as soon as he solved "The Mystery Of The Elongated Man".


Flash is being out-heroed by newcomer to Central City, the Elongated Man.  Elongated Man was really Ralph Dibny, who was fascinated by circus rubber men since he was a kid, found they all drank a soft drink, Gingold, and took an extract from that which allowed him his elastic powers.  Flash suspected Elongated Man of recent robberies in his city, and set a trap for the Gingold guardian....but he found EM to have captured the real thieves instead.  Flash and Elongated Man tied for the Man of the Year award given by Picture News, and became fast friends after this (with Elongated Man later joining the JLA!).

Star Sapphire

The next story of the issue featured the Flash from the Golden Age, Jay Garrick.  "The Amazing Star Sapphire" was the one of the menaces of All-Flash #32 (December-January, 1947/1948) by Robert Kanigher, Lee Elias and Moe Worthman (thought Flash foe, the Fiddler, got the cover).
 
The Flash and Dr. Flura were found comatose, and brought to a laboratory to be revived.  While in the lab, the villainous Star Sapphire appeared, with a plan to have her world destroy the Earth (and lured Flash and the lady doctor to it, via a space-time machine).  Flash stopped Star Sapphire's evil plan, rescued Dr. Flura as well, returning to Earth.   This Star Sapphire later proved to be similar to the Star Sapphire who was the foe of Barry's friend, Green Lantern Hal Jordan (but that connection took a few decades to reveal....).

Grodd

Flash faced the "Menace Of The Super-Gorilla" in Flash #106 (April-May, 1959) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella, though this story wasn't featured on the cover...it was the first appearance of Gorilla Grodd and King Solovar of Gorilla City.

Grodd secretly comes to Central City, while Barry's friend, actor Fred Pearson, thinks he's losing his mind (as he performs in an act disguised as a gorilla, but can't remember his last performance, which people say was his best).  Really, it was Grodd, hiding for a time, as he searched for Solovar (the king of Gorilla City, who had been captured and was in a circus, hiding his own telepathic abilities).  Grodd found Solovar, took the secret of Force of Mind (mind control) from him, and Solovar broke free to find Flash.  Solovar explained this to the Flash, who then had to stop Grodd from taking over Gorilla City...which he quickly did (and also promised to keep the existence of telepathic gorillas and their home from the world).  Grodd would return many times to face the Flash....

Kid Flash

Flash got a little bit of help in his life as he would "Meet Kid Flash" in Flash #110 (December-January, 1959/1960) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella (in the non-cover featured story of this issue).  

Iris' nephew, Wally West, was a big fan of the Flash.  Iris asked Barry to escort Wally around town, and hoped to meet the Flash.  Barry brought Wally back to his lab, and super-speed around to meet Wally as the Flash.  While explaining his origin, a lightning bolt struck, hitting the chemicals and dousing Wally, giving him the same super-speed Barry has.  The Flash gives Wally a smaller version of his own suit, allowing the boy to be a super-hero as Kid Flash, as long as he keeps his abilities a secret from everyone.   Later, Barry tells the boy his own secret, and Wally even joins with other sidekicks of other heroes to form the Teen Titans.

There were also special features in this issue, like how artist Carmine Infantino drew the Flash, as well as an index of the Barry Allen Flash issues of the time, and a few special Flash firsts covers.  While it took a long time for Flash to get another annual, Flash did have a couple of 80 Page Giants (#4 of October 1964 and #9 of April 1965) devoted to his earlier adventures (which you can use the index in the annual to guess which ones they are).  Better still, you can get a replica edition of the Flash Annual (which came out in 2001).

Superman As President?

Faster than a speeding congressman, more powerful than a filibuster, able to leap tall monuments in a single bound...


....it is Superman as President of the United States!


Taking advantage of the alternate futures that Waverider was able to project when touching your favorite DC heroes in the 1991 Armageddon 2001 Annuals, readers get to see what a Superman presidency would be like in Action Comics Annual #3 (1991) by Roger Stern, Tom Grummett, Phil Rodier, Carlos Garzon, Doug Hazlewood and Brad Vancata under a cover by Dave Gibbons.


After a brief battle with Kalibak of the New Gods and a conversation with Metron, Superman goes to have a date night with Lois (as Clark Kent), when Waverider arrives to see Superman's future.

In this future, Pa Kent dies in a horrible accident on the farm, prompting Ma Kent to move to Metropolis, Clark and Lois to get married, and Pete Ross to run for President.  After a nearly successful attempt on Pete's life by Intergang, foiled only by Clark Kent (who exposes his duel identity in public to save his friend), Pete convinces Clark to run for President in his place.  After having the Supreme Court rule Superman is an American (as his birthing chamber was also his rocket, meaning Superman was born in the USA), Superman runs for and wins the Presidency.  Clark settles the national debt with help from Aquaman (finding old sea treasure), has Luthor arrested for plotting to kill him, and unites the world's heroes to help all mankind.

Not the bleak future where Monarch ruled that he was looking for, Waverider leaves Superman (who prevents this future by being slightly distracted, and going to save Pa Kent from being crushed by a tractor). 

Captain America as President?

Captain America as President?  That was the basis of the story of What If? #26 (April, 1981), with Captain America running for and successfully becoming the President of the United States in a story by Mike W. Barr, with Roger McKenzie, Don Perlin, Roger Stern and John Byrne all contributing, and art by Herb Trimpe and Mike Esposito....all under a cover by Marie Severin (with Captain America co-creator Jack Kirby swearing in Steve Rogers, with Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan in attendance). 
 
Of course, if Captain America takes over the United States, wouldn't that force the Red Skull to get his own country?

The issue also contained a story about an alternate reality Man-Thing, and some history on the Eternals and the Kree (the last two alien races that Jack Kirby had a hand in creating....).

This story was an alternate world version of the Captain America story from Captain America #250 (October, 1980, by Roger Stern, John Byrne and Joe Rubenstein, with plot ideas by Don Perlin and Roger McKenzie), wherein Captain America was approached about running for President as the people's choice.  Cap decided for the good of the country, that his being president would not be good for America.....which the What If? story played out. 


How can you judge a President? 


How about by what he does while he is President?

Patriot Captain America of the late 1940s and early 1950s

Steve Rogers was the first Captain America, but he wasn't the only one.   Another man to be Cap was Jeff Mace.


Reporter.       Hero.


American.     Patriot.

Here's a little of the history of the man who was the Patriot, and gave up that identity to become Captain America!

Golden Age

Jeff Mace began life as the Patriot in Human Torch #4 (Spring, 1941 by Ray Gill and George Mandel, though the issue was #3 on the cover), appearing in the next issue (Human Torch #4/5), then moving over to Marvel Mystery Comics starting with #21 (July, 1941), where he was a regular feature until Marvel Mystery Comics #74 (July, 1946), using his athletic ability and reporter's skills to fight menaces.

Along the way, he even gained a partner, Miss Patriot (Jeff's friend, Mary Morgan), who gained powers of above normal hearing and super-vision in Marvel Mystery Comics #50 (December, 1943), getting him a little extra help on his cases.



All these appearances, and the Patriot never made a cover in the Golden Age, so settle for a few of his splash pages to show his original costume!


This was also the costume Rick Jones manifested him during the Kree-Skrull War (but that wasn't really Jeff Mace....).

1970s Revival

With the success of the Invaders in the 1970s (a team composed of the original Captain America, the original Human Torch and Sub-Mariner formed in an issue of the Avengers during a time travel adventure), more classic Timely characters were given new life, detailing their adventures during World War II, this time as the homefront heroes, the Liberty Legion, including the Whizzer, Miss America, the Thin Man, Jack Frost, Blue Diamond, Red Raven and the Patriot...

...starting in Invaders #5 (March, 1976 by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler, Dick Ayers and Jim Mooney), continuing into Marvel Premiere #29 (April, 1976 by Roy Thomas, Don Heck and Vince Colletta), Invaders #6 (May, 1976 by Roy Thomas, Frank Robbins and Vince Colletta) and Marvel Premiere #30 (June, 1976 by Thomas, Heck and Colletta), with all the heroes gathering to battle the Red Skull (under Jack Kirby covers, no less!).  The Liberty Legion returned in Invaders #35 to #38 (December, 1978 to March, 1979), as well as alternate Earth versions of the team meeting the Thing in Marvel Two-In-One Annual #1 (1976) and Marvel Two-In-One #20 (October, 1976).

The big change for the Patriot happened in What If? #4 (August, 1977 by Roy Thomas and Frank Robbins), where he helped the former Invaders and their new Captain America and Bucky against the android, Adam II, who killed the second Captain America....resulting in Jeff Mace making the decision to take up the spirit of liberty, and become the newest Captain America, where he remained until he couldn't any more (with this history recognized in Captain America #215 in November, 1977), retiring to go back to reporting, and another man was assigned by the government to become the fourth Captain America.

End Of The Line

Jeff Mace got a little help from the Contemplator in Captain America Annual #6 (1982 by J. M. DeMatteis, Ron Wilson and Vince Colletta) to become Captain America once more, saving an alternate Earth from an alternate Adam II with help from Steve Rogers!  This was important to Jeff Mace, who needed a good last shot at being a hero, as he was dying of cancer, eventually passing away in Captain America #285 (September, 1983 by J. M. DeMatteis, Sal Buscema and Kim DeMulder).

Life Of The Legend

Patriot got some of his history filled in with later looks back at Timely's Golden Age...
 
...with the longest look back coming in Captain America: Patriot mini-series, with four issues from November 2010 to February, 2011, really getting into the mind of Jeffrey Mace and his added history! 
 

Karl Kesel and Mitch Breitweisser gave the Patriot a fuller origin, having reporter Jeffrey Solomon Mace be influenced by Captain America to become a hero, detailing how he took over as the third Captain America, working with the All-Winners Squad, FBI liaison Betsy Ross (who would become Golden Girl), Miss Patriot, the shooting of his Bucky, and how the FBI didn't want him as Captain America as the threat of Communism loomed over America, making Jeff lack trust in the USA, and retire from being Captain America.

Captain America History

Though the comics treated Captain America and Bucky as the originals, Jeff Mace and Fred Davis' versions of Captain America and Bucky had their Golden Age adventures, starting with Captain America Comics #59 (November, 1946), continuing into All-Winners Comics #21 (Winter, 1946-1947, facing Future Man and Madame Death with the All-Winners Squad), then from Captain America Comics #60 (January, 1947) to Captain America Comics #73 (July, 1949), and even titles like Blonde Phantom #16 (Winter, 1947-1948), Sub-Mariner #31 (April, 1949) and Captain America's Weird Tales #74 (October, 1949), and even to his home, Marvel Mystery Comics, for issues #80 to #84, #86 to #88, #91 and #92 in the 1940s (but this time as Captain America).
 

Captain America faced many new foes at this time, like the Human Fly, the Black Baron, Mr. Polly, King Lear, the Acrobat, the Chief, and even Lavender....who shot Bucky and was the villain that Betsy Ross first faced, in her new super-hero identity as the Golden Girl (in Captain America Comics #66 in April, 1948 by Bill Woolfolk and Syd Shores). 

Bucky (Fred Davis) stayed on the sidelines from this point onward (returning briefly to face the Trickster in Captain America Comics #71 of March, 1949), and Golden Girl gave up her costumed identity after Captain America Comics #73 (July, 1949). 

Jeff Mace's Captain America even faced his own Red Skull....

...facing off against the dead villain in the odd Captain America's Weird Tales #74 (October, 1949), as the Red Skull got the lord of the underworld to bring Cap to hell for one last battle....(and the rest of the tales of this and the next issue were supernatural ones, not relating to Captain America).  Through all this, Captain America triumphed....a Patriot (this time, represented by Jeff Mace).

Happy Friday The 13th

Happy Friday the 13th....with these two issues, of Friday The 13th: How I Spent My Summer Vacation from November and December of 2007!

More machete wielding workouts for Jason by writer Jason Aaron and artists, Adam Archer and Peter Guzman, with covers by Dustin Nguyen (#1) and Adam Archer and Peter Guzman (#2) from Wildstorm! 

Giant Batman Alien Invasion

Batman, usually thought to be a dark knight, serving a lonely patrol over Gotham City was something completely different in the 1950s...


...he was a full-fledged alien hunter, with his partner, the Boy Wonder, Robin!


In the collection of 80 Page Giant Magazine #12 of July, 1965, the Dynamic Duo faced many an alien invasion, from the Strange Worlds Of Batman and Robin.


Take a look at the stories....

Detective Comics #256

Batman and Robin are taken to "The Captive Planet" from Detective Comics #256 (June, 1958) by Bill Finger, Sheldon Moldoff and Charles Paris (under an original cover by Sheldon Moldoff and Win Mortimer).



The captive planet is Tora, and Batman and Robin have to work to free captives to fight against alien invaders to this world.  Under the leader Boran, the dynamic duo destroy a machine holding prisoners helpless.  Torans and Earthlings unite, to fend off the invaders, with Batman. Robin and everyone else from Earth being able to return home.

Batman #93

Batman #93 (August, 1955) was the original home of "The Caveman Batman", a story by Edmond Hamilton, Dick Sprang and Charles Paris, with an original cover by Win Mortimer.


Bruce Wayne decides to help archeologist William Sayre, who says he found cave drawings of dinosaurs by cavemen (who didn't exist at the same time).  Enlisting the help of Professor Carter Nichols, Batman and Robin travel back in time via hypnosis (it was the 1950s....).  The dynamic duo meet a caveman with a secret identity, that of Tiger Man.  Working with Tiger Man, Batman and Robin defeat a villain named Borr (who has a secret weapon, that of a dinosaur frozen in ice).  The dinosaur gets free from the ice after Batman starts a fire, but dies quickly after.  Tiger Man promises to immortalize the events on cave wall, and Batman and Robin return to the present.

Batman #125

"King Batman The First" was the focus of Batman #125 (August, 1959) by Bill Finger, Dick Sprang and Sheldon Moldoff, under a cover by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye.
 
Batman and Robin end up in another dimension while chasing a criminal, with Batman joining a competition after finding out a resident was fixing the game.  Winning, Batman ends up being crowned King of Plaxius, where the criminal Batman was following, Gurney, finds out Batman's secret identity, and then gets Batman dethroned and imprisoned.  Selina, the girlfriend of Vol, Praxius' hero, frees Bruce, and they free Vol and defeat Rakk.  Batman and Robin still have to deal with Gurney revealing Batman's secret identity, until they lose their memories returning to Earth.

Newspaper Batman

This is a special feature, reprinting a series of Batman stories from Sunday newspaper strips from November 12, 1944 to December 31, 1944 by Bill Finger, Jack Burnley and Charles Paris, where Batman and Robin realized "There Was A Crooked Man...".

That is, the dynamic duo face a plot that is similar to the old nursery rhyme, "There Was A Crooked Man".

World's Finest Comics #91

Superman, Batman and Robin became "The Three Super Sleepers" in World's Finest Comics #91 (November-December, 1957) by Edmond Hamilton, Dick Sprang and Stan Kaye, with the original cover by Sheldon Moldoff and Win Mortimer.
 
The World's Finest trio chase a criminal into a mountain cave, where the thug traps them with knockout gas and Kryptonite.  The three heroes wake up a thousand years later, with the inhabitants looking use their time-ray to send the heroes to their home time.....except they are unable to since the device was stolen.  The trio face off against Rohtul, a descendant of Luthor, defeating him, but not finding the time-ray.  Batman figures out that Lora, one of the scientists, was really behind the theft of the time-ray, travel back in time, and prevent the criminal from sealing them in the cave.

Batman #112

"Batman's Roman Holiday" was one of the stories in Batman #112 (December, 1957) by Edmond Hamilton, Dick Sprang and Charles Paris (though not the cover one, as you can see, instead featuring the story that deals with Professor Milo).

 
This time around, Professor Nichols was lost in ancient Rome, with Batman and Robin having to travel back to find him.  The dynamic duo find the Professor being held by Roman King Phorbus, ending up being captured...thought they make a giant balloon to escape, then the team go back to free Nichols and return to their home time. 

Batman #128

Batman #128 (December, 1959) saw "The Interplanetary Batman" by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff, with Moldoff also providing the cover for this confining issue.


Alien Kraak, lands on Earth, getting help from Batman and Robin, as he is being chased by other aliens.  Only problem is, Kraak was a space pirate, and they capture Batman and Robin as criminals for the dynamic duo's honest mistake.  Batman helps Kraak escape, then they go to collect his stolen loot from the dangerous Forest of Peril.  Kraak tries to double cross Batman, but Batman was working with the local police of Ergon, who end up arresting Kraak and his associates for their crimes.

Batman #116

"The Winged Bat People" were met in Batman #116 (June, 1958), by Bill Finger, Sheldon Moldoff and Charles Paris, under a cover by Sheldon Moldoff.


Batman and Robin are flying in the Batplane when a hurricane throws them into another dimension, where they are mistaken for Bat-People and taken prisoner by the local queen.  Batman saves the queen from the Bat-People when they attack, and helps her find a traitor in her midst, her advisor, Arko.  Finding a local deposit of coal, Batman lights it on fire, with the hope the flames will ward off the Bat-People for years.  The explosion from this hurtles the Batplane with Batman and Robin home.

A truly odd collection of Batman stories, but it just goes to show how far Batman will go to protect Gotham...even to other worlds and dimensions!


The Batman stories aren't as out of touch with modern Batman stories, as writer Grant Morrison used Batman's meeting with Professor Milo from Batman #112 (and other stories from the 1950s collected in Batman: The Black Casebook of 2009) for a series of stories he did in the 21st Century for his Batman R.I.P. storyline.

Giant Superman Alien Invasion

Looking back, Superman faced many an alien invasion himself, all without help....

....and DC had dedicated an 80-Page Giant to that fact.

 
It was Superman vs. the aliens in 80 Page Giant Magazine #6 of January, 1965....

...and here are the menaces the Man of Steel faced!


 

Action Comics #234

"The Creature of 1,000 Disguises" is first up, from Action Comics #234 (November, 1957) by Edmond Hamilton, Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye, under a cover by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye.



Superman faces off against Gollo, an alien from the planet Zar who can shape change, and befriends a young boy named Johnny Miles.  Gollo finds Johnny, but become separated, as Superman returns the runaway Johnny to his family.  While searching for Johnny, Gollo comes to Metropolis and runs into Superman.  Superman realizes Gollo is also a young runaway, and reunites the lonely alien with his family, who shows them all of the new shapes he has learned, including that of Superman!

Adventure Comics #274

Stepping even further back in time, it's an adventure with Superboy (Superman as a boy) from Adventure Comics #274 (July, 1960), where the Boy of Steel faces "The Monster That Stalked Smallville" by Robert Bernstein and George Papp, and cover by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye.

Superboy brings an alien into Smallville that starts turning its citizens to stone, even a couple that try to leave, for a total of ten people turned to stone.  This upsets the law in Smallville who question Superboy, finding out the alien, 6-3kx, was from Zaron, and assigned to find ten criminal alien scientists that nearly destroyed Zaron, who were hiding in Smallville.  The ten scientists were also telepathic, being able to read the minds of everyone but Superboy, thus the reason he didn't explain his actions.

Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #43

"Jimmy Olsen's Private Monster" came from Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #43 (March, 1960) by Jerry Siegel, Curt Swan and John Forte, with a cover by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye.


Jimmy Olsen gets a new pal after the energy of an explosion and Jimmy's signal watch brings an alien from another dimension to Jimmy.  The monster appears twice and leaves, then, appears a third time with a deal for the young reporter...to come back to his dimension for a time, after which, the alien will leave Jimmy alone.  Jimmy agrees, and once on the alien's planet, finds out the alien wanted him for a horror movie, with Jimmy as the lead monster!  After filming, the alien returns Jimmy to Earth.

Action Comics #216

When this story by Bill Finger, Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye (the last two doing the original cover) was featured in Action Comics #216 (May, 1956), it was called "The Super-Menace Of Metropolis", but was reprinted as "The Hyper-Menace From Krypton".


Alien machines attack on Earth, with Superman to stop them.  Tracing their path backwards, Superman finds that the machines were constructed by someone who had super powers.  While investigating leads on that (mostly other men who Lois Lane thought were Superman), Superman finds a rocket in the forest, with a robot in control of these machines.  The robot was made by Jor-El, Superman's father, to make machines to show Kryptonians the harshness of war.  Superman destroys the robot and machines to prevent them from menacing the people of Earth.

Action Comics #254

Bizarro wasn't an alien from another world when he first appeared in adult form thanks to Lex Luthor in Action Comics #254 (July, 1959) and Action Comics #255 (August, 1959) by Otto Binder and Al Plastino (under covesr by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye), but it still lead Superman to "The Battle With Bizarro" (combined with "The Bride Of Bizarro"). 

Bizarro wasn't even the first bizarre duplicate of Kal-El (there had been one earlier, when Superman was Superboy, but it was destroyed).  Bizarro had all of Superman's memories, though distorted, and was as powerful as Superman, without the weakness to green Kryptonite. 


This was only the first two tales of Bizarro (where the monster added a Bizarro Lois), but later tales established a world where many Bizarros lived (not on Earth), making a Bizarro family, so, Bizarro later became an alien from another world (the planet htraE), using Bizarro backward logic! 

Adventure Comics #245

Last, but not least, Superboy faced "The Mystery Of Monster X" in Adventure Comics #245 (February, 1958) by Otto Binder and Al Plastino (with the original cover by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye).



With a giant flying centipede being released from the Earth by a volcanic eruption, Superboy had to fight it to keep Smallville safe (even though the creature could manifest Kryptonite as well).  Realizing it was a mother looking for its egg, Superboy helped her find her young, and resettled them safely on another planet.

This collection of fantastic things and creatures is but one of 15 80 Page Giants, and not the only one to feature Superman...

....or a collection of aliens!