Action Comics #95
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeIn "The Laughing Stock of Metropolis!", the Prankster turns Metropolis upside down, turning Superman into a punchline with custard pies and a mustached portrait. When the Man of Steel retreats in disgrace, Clark Kent takes a daring stand—disguised as a comedian, he challenges the prankster to a battle of wits, revealing a secret that could change everything. Art by Jon Small, with cover by Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye, this 1946 classic captures a rare moment of humor in Superman’s early adventures.
In "The Laughing Stock of Metropolis!" from Action Comics #95 (1946), The Prankster turns Metropolis upside down with a series of humiliating stunts aimed at Superman—custard pies, fake mustaches, and more—driving the Man of Steel to temporarily abandon his duties. When crime surges in his absence, Clark Kent, in disguise, steps in to challenge The Prankster not with strength, but with wit, setting up a showdown over who truly deserves the title of funniest man alive.
In "The Burgling Bookman!", the Vigilante and Stuff take on a cunning collector whose rare tomes hide more than just text—each volume is a trap, from bills glued between pages to gas-filled hollows. With wits and courage, they race to outsmart a mind that turns knowledge into danger.
In a 1946 Hollywood moment of magic and chance, Zatara stumbles upon a girl and her three step-sisters discussing a film role, sparking an idea that leads him to his old friend Jack Stone, a movie producer. With a twist on the classic tale, he proposes casting all four women in a cinematic version of Cinderella—where every step-sister gets a spotlight.
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We Buy Collections ▸Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: April 1946; part of Action Comics Volume 1, the ongoing series that launched in June 1938.
- Cover art penciled by Wayne Boring, who was on his way to becoming the primary Superman comic-book penciller of the 1950s, working consistently alongside inker Stan Kaye.
- The lead Superman story, 'The Laughing Stock of Metropolis!' (12 pages), pits Superman against the Prankster (Oswald Hubert Loomis), whose scheme involves using intermediaries to publicly humiliate Superman until the hero announces his retirement — a psychologically unusual plot for the Golden Age.
- The Prankster was created by Jerry Siegel and John Sikela and first appeared in Action Comics #51 (August 1942); this issue is a subsequent appearance, not his debut.
- Superman adopts the disguise of 'Professor Hi Laryus' at some point in the story, reflecting the era's fondness for Clark Kent-adjacent alter egos and wordplay.
- The issue is a true anthology: backup features star Congo Bill (art by Ed Smalle), the Vigilante / Greg Sanders with Stuff the Chinatown Kid (art by Mort Meskin), Zatara (art by William White), and the humor strip Hayfoot Henry (script and art by Al Schwartz and Stan Kaye).
- The lead story 'The Laughing Stock of Metropolis!' was reprinted in the Superman: The Action Comics Archives Vol. 6 hardcover, DC's archival reprint series.
- The Hayfoot Henry backup 'The Burgling Bookman!' was later reprinted in Adventure Comics #152 (May 1950), per Grand Comics Database records.
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Reprinted in Adventure Comics #152 (1950), Superman in Action Comics #1 (1993), Superman: The Golden Age Omnibus #5 (2018)
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