Action Comics #40

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Graded population

CGC records 109 graded copies for Action Comics #40 (1941). Population is the number recorded by this grading source, not the total print run or all surviving copies.

Superman: "The Reformation of Nancy Thorgenson"

At the Daily Planet, Lois) brings an article in the paper to Clark's) attention; it is a message asking for Superman's help! She drags Clark along to the location indicated so they can grab the story, but when they arrive, Clark ditches Lois and changes to Superman. A car is waiting for him, which then drives the Man of Steel to a mansion where billionaire Morgan Thorgenson waits. Thorgenson is worried about his wild daughter, Nancy, who likes to spend money and get herself into all kinds of scrapes. But where his hired detectives have failed, Mr. Thorgenson hopes Superman will succeed in setting her on the straight path. Thorgenson's butler reports that Nancy was just spotted in the Purple Fawn nightclub, brawling with another of its patrons. By the time Superman gets there, she has already won the fight and is back in the gambling room. Though she has already lost forty thousand at the roulette table, it doesn't matter to Nancy. What was the point of her father making money if she wasn't allowed to spend it how she wished? From outside, Clark's x-ray vision shows him that the game is fixed. Once the roulette wheel operator goes on his break, Superman grabs him through the window and flies up higher and higher. Once they've risen above the tallest building, he lets go of the operator. Before the terrified man hits the ground, Superman catches him. Clark threatens to keep dropping the operator over and over again, unless he allows Nancy Thorgenson to win back all the money she's lost.

As the day goes on, the roulette operator keeps his word, as Nancy celebrates her sudden winning streak. Mr. Parello, the owner of the crooked club, isn't too happy. After Nancy leaves, Parello and his hired thugs follow her in their car. Just before they intercept her on the road, the vehicle begins to rise into the air! Superman has a grip on the bumper, dumping the crooks out of the car, then tossing them into a nearby lake.

Nancy is reluctantly taken back to her father's mansion. She is furious that her dad would hire a brute like Superman to keep an eye on her, and storms up to her room. From there, Nancy gives local playboy Freddie Taylor a call. She knows he is only after her money, but still she promises to elope with him if he'll drive up to her window with a ladder. Of course, Freddie never makes it there, since Superman meets him first and leaves him hanging on a tree in Metropolis. Seeing her plan fail, Nancy changes tactics. Superman is momentarily startled when Nancy begins to flirt with him, but is unimpressed by her advances, and she shuns him once it's clear her ploy won't work.

At that moment, without warning the swollen Cathel River breaks a hole in the dam, causing a sudden flood! The rushing water carries with it several homes, including the Thorgenson residence! Superman catches the mansion before it gets smashed apart, and lifts it to higher ground. But there are still others who need help. With his super speed and strength, Superman digs a trench in the earth, to divert for the bulk of the flood. As he flies away, a change occurs in Nancy. She is concerned for her neighbors and runs away from her father's side, to the smashed homes where victims are struggling. She works tirelessly to help out, until she eventually passes out from exhaustion.

Days later, Clark Kent is back at the Daily Planet, when the story of the spoiled heiress-turned-hero makes a hit with Metropolis. Checking up on Nancy and her father, Clark learns that Superman had quite an effect on her. Nancy now devotes her time to charity work and aiding the unfortunate.

Creative credits

Writers: Jerry Siegel, Gardner Fox, Ken Fitch, Fred Ray, Gardner Fox

Interior art: John Sikela, George Papp, Sheldon Moldoff, Chad Grothkopf, Bernard Baily, Fred Ray, Joseph Sulman

Source records & attribution

Panel Profits keeps each source identity attached to its edition record.

COMICBASE: comicbase:11748

GCD: 1613