Superman in a Very Believable Crime Story
In this issue of Action Comics, 'Daily Star' reporters Clark Kent and Lois Lane agree not to publish the story of a woman's suicide attempt for the sake of her family. However, Gene Powers, gossip columnist for the 'Morning Herald' publishes the story anyway, leading to a scuffle between Kent and Powers in a local restaurant.
Meanwhile, Senator Hastings, who's up for reelection comes across a woman in the road following his departure from a campaign event. She claims to be the survivor of an accident. Once in his vehicle, she uses a gas capsule to knock him out and then drives to a roadhouse where a waiting photographer takes pictures of the two in compromising positions.
When Kent is sent to interview the Senator, he becomes suspicious when the senator mistakes him for a blackmailer. He leaves but notices Powers arrive soon thereafter, and so he uses X-Ray vision and super hearing to spy on the meeting. Once he learns that Powers is blackmailing the senator, he scares Powers at home and then follows him back to the Herald where he finds that Mr. Hamilton, the publisher of the Morning Herald is also involved. That's when Superman decides to shut them down for good!
The story in this issue is completely believable. It's nice to see Superman take on a real-world problem like political blackmail. Joe Shuster's art is also looking great here. He incorporates a lot of great little details, such as the (now old-fashioned) giant steel coffee machines that were used in diners of the day, or the (now old-fashioned) two-piece telephones seen in the background at the Daily Star.