Adventure Comics #308
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeAdventure Comics #308 (May 1963) is one of the more quietly consequential issues in the Silver Age Legion of Super-Heroes run, delivering two debut characters whose story threads would wind through Legion continuity for decades. The first appearance of Ayla Ranzz — introduced under the alias Lightning Lad before being rechristened Lightning Lass — gave the Legion its first female Ranzz family member and planted seeds for the genuine resurrection of Lightning Lad himself four issues later in #312; Proty, Chameleon Boy's newly acquired shape-shifting pet acquired in this same story, would prove to be the linchpin of that revival. The issue also marks, per the DCU Guide, the first appearance of the Legion's flag, a small but telling sign that editor Mort Weisinger and his writers were actively deepening the mythology and world-building of DC's 30th-century super-team.
In "The Super-Menace of Smallville!", a high-wire artist named Tricksy finds himself in a bizarre predicament when he can’t locate an empty bunk and opts to sleep on the wire—setting off a chain of odd events in Smallville. Written and illustrated by Henry Boltinoff, this 1963 Adventure Comics tale blends whimsy and mystery, with Curt Swan and George Klein handling the cover.
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The Legion story 'The Return of Lightning Lad!' was written by Edmond Hamilton — a veteran science-fiction author who was one of Weisinger's primary Legion scripters during this period — with interior art by John Forte and lettering by Joe Letterese; the cover was penciled by Curt Swan and inked by George Klein, the era's premier Superman-family art team. Mort Weisinger, who had a long pre-DC history with Hamilton (having represented him as a literary agent at the Solar Sales Service in the 1930s), edited the entire issue, which also contained a separate Superboy solo story featuring Lex Luthor and illustrated by George Papp. The Legion backup's narrative device — a disguised twin infiltrating the team — fit squarely within a recurring Weisinger-era editorial pattern of mysterious new members with hidden identities, a formula the bullpen returned to multiple times across the Adventure Comics run.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Lightning Lass (Ayla Ranzz), created by writer Edmond Hamilton and artist John Forte; she initially infiltrates the Legion posing as her recently deceased twin brother Lightning Lad before being revealed and admitted under her own identity.
- First appearance of Proty, the shape-shifting Protean creature adopted as a pet by Chameleon Boy; this same issue seeds Proty's later pivotal role in Lightning Lad's actual resurrection in Adventure Comics #312 (September 1963).
- Per the DCU Guide, the issue also contains the first appearance of the Legion's flag.
- The Legion story is titled 'The Return of Lightning Lad!' and is distinct from the lead Superboy story 'The Super-Menace of Smallville!', which features Lex Luthor teaming with an Atlantean scientist using a hypnotic radio beam against Superboy.
- Cover date: May 1963 (on-sale date March 28, 1963, per the Grand Comics Database); published by National Periodical Publications (DC Comics); editor Mort Weisinger.
- Cover art by Curt Swan (pencils) and George Klein (inks); Legion story interior art by John Forte (pencils and inks); Superboy story interior art by George Papp.
- The Legion story 'The Return of Lightning Lad!' has been reprinted in Adventure Comics #403 (1971), Adventure Comics #500 (1983), Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 2 (1992), Showcase Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes #1 (2007), and Legion of Super-Heroes: The Silver Age Omnibus #1 (2017).
- Lightning Lass (Ayla Ranzz) went on to become a long-running Legion member across multiple continuities, later operating as Light Lass (with gravity-nullifying powers) and as Spark in the post-Zero Hour reboot continuity; she has also appeared in the Legion of Super Heroes animated series (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) and made a cameo in Superman: The Animated Series.
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Reprinted in Teräsmiehen Poika #2/1964 (1964), Teräsmiehen Poika #3/1964 (1964), Adventure Comics #403 (1971), All Star Adventure Comic #92 (1975), Adventure Comics #500 (1983), The Legion of Super-Heroes Archives #2 (1992), Showcase Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes #1 (2007), Legion of Super-Heroes: The Silver Age Omnibus #1 (2017), Legion of Super-Heroes: The Silver Age #1 (2018)
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