I was hooked, and every month for the next four years, I would eagerly await the next issue of Adventure and the next chapter in the saga of the Superboy and the Legion. I knew very little about the earlier issues of Adventure, and although I managed to come across a tattered copy of Adventure #312, it wasn't until my interest in comics was rekindled in the late 1970's that I extended my collection of Adventure's back to about 1959. Of course, the title dated back much farther...all the way back to 1935 when it was first published as New Comics.
New Comics became New Adventure Comics with issue #12, and eventually became Adventure Comics beginning with issue #32 in 1938. The title began featuring Superboy in the 1946 with issue #103. In the April 1958 issue (#247), the Superboy story included the first appearance of the Legion of Super-Heroes, who would share the lead with Superboy on a regular basis beginning in the September 1962 issue (#300). The Superboy/Legion era in Adventure Comics ended with issue #380 in 1969.
Although my comic collecting days are long over, I decided to create this web page as homage to the comic book title that started this hobby for me. This page will ultimately feature the cover art for every issue of Adventure Comics from January 1951 (#160) to July 1969 (#382), which includes all Silver Age issues, and which includes all appearances of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the title. Also featured below are several additional comic covers with the Legion of Super-Heroes, including those from a few later issues of Adventure Comics featuring Legion reprints.
With few exceptions, most of the covers featured below were the work of venerable DC artist Curt Swan (1920-1996), who set the Silver Age standard for drawing Superman, and who handled the cover artwork for almost every title in the Superman family during this period.
Enjoy!
Kipp Teague
October 1999
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Thanks go out to Len Wolinsky, Dave Votau and Jeff Luebke for their ongoing help in compiling earlier issue scans.
Click on any white number to view that issue's cover in a pop-up window. |
1951 | |||||||||||
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| 160 | 161 | 162 | 163 | 164 | 165 |
166 last Shining Knight | 167 |
168 last 52-pg. issue | 169 | 170 | 171 |
1952 | |||||||||||
| 172 | 173 | 174 | 175 | 176 | 177 | 178 | 179 | 180 | 181 | 182 | 183 |
1953 | |||||||||||
| 184 | 185 | 186 | 187 | 188 | 189 | 190 | 191 | 192 | 193 | 194 | 195 |
1954 | |||||||||||
| 196 | 197 | 198 | 199 | 200 | 201 | 202 | 203 | 204 | 205 | 206 |
207 last Johnny Quick |
1955 | |||||||||||
| 208 |
209 last pre-code issue; origin Speedy |
210 intro Krypto | 211 | 212 | 213 |
214 2nd Krypto | 215 | 216 | 217 | 218 | 219 |
1956 | |||||||||||
| 220 | 221 | 222 | 223 | 224 | 225 | 226 | 227 | 228 |
229 1st Silver Age issue | 230 | 231 |
1957 | |||||||||||
| 232 | 233 | 234 | 235 | 236 | 237 | 238 | 239 | 240 | 241 | 242 | 243 |
1958 | |||||||||||
| 244 | 245 | 246 |
247 first Legion | 248 | 249 | 250 | 251 | 252 |
253 Superboy meets Robin | 254 |
255 intro Red Kryptonite |
1959 | |||||||||||
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256 origin Green Arrow | 257 | 258 | 259 | 260 | 261 | 262 | 263 | 264 | 265 | 266 |
267 2nd Legion |
1960 | |||||||||||
| 268 |
269 intro Aqualad | 270 |
271 Origin Luthor | 272 | 273 | 274 |
275 Batman | 276 | 277 | 278 | 279 |
1961 | |||||||||||
| 280 | 281 |
282 Origin Legion |
283 intro Phantom Zone | 284 | 285 | 286 | 287 | 288 | 289 |
290 origin Sun Boy | 291 |
| Bonus Legion cover: Superboy 89 intro Mon-el | |||||||||||
1962 | |||||||||||
| 292 | 293 |
294 Bizarro JFK | 295 | 296 | 297 | 298 |
299 intro Gold Kryptonite |
300 Legion series begins |
301 origin Bouncing Boy | 302 |
303 intro Matter Eater Lad |
| Bonus Legion cover: Superboy 98 intro Ultra Boy | |||||||||||
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Legion stories from Adventure 247 through 305 are reprinted in the hardbound volume
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1963 | |||||||||||
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304 Death of Lightning Lad | 305 |
306 Legion Subst. Heroes |
307 intro Element Lad |
308 intro Lightning Lass | 309 | 310 | 311 |
312 Lightning Lad returns | 313 | 314 | 315 |
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Legion stories from Adventure 306 through 317 are reprinted in the hardbound volume
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1964 | |||||||||||
| 316 |
317 intro Dream Girl | 318 | 319 | 320 |
321 intro Time Trapper | 322 | 323 | 324 | 325 | 326 |
327 intro Timber Wolf |
| Bonus Legion covers: Jimmy Olsen 76 Superboy 117 | |||||||||||
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Legion stories from Adventure 318 through 328 are reprinted in the hardbound volume
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1965 | |||||||||||
| 328 | 329 | 330 | 331 | 332 | 333 | 334 |
335 intro Star- finger | 336 | 337 | 338 |
339 death of Beast Boy |
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Legion stories from Adventure 329 through 339 are reprinted in the hardbound volume
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1966 | |||||||||||
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340 intro Computo | 341 |
342 Star Boy expelled | 343 | 344 | 345 |
346 intro Karate Kid & others | 347 |
348 intro Dr. Regulus |
349 intro Universo & Rond Vidar | 350 | 351 |
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Legion stories from Adventure 340 through 349 are reprinted in the hardbound volume
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1967 | |||||||||||
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352 intro Fatal Five |
353 death of Ferro Lad | 354 | 355 | 356 | 357 | 358 | 359 | 360 | 361 | 362 | 363 |
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Legion stories from Adventure 350 through 358 are reprinted in the hardbound volume
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1968 | |||||||||||
| 364 |
365 intro Shadow Lass | 366 |
367 new Legion HQ | 368 | 369 | 370 |
371 intro Chemical King | 372 | 373 | 374 | 375 |
| Bonus Legion cover: Superboy 147 all-Legion 80-pg. Giant | |||||||||||
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Legion stories from Adventure 368 through 376 are reprinted in the hardbound volume
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1969 | |||||||||||
| 376 | 377 | 378 | 379 |
380 last new Legion in Adventure |
381 Supergirl begins | 382 | |||||
| Bonus Legion covers: Adventure 403 (1971) all-Legion Giant Adventure 491 (1982, digest size) Legion reprints begin Adventure 500 (1983, digest size) Legion reprints | |||||||||||
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Legion stories from Adventure 377 through 380, along with those from
Action 378 through 392, are reprinted in the hardbound volume
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For information on the stories and artists in these issues, visit Mariano Bayona Estradera's web pages "The Superboy Adventures" - Part 1 (1955-1962) and Part 2 (1963-1969)
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DC Archive Editions at Amazon
includes thumbnail images and info/ordering links for over seventy hardcover archive editions of Silver and Golden Age DC Comics, including Vols. 1 through 12 of the Legion of Super Heroes Archives series. |
Visit the Superboy Cover Gallery
Visit Kipp Teague's DC Silver Age Comic Auctions page
Visit Kipp Teague's RetroWeb home page
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