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Superboy #20 (of 230)

The Ghost That Haunted Smallville
June 1st, 1952

Superboy #20 (of 230)

The Ghost That Haunted Smallville
June 1st, 1952

Volume:
Publisher:
Number:
20 (of 230)
Name:
The Ghost That Haunted Smallville
Aliases:
Cover date:
June 1st, 1952
Store date:
Unknown
cover

1. Hop On the Welfare Wagon!: (public service message by Superman / written by Jack Schiff)

2. The Ghost that Haunted Smallville!: (Superboy, Jor-El) 2 men, Dr. Aubrey Barth and Prof. Havens Homer, set up Station G-H-O-S-T, a radio that supposedly talks with the dead, in Smallville. Using it, the mayor's grandfather tells him about treasure buried in his backyard, which Superboy finds with his X-ray vision. Next, an executed arsonist warns the police chief to renew his fire insurance and that night there is a fire at his home. As the fire is being put out a crowd forms, including Barth and Homer. Clark uses his X-ray vision to look inside a briefcase one of them is holding, which causes some spilled ink inside to glow.

The next day, Clark decides to try the station and is shown the ghost of Jor-El, who tells him how proud he is of his Superboy. Barth assures Clark the secret is safe with him. this leaves Clark confused as he doesn't believe in ghosts but doesn't know how they could have known he was Superboy.

while he is researching the supernatural, Jim Morley visits the station to ask why his will left everything to charity when he had been told he would inherit. he is told where to find an updated will and states that he will use the money to fund Barth's research but Superboy can tell it is a fake. when he checks the spot where the will was found Jor-El's ghost appears again telling him not to snoop because someone who can be trusted with his secret can be trusted with other things. the veiled threat confirms to Clark that the ghost isn't real so he goes to take a closer look at the machine.

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he then uses his X-ray vision to find the real will fallen from a drawer into the hollow back of an old rolltop desk. the will is still in Jim's favor but he is no longer planning to fun Brath, that apparently having been the point of the whole scam.

still worried about his secret, Clark returns to the machine to find Brath and Homer threatening another boy, Joe Spencer. turns out he noticed the glowing ink back at the fire and they saw him looking so they thought he was Superboy. when Clark used the machine he also tried using his X-ray vision, causing a luminous effect so they thought he was Joe in disguise. he saves Joe and convinces them they were wrong about his secret.

3. Peg: (gag strip by Henry Boltinoff) Peg's friend asks why she caved so easily in the argument she had with her boyfriend and she explains that her birthday is Saturday and she wants the present he got her but she will give him a piece of her mind come Sunday.

4. Superboy's Safety Code!: (Superboy) Reckless bike riders are causing accidents in Smallville so the police chief asks Superboy to help create a safety code and license people to ride.

5. Casey the Cop: (gag strip by Henry Boltinoff) Casey tells a prisoner named Butch to get comfy becous he will be there a long time. Butch tells him he has a really smart lawyer who is figuring out a way to free him. Later, Casey brings in Butch's new cellmate, his lawyer.

6. So You Want to be a Paratrooper?: (full-text article by Bob Kent)

7. Varsity Vic: (gag strip by Henry Boltinoff) Vic is out with a girl named Gwen when he sees Tod Brown, the school's star athlete. he introduces her to Tod thinking she will be impressed he knows him but she ends up dumping him for Tod.

8. Fireman Pete: (gag strip) Pete climbs a ladder to save a girl yelling for help. when the chief realizes he has been up there a while he goes to check on him and finds Pete helping her pick an outfit.

9. The Dragon Teeth Soldiers!: (Superboy / written by Gardner Fox) After some thugs working for a gangster called Big Boy Talbot steal supposed dragon's teeth from a private collector and plant them in the park what appear to be Roman soldiers start coming up out of the ground.

10. Tumbling Clown: (Superboy's Workshop)

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