Action Comics #252: Logic Mishaps

Ugh, Lois. No. Just, no.

As should be abundantly apparent by now, I am finding these classic issues of some of DC's finest creations a bit arduous to get through. Thus, I'm gonna fast-forward a bit, so I can get to some Marvel and Indie mags more quickly.

To generalize (perhaps far too much given the random and slight sampling), one of the key features about these classic issues that is driving me absolutely bonkers is what I'll call the "stumbling plot plugs."

I'll illustrate this malady by focusing on Action Comics #252's story, "The Menace of Metallo!" However, this is not to suggest that Robert Bernstein (writer) & Al Plastino (artist) are particularly egregious purveyors of this problem. These stumbling plot plugs can be found dang near everywhere in these early comics.

Most Amusing Panel Prize:

To make it clear that Lois starts out a bit "icy" towards John Corben (aka Metallo) with his sexist come on ("I go for you, Baby"), her dialogue balloon drips blue. (I love it when Lois tells off the creeps.)

Plot Plug 1:

My theory is that "plot plugs" come into play when the creators have a cool idea (let's make a human robot powered by Superman's greatest weakness: Kryptonite (and we shall call him Metallo)), and then they concoct a story around that idea.

Unfortunately from there, it seems, the plot is haphazardly stitched together as the panels go along (instead of mapping out plot points in advance), leaving sometimes huge logic gaps in their wake.

Plot plugs are then necessary between panels in an attempt to fill in the logic gaps created (often with little success). The creators have a character summarize in their dialogue what has happened "off-stage" to address these logic problems.

For example, when Metallo raids nuclear sites in order to obtain the uranium he needs to stay alive, he is described as a Man of Steel who has the strength of Superman.

So, when the TV news reports on these raids, how do they know that Superman is not, in fact, responsible for these crimes (especially since Metallo is not depicted as being caught in the act/observed committing them)?

Well, "lab tests" prove that no "human" could have committed these crimes. (What tests those could be boggles the mind, and Superman is not "human," so he still could be a suspect.)

But wait, there's more. These tests actually prove that ONLY a "robot" made of "pure metal" could have committed these crimes. Oh. I see...

Plot Plug 2:

Later, when Corben/Metallo is thwarted in obtaining the uranium he needs, he returns to Professor Vale's lab. The Professor Vale whom Corben had callously left on the floor to die after an avalanche caused Vale to have a stroke. The Professor Vale who had saved Corben by putting him in the metallic shell to begin with.

Corben: "Good! You've recovered from your stroke!... What was that second substance I can use? You collapsed before you could tell me!"

Did they just change their minds about killing Professor Vale off? Was he always intended to recover from his stroke so he could finally share this vital information with Corben? (And, why would Vale help the man who had left him for dead?)

Plot Plug 3:

Towards the end of the story, the creators clearly need Lois to discover that Metallo is faking being Superman, but because they are running out of panel room (?), they have Metallo's Superman costume rip on Lois' doorknob (?) revealing his metallic body to her.

The sudden contrivance is amusing, but holy heck, a doorknob?

Final Notions:

Essentially, the "plot plug" is just a modern spin-off of deus ex machina (which can be found throughout classic literature). Nonetheless, it bugs me.

Which parts of the story should be depicted in the art panels and how much should be conveyed by words (in dialogue/thought balloons and narrative boxes)? I hadn't realized how sophisticated and important these story-telling choices can be.

I find I have little enjoyment of comics that do not incorporate the elements of good story-telling (pacing, characterization, logical structure) to convey their creators' very cool ideas, but I am beginning to appreciate just how hard a task it is to craft a good comic.



The Comics Read But Left Behind:

Series: World’s Finest Comics (1941)

Issue #: 071

Copyright: DC Comics

Cover Date: July-August 1954

Cover Price: 10¢

Page Count:  28 pages

Print Release: 26-May-1954

Digital Release: 18-February-2016

Writer:	Alvin Schwartz
Penciler:	Curt Swan
Inker:	Stan Kaye
Colorist:	None Listed
Cover Art:	Win Mortimer
Source Links:	comiXology / Comic Vine / Wikipedia
Story Title:	“Batman – Double for Superman!”

Writer:	Ed Herron
Penciler:	George Papp
Inker:	George Papp
Colorist:	None Listed
Story Title:	Green Arrow: “The Invisible Death”

Writer:	Dave Wood
Penciler:	Nick Cardy
Inker:	Nick Cardy
Colorist:	None Listed
Story Title:	Tomahawk: “Feathered Fighters for Freedom!”

Series: Showcase (1956)

Issue #: 004

Copyright: DC Comics

Cover Date: October 1956

Cover Price: 10¢

Page Count:  24 pages

Print Release: 22-August-1956

Digital Release: 13-August-2011

Writers:	John Broome; Robert Kanigher
Penciler:	Carmine Infantino
Inker:	Joe Kubert
Colorist:	None Listed
Cover Art:	Carmine Infantino; Joe Kubert
Source Links:	comiXology / Comic Vine / Wikipedia
Story Titles:	“Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt!”; "The Man Who Broke the Time Barrier!”

Series: Adventure Comics (1938)

Issue #: 247

Copyright: DC Comics

Cover Date: April 1958

Cover Price: 10¢

Page Count:  25 pages

Print Release: 19-February-1958

Digital Release: 24-March-2012

Writer:	Otto Binder
Penciler:	Al Plastino
Inker:	Al Plastino
Colorist:	None Listed
Cover Art:	Curt Swan
Source Links:	comiXology / Comic Vine / Wikipedia
Story Title:	Superboy: “The Legion of Super-Heroes”

Writer:	Ed Herron
Penciler:	George Papp
Inker:	George Papp
Colorist:	None Listed
Story Title:	Green Arrow: “The 13 Superstition Arrows”

Writer:	Jack Miller
Penciler:	Ramona Fradon
Inker:	Ramona Fradon
Colorist:	None Listed
Story Title:	Aquaman: “Aquaman’s Super Sea-Squad”

The Comic Covered Here:

Series: Action Comics (1938)

Issue #: 252

Copyright: DC Comics

Cover Date: May 1959

Cover Price: 10¢

Page Count:  28 pages

Print Release: 18-March-1959

Digital Release: 30-July-2011

Writer:	Robert Bernstein
Penciler:	Al Plastino
Inker:	Al Plastino
Colorist:	None Listed
Cover Art:	Curt Swan
Source Links:	comiXology / Comic Vine / Wikipedia
Story Title:	Superman: “The Menace of Metallo!”

Writer:	Robert Bernstein
Penciler:	Howard Sherman
Inker:	Howard Sherman
Colorist:	None Listed
Story Title:	“Congo Bill Dies at Dawn!”

Writer:	Otto Binder
Penciler:	Al Plastino
Inker:	Al Plastino
Colorist:	None Listed
Story Title:	“The Supergirl from Krypton!”

Flash Comics (1939) #1

Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash, first appears in Flash Comics #1 written by Gardner Fox. While I like many of the characters Fox created, I must confess that I am not a fan of his writing. It's like he has really cool concepts for superpowers/superheroes, but then has no idea how to write logically coherent characters to embody those ideas.

I mean, what scientist would smoke in his own laboratory and become so distracted by the smoking that he bumps into his own equipment destroying his experiment?

And what woman refuses to date a man with extraordinary speed until he agrees to employ that speed to win a football game? "I'm a freak of science..." please date me?! Seriously?

Then, many moons later, one random evening, it finally occurs to Garrick to use his speed to fight crime? There seems to be no logical progression from lab accident to hero.

There's also little feeling between the characters as time elapses in strange intervals.
              
For instance, Joan Williams, the woman Garrick finally got to go on a date with after winning a football game back in college, asks for Garrick's assistance after they run into each other (again, a seemingly random event).

Joan tells Garrick that her father has been kidnapped, but they are suddenly interrupted by an attempt on Joan's life (a drive-by shooting). Garrick saves her (of course) but then suggests he'll drop by "tonight." Neither the shooting nor the father being kidnapped seems to inspire any urgency in these characters.

We learn -- when Garrick finally stops by -- that Joan's father has actually been missing for three months! THREE MONTHS! She even knows who did the kidnapping ("The Faultless Four"). Are you kidding me?

The evil-doers are again archetypal villains (as in Satan -- literally, his name is Mr. Satan) who die whilst being pursued by the hero. Garrick even gloats over the wreck because he's classy that way.

Final Notions:

I must confess that if other "oldies but goodies" are this painful to read, I may have to skip over a few items in my collection to get to the meaty stuff.

Series: Flash Comics (1939)

Issue #: 001

Copyright: DC Comics

Cover Date: January 1940

Cover Price: 10¢

Page Count: 15 pages

Print Release: 16-November-1939

Digital Release: 13-August-2011

Writer:	Gardner Fox
Pencilers:	Harry Lampert
Inkers:	Harry Lampert
Colorist:	None Listed
Cover Art:	Sheldon Moldoff
Source Links:	comiXology / Comic Vine / Wikipedia
Story Title:	“The Flash”