Adventure Comics #413
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeAdventure Comics #413 (December 1971) marks the beginning of Zatanna's very first solo series — a seven-page backup feature written by Len Wein and drawn by Gray Morrow that launched a three-part arc running through issues #415. Before this, Zatanna had existed purely as a guest star scattered across a half-dozen DC titles since her 1964 debut; giving her an ongoing feature of her own, however brief, represented DC's first real investment in the character as a headliner rather than a utility player. Morrow's atmospheric, almost painterly art brought a maturity and visual glamour to Zatanna that distinguished the backup from the surrounding superhero fare and would later be reprinted twice, cementing the run's reputation. The issue is also a textbook example of early Bronze Age DC anthology packaging: a giant-sized format mixing an original Supergirl lead story with vintage Hawkman and Robotman reprints, a format that was itself winding down as the era progressed.
In "The Walking Bombs!", Supergirl teams up with scientist Robert Meekly, reporter Geoff Anderson, and a mysterious figure named Johnny Drew when a series of unexplained explosions begin terrorizing the city. Written by John Albano and brought to life with dynamic art by Art Saaf, inks by Bob Oksner, and lettering by Ben Oda, this 1971 Adventure Comics tale blends suspense and science fiction with a grounded sense of urgency. The cover, by Bob Oksner, captures the tension of the moment with a striking image of Supergirl confronting the threat head-on.
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The issue was edited by Joe Orlando, the former EC Comics artist who had become one of DC's most adventurous editors of the period. Writers John Albano and Gardner Fox contributed the Supergirl lead and the Hawkman reprint slot respectively, while Len Wein — still early in a career that would soon produce Swamp Thing and Wolverine — scripted the new Zatanna backup. Gray Morrow, who had co-created Man-Thing at Marvel just months earlier and was then deepening his relationship with DC's supernatural line, penciled and inked the Zatanna story, delivering work that collector commentary has consistently singled out as the visual highlight of the book. The Hawkman story reprinted in this issue originated in The Brave and the Bold #44 (with Joe Kubert art), and the Robotman tale came from Detective Comics #178.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First installment of Zatanna's first-ever solo series, a 7-page backup titled 'Zatanna the Magician,' written by Len Wein and illustrated by Gray Morrow — the opening chapter of a three-part story concluding in Adventure Comics #415.
- First appearance of Jeffrey Sloane, Zatanna's stage manager and supporting character, who would recur through her 1970s appearances.
- The Zatanna backup story also features Zatara and cameo flashback appearances by Hawkman, Elongated Man, Batman, Green Lantern, and The Flash.
- Cover date: December 1971; published by DC Comics under editor Joe Orlando; 52 pages in the giant-size format; cover art by Bob Oksner.
- Supergirl lead story ('The Walking Bombs!') is an original story scripted by John Albano with art by Art Saaf and Bob Oksner, set in San Francisco — part of Supergirl's Bronze Age era as a TV news photographer.
- Reprints included: 'Earth's Impossible Day' (Hawkman, reprinted from The Brave and the Bold #44, art by Joe Kubert) and 'The Robot Ghost' (Robotman, reprinted from Detective Comics #178).
- The Zatanna backup story from this issue was later reprinted in DC Super-Stars #11 (January 1977), where the three-part Adventure Comics arc (#413–415) was edited into a single combined story, and again in Adventure Comics #502.
- Gray Morrow's work on this issue was part of his broader DC engagement in 1971–72, immediately following his co-creation of Man-Thing in Marvel's Savage Tales #1 (May 1971).
Full credits
Reprints
↩ Reprints Detective Comics #178 (1951), The Brave and the Bold #44 (1962), Detective Comics #430 (1972)
Reprinted in Superboy #72 (1972), Superboy #10/1974 (1974), DC Super Stars #11 (1977), Le Manoir des Fantômes #12 (1979), Adventure Comics #502 (1983), Superman Presents Supergirl Comic #29, Superman Presents Supergirl Comic #9
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